cut, cutoff, be sharp
Came from Chinese. It usually shows up when the kanji is joined to another, forming a compound word.
It is Japanese. It usually shows up when the kanji stands alone or is followed by hiragana.
The order matters: it is what makes handwriting come out legible, and it is how dictionaries index the character.
Visual decomposition, for recognising and comparing — not always the character's origin.
Where it appears is highlighted — the translation doesn't always make that visible.
公園の近くに着いた時、二人とも息を切らしていました。
Kouen no chikaku ni tsuita toki, futari tomo iki o kirashite imashita.
By the time they got close to the park, they were both out of breath.
君は、お手伝いさん、一切試してみる?
Kimi wa, otetsudai-san, hitokire tameshite miru?
And you, little helper — want to try a slice?
こんにちは。豚肉の薄切りをお願いします。
Konnichiwa. Butaniku no usugiri o onegai shimasu.
Good afternoon. I'd like some sliced pork, please.
Readings and meanings: KANJIDIC2 · Decomposition: KRADFILE · Both from Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0 · data from 2026-09-07 · Strokes: KanjiVG, Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0