manipulate, operate, conduct
On'yomi (音読み)
- ソウ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- みさお
- あやつ.る
About this kanji
The kanji 「操」 mainly means to manipulate or operate. It can function as a verb, as in「あやつる」which means to control or manage. It appears in several compounds, such as「操縦」(そうじゅう), meaning to control or navigate, often used in contexts like piloting an aircraft. Another compound is「操り人形」(あやつりにんぎょう), which translates to puppet, highlighting the manipulation aspect of the kanji. Additionally,「操業」(そうぎょう) refers to operating a business or factory. A useful note is that this kanji often carries the connotation of skillfully managing something or someone.
Built from
Example sentences
彼はピアノを操る。
He plays the piano skillfully.
Meanings across languages
- English
- manipulate, operate, conduct
- Tiếng Việt
- thao tác, vận hành, hành động
- 日本語
- 操る, 操り, 演じる
- 한국어
- 조작하다, 운영하다, 행하다
- 中文
- 操控, 操作, 进行
- id
- memanipulasi, mengoperasikan, melakukan
- th
- ควบคุม, ดำเนินการ, จัดการ
- es
- manipular, operar, realizar
- fr
- manipuler, opérer, conduire
- de
- manipulieren, bedienen, leiten
- pt
- manipular, operar, conduzir
Common compounds
- 操縦そうじゅうto control, to operate
- 操り人形あやつりにんぎょうpuppet, marionette
- 操業そうぎょうoperation, work
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.