The kanji 操: meaning, readings and stroke order

操

Meaning: handle, operate
On reading: ソウ sou
Kun reading: みさお misao、あやつ（る） ayatsuru
Strokes: 16
Radical: 手 hand
Level: Level 6 · grade 6

Stroke order

Meaning in other languages

Vietnamese: điều khiển, thao tác (thao)
Japanese: あやつる。うまくうごかす。
Korean: 다루다, 조종하다 (조)
Chinese: 操纵、操作

Readings, words and example sentences

ソウ sou · on reading

体たい操そう
exercises, gymnastics
毎朝 体たい操そうをします。
I do exercises every morning.

みさお misao · kun reading · less common

操みさお
staying true to one's beliefs
最後まで 操みさおを守った武士の話です。
This is a story about a samurai who stayed true to his beliefs to the end.

あやつ（る） ayatsuru · kun reading · less common

操あやつる
to control, to work (a puppet)
糸で人形を 操あやつります。
They move the puppet with strings.

Practise writing 操 in the app

In Dino Kids your child writes 操 with a finger and every stroke is checked, then takes the Level 6 practice test. Free, no ads, no in-app purchases.

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Readings, radicals: Kanjium, KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); strokes: KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); Korean, simplified forms: Unicode Unihan. Meanings, sentences: Dino Kids (CC0). See Licences.