Kanji 絵

音読おんよみ: カイ・エ

訓読くんよみ: none*

画数かくすう: 12

部首ぶしゅ: いとへん（糸）

Meaning

Picture / Painting / Drawing / Illustration

  • 絵本えほん — picture book
  • 絵画かいが — painting / artwork
  • 油絵あぶらえ — oil painting
  • 水彩画すいさいが — watercolor painting
  • 下絵したえ — underdrawing / preliminary sketch
More examples - tap to expand
  • 浮世絵うきよえ — ukiyo-e (woodblock prints)
  • 似顔絵にがおえ — portrait; likeness
  • 絵の具えのぐ — paints; colors
  • 絵巻物えまきもの — picture scroll

絵 combines 糸 (thread) and 会 (meeting/society). Originally, it referred to decorative fabrics or colorful illustrations. Over time, it came to mean “picture” or “drawing.” This kanji appears frequently in educational materials and children's books.

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