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秋

On'yomi
シュウ
SHUU
Kun'yomi
あき・とき
aki / toki

autumn

Details

Strokes9
Frequency#635
Radical禾grain(5)

Stroke Order

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Strokes9

Cultural Context

Etymology

Composed of grain and fire. Harvest time drying grain with fire.

Symbolism

Autumn, harvest, maturity. Represents fruition and beginning of end.

Related Culture & Scenes

  • — Autumn leaves

Seasonal

Season from September to November. Symbolizes harvest, melancholy, maturity. Time of autumn leaves, moon viewing, harvest. In haiku, expresses loneliness.

Component Breakdown

秋=
禾火

grain + fire

Words & Expressions

Words written with 秋

春秋しゅんじゅうchunqiu
今秋こんしゅうthis fall
秋季しゅうきfall season
秋風あきかぜfall breeze
秋分しゅうぶんfall equinox

Four-Character Compounds

春夏秋冬

しゅんかしゅうとう

spring, summer, autumn (fall) and winter; the four seasons

一日千秋

いちじつせんしゅう

(waiting) impatiently; (spending) many a weary day; each moment seeming like an eternity

秋霜烈日

しゅうそうれつじつ

harshness; severity

一日三秋

いちじつさんしゅう

(waiting) impatiently; (spending) many a weary day; each moment seeming like an eternity

暗送秋波

あんそうしゅうは

giving an amorous sidelong look; casting an amorous glance (at); playing up to someone behind the scenes

秋風落莫

しゅうふうらくばく

forlorn and helpless; lonely and desolate

媚眼秋波

びがんしゅうは

casting a coquettish glance (at a man)

春花秋月

しゅんかしゅうげつ

spring flowers and the autumn moon; beauty of nature as it changes from season to season

千秋万歳

せんしゅうばんぜい

may you live a thousand years

Proverbs & Idioms

秋茄子は嫁に食わすな

あきなすはよめにくわすな

Don't let the bride eat autumn eggplant

Petty jealousy over good things

Poetry

和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

秋の田の かりほの庵の 苫をあらみ わが衣手は 露にぬれつつ

In the autumn fields the thatch of my makeshift hut is coarsely woven, and my sleeves keep growing wet with dew.

天智天皇Emperor Tenji
7th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

奥山に もみぢ踏み分け 鳴く鹿の 声聞く時ぞ 秋は悲しき

Deep in the hills a stag treads through fallen maple leaves and cries. Hearing it, autumn is saddest of all.

猿丸大夫Sarumaru Dayū
9th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

吹くからに 秋の草木の しをるれば むべ山風を 嵐といふらむ

No sooner does it blow than the autumn grasses wither — no wonder they write the mountain wind as 'storm'.

文屋康秀Fun'ya no Yasuhide
9th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

月みれば 千々に物こそ 悲しけれ 我が身ひとつの 秋にはあらねど

Looking at the moon, a thousand sorrows crowd in, though the autumn is not mine alone.

大江千里Ōe no Chisato
9th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

白露に 風の吹きしく 秋の野は つらぬきとめぬ 玉ぞ散りける

Across the autumn field, where the wind keeps blowing on the white dew, unstrung jewels are scattering.

文屋朝康Fun'ya no Asayasu
10th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

八重むぐら しげれる宿の さびしきに 人こそ見えね 秋は来にけり

To this lonely house, overgrown with layered weeds, no one comes. Yet autumn has come.

恵慶法師Ekyō Hōshi
10th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

さびしさに 宿をたち出でて ながむれば いづこも同じ 秋の夕暮れ

Loneliness drove me out of the house to look around, and everywhere it was the same: an autumn evening.

良暹法師Ryōzen Hōshi
11th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

夕されば 門田の稲葉 おとづれて 葦のまろやに 秋風ぞ吹く

As evening comes it rustles the rice leaves by the gate — the autumn wind, blowing on my reed-thatched hut.

大納言経信Dainagon Tsunenobu
11th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

契りおきし させもが露を いのちにて あはれ今年の 秋もいぬめり

I lived on the promise you made, like dew on a moxa leaf — and now this autumn too is passing.

藤原基俊藤原基俊
Unknown
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

秋風に たなびく雲の たえ間より もれ出づる月の かげのさやけさ

Through a break in the clouds trailing on the autumn wind, the moonlight spills out, clear and cold.

左京大夫顕輔左京大夫顕輔
Unknown
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

村雨の 露もまだひぬ まきの葉に 霧立ちのぼる 秋の夕暮れ

The dew of the passing shower has not yet dried on the cedar leaves, and already mist is rising. An autumn evening.

寂蓮法師Jakuren Hōshi
12th century
和歌(百人一首) (Waka (Hyakunin Isshu))

み吉野の 山の秋風 さ夜ふけて ふるさと寒く 衣うつなり

Autumn wind off the mountains of Yoshino; the night deepens, the old village is cold, and someone is beating cloth.

参議雅経Sangi Masatsune
13th century

Anime & Manga

春夏秋冬代行者 春の舞

Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring

Anime

A well-known work with 秋 in its Japanese title.

Related Figures & Stories

秋瑾

Qiu Jin1875–1907

Name contains 秋

Qiu Jin was a Chinese revolutionary, feminist, and writer.

Wikipedia

上田秋成

Ueda Akinari1734–1809

Name contains 秋

Ueda Akinari or Ueda Shūsei a.kʲiꜜ.na.ɾʲi], July 25, 1734 in Osaka – August 8, 1809 in Kyoto) was a Japanese author, scholar and waka poet, and a…

Wikipedia

幸徳秋水

Shūsui Kōtoku1871–1911

Name contains 秋

Kōtoku Denjirō , better known by the pen name Kōtoku Shūsui , was a Japanese socialist and anarchist who played a leading role in introducing…

Wikipedia

小早川秀秋

Kobayakawa Hideaki1577–1602

Name contains 秋

Kobayakawa Hideaki was the fifth son of Kinoshita Iesada and a nephew of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Wikipedia

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 秋 mean in Japanese?

秋 means autumn.

How do you read 秋?

On'yomi: シュウ (SHUU). Kun'yomi: あき、とき (aki, toki).

How many strokes does 秋 have?

秋 has 9 strokes. Its radical is 禾 (grain).

Is 秋 a good kanji for a tattoo?

秋 is one of the kanji most often chosen for tattoos. It means autumn. Read the full meaning and cultural background on this page first — some popular choices are deliberately dark.

Explore by meaning:autumn