marrow, pith, essence
On'yomi (音読み)
- ズイ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
—
About this kanji
The kanji 髄 means "marrow" or "essence" and is primarily used in noun forms. You won’t find a kun’yomi reading for this kanji, so it mostly appears in compounds. Some common examples include 骨髄 (こつずい), which means "bone marrow," and 真髄 (しんずい), meaning "essence." Another important term is 脊髄 (せきずい), which refers to the "spinal cord." This kanji is often used in medical contexts, especially when discussing vital components of the body. It can be important to remember that 髄 is not commonly used on its own, so you'll mostly see it as part of these compounds.
Example sentences
骨髄移植は難しい手術です。
Bone marrow transplantation is a difficult surgery.
Meanings across languages
- English
- marrow, pith, essence
- Tiếng Việt
- tuỷ
- 日本語
- 髄
- 한국어
- 수장
- 中文
- 髓
- id
- sumsum
- th
- ไขกระดูก
- es
- médula
- fr
- moelle
- de
- Mark, Essenz
- pt
- medula
Common compounds
- 骨髄bone marrow, medulla, heart's core
- 真髄essence, quintessence, spirit
- 髄膜炎meningitis
- 脊髄spinal cord
- 延髄medulla oblongata
- 歯髄pulp (of a tooth), dental pulp
- 精髄essence, kernel, spirit
- 脳髄brain, encephalon
Words using this kanji
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.