新 kanji: meaning, readings and stroke order

新

新 means “new”. It is written with 13 strokes and is a JLPT N5 kanji.

On’yomi: シン (shin). Kun’yomi: あたら.しい (atarashii), あら.た (arata), にい (nii).

How to write 新 (stroke order)

Write 新 in 13 strokes, following the numbers. Each small box adds one stroke; the red line is the stroke to draw.

12345678910111213
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13

General rules: top before bottom, left before right, horizontal before a vertical that crosses it, and a closing bottom stroke last. Writing in the right order makes handwriting readable and helps you count strokes when you look a kanji up.

Practice writing 新

Trace 新 over the faint model with your finger or mouse, following the stroke order above. Turn the model off to write it from memory.

Readings of 新

On’yomi (Chinese reading)シン (shin)
Kun’yomi (Japanese reading)あたら.しい (atarashii)あら.た (arata)にい (nii)

The on’yomi is usually used in compound words, the kun’yomi when 新 stands alone or is followed by hiragana. A dot (.) marks where the hiragana ending starts.

Example words with 新

WordReadingMeaning
あたらしい
atarashii
new
しんぶん
shinbun
newspaper

新しい (atarashii) means “new”.

新聞 (shinbun) means “newspaper”. Also in this word: 聞

FAQ

What does 新 mean in Japanese?

新 means “new”. Common words with it are 新しい (atarashii, “new”) and 新聞 (shinbun, “newspaper”).

How many strokes does 新 have?

新 has 13 strokes. Follow the stroke-order diagram on this page from stroke 1 to 13.

How do you read 新?

The on’yomi is シン (shin) and the kun’yomi is あたら.しい (atarashii), あら.た (arata), にい (nii). Which one is used depends on the word.

Is 新 on the JLPT N5?

Yes. 新 is kanji number 43 of the 101 N5 kanji on this site.

Related N5 kanji

← Previous kanji: 安Kanji N5Next kanji: 古 →