Kanji quizzes for the joy of reading
How do you read 礎 in Japanese?
Supporting everything from underneath.
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Read 礎 in 学びの礎を築く, meaning to build a foundation for learning.
HINTShow hint
A stone beneath a building’s pillar; figuratively, an important basis for something.
More on radicals and this quiz’s stroke counts
Describe the shapes you see
You do not need to know the radical’s name. Try these searches for this quiz’s characters.
kanji with 石 beside 楚
石 beside two 木 with a foot-like shape below
stone radical 18 strokes foundation meaning
These searches describe visual similarities, not formal radicals or character components.
礎 has 18 strokes and the radical 石 (stone). Radicals are dictionary classifications. The shape-based search phrases below provide other lookup clues.
礎18 strokes / radical: 石 (stone)
Stroke counts and radicals follow the Japanese dictionary Kanjipedia; other dictionaries may differ.
ANSWERShow answerHide answer
The answer is
いしずえ
ishizue
礎
Understand the meaning
English translationFoundation stone / foundation
A foundation stone or the basis on which something is built. 礎を築く means to establish a firm foundation.
See it in a sentence
毎日の読書が、学びの礎になっている。Daily reading forms a foundation for learning.
A way to remember
The single-word reading is ishizue; 基礎 uses so. Spell the kana いしずえ, not いしづえ.
Sources：Kanjipedia: 礎
The explanation draws on the sources below. Examples were written for this page.
Explore the word further
Using 礎
礎を築く and 活動の礎になる describe a foundation. Naming what it supports makes the figurative meaning clearer.
例：毎日の短い練習が、長い文章を読む力の礎になった。
Short daily practice became the foundation for reading longer texts.
Reading and meaning in context
The literal sense is a foundation stone beneath a pillar. Decide between the physical and figurative senses by identifying what is being supported.
References for this explanation：Kanjipedia: 礎
Explanation checked on 2026-10-23. Additional examples were written by DuraRing for this page.
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