髪

音読おんよみ: ハツ

訓読くんよみ: かみ

画数かくすう: 14

部首ぶしゅ: 髟（かみがしら）

Meaning

Hair

  • 髪かみ — hair (on the head)
  • 髪型かみがた — hairstyle
  • 髪の毛かみのけ — a strand of hair / hair (more literally “hair-hair”)
  • 長髪ちょうはつ — long hair
  • 白髪しらが — gray / white hair
  • 金髪きんぱつ — blond hair
  • 洗髪せんぱつ — hair washing / shampooing

The top of 髪 is the radical 髟（かみがしら） — it shows long hair hanging down. This radical almost always signals “hair.” The lower part gives sound (ハツ). Put together, 髪 simply means “hair on the head,” the hair you comb, wash, and style.

毛

毛け means “hair / fur,” in a general sense — animal fur, body hair, etc. When we say 髪かみの毛け, we’re literally saying “the hair-hair of the head,” which just means “a strand of hair.” 髪 is specifically the hair on your head — the part you cut, style, dye.

金
Creates

金髪きんぱつ — blond hair.

◀︎ Sayings+ ▶︎