Meaning
斤 has two meanings: axe and the catty, a traditional East Asian unit of weight. The link between blade and measure isn't obvious — but both trace back to the same ancient pictograph of an axe head, a tool standardized in material and shape, used as a counterweight on balance scales in early trade.
The oldest pictographic form showed a stone or bronze axe head, flat back and angled cutting edge visible in the brushstrokes. Over centuries of writing, it compressed into today's four-stroke character. In ancient Chinese trade, axe heads were consistent in craft and weight, making them natural counterweights on balance scales. That practice seeded the weight-unit meaning. The catty varied by region; Japan settled on roughly 600 grams for one 斤 (一斤). Today the word's main job is labeling a loaf of bread at the supermarket.
Classified as JLPT N1, 斤 is rare in casual conversation — yet it turns up on bread packaging, bakery menus, and old recipes with real regularity. It also serves as Radical #69, the structural base of common kanji including 所, 析, 断, and 新. Four strokes, grade 8 Jōyō.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
Modern Japanese uses one on'yomi for 斤:
キン (KIN) — Borrowed from Middle Chinese. This is the reading you'll see on bread bags, in recipes, and on the JLPT N1 exam. All practical modern usage runs through キン.
- 一斤 (ikkin) — one loaf of bread; one catty (≈600g)
- 半斤 (hankin) — half a catty; half a loaf of bread
- 斤量 (kinryō) — weight by the catty; traditional trade measurement
- 斤目 (kinme) — weight of gold or silver by the catty (Edo-period commercial term)
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
No kun'yomi is active in standard modern Japanese. Historically, 斤 was read おの (ono) for "axe," matching its pictographic origin. That word now belongs to 斧 (おの / フ) instead. The おの reading of 斤 survives only in classical texts and specialized scholarly works.
- 斤 (ono) — axe (archaic; classical texts only)
Any 斤 you meet in modern Japanese will use キン — almost always on a bread bag.
Common Words & Compounds
斤 punches above its N1 label. These compounds come up at the supermarket and in Edo-period documents alike.
Bread and Everyday Measurement
- 一斤 (ikkin) — one loaf of bread; one catty (the dominant modern use of 斤 in Japan)
- 半斤 (hankin) — half a loaf; half a catty
- 二斤 (nikin) — two loaves; two catties
- 食パン一斤 (shoku pan ikkin) — one loaf of sandwich bread (the standard phrasing on Japanese grocery packaging)
Historical Weight and Commerce
- 斤量 (kinryō) — weight in catties; traditional trade measurement
- 斤目 (kinme) — weight of precious metals by the catty (Edo-period term)
- 百斤 (hyakkin) — one hundred catties (appears in historical trade records and literature)
Characters That Contain 斤 as a Radical
Spotting 斤 inside other kanji helps with both structure and meaning:
- 所 / ショ (tokoro / SHO) — place, location; one of the most common kanji in Japanese, with 斤 on the right side
- 析 (SEKI) — to split, to analyze; 木 (wood) on the left + 斤 (axe) on the right pictures an axe splitting a log; key character in 分析 (bunseki, "analysis")
- 断つ / ダン (tatsu / DAN) — to cut off, sever, refuse; the axe's cutting sense extended into social and emotional meanings
- 新しい / シン (atarashii / SHIN) — new; etymologically from cutting (斤) a fresh tree to make something newly made
- 斬る / ザン (kiru / ZAN) — to slash, cut down; a literary kanji evoking samurai swordsmanship, built on the cutting radical 斤
Example Sentences
食パンを一斤買ってきてください。
Shoku pan wo ikkin katte kite kudasai.
Please buy one loaf of bread on your way back.
スーパーで食パン一斤が百円で売っていた。
Sūpā de shoku pan ikkin ga hyaku-en de utte ita.
A supermarket was selling a loaf of bread for 100 yen.
このレシピには小麦粉半斤が必要です。
Kono reshipi ni wa komugiko hankin ga hitsuyō desu.
This recipe requires half a catty of wheat flour.
斤量を正確に量ることが商売の基本だ。
Kinryō wo seikaku ni hakaru koto ga shōbai no kihon da.
Measuring weight accurately is the foundation of commerce.
昔、東アジアの商人たちは斤を単位として物を売買していた。
Mukashi, Higashi Ajia no shōnin-tachi wa kin wo tan'i to shite mono wo baibai shite ita.
Long ago, merchants across East Asia bought and sold goods using the catty as their unit of measure.
斤は日本と中国で重さが異なり、日本では約六百グラムとされている。
Kin wa Nihon to Chūgoku de omosa ga kotonari, Nihon de wa yaku roppyaku guramu to sarete iru.
The catty differs in weight between Japan and China; in Japan it is defined as approximately 600 grams.
古典の物語に、斤で木を割る場面が描かれていた。
Koten no monogatari ni, ono de ki wo waru bamen ga egakarete ita.
A classical tale depicted a scene of splitting wood with an axe.
分析という漢字には斤の部首が含まれており、斧で割り分けるイメージを持つ。
Bunseki to iu kanji ni wa kin no bushu ga fukumarete ori, ono de wariwakeru imēji wo motsu.
The kanji for "analysis" (分析) contains the 斤 radical, carrying the image of splitting apart with an axe.
斤という単位は江戸時代の商取引で頻繁に使われた記録が残っている。
Kin to iu tan'i wa Edo jidai no shō torihiki de hinpan ni tsukawareta kiroku ga nokotte iru.
Records remain showing that the catty unit was frequently used in commercial transactions during the Edo period.
Memory Tip
Picture the four strokes of 斤 as a side-view sketch of an axe head: the top stroke is the flat back, the diagonal forms the cutting edge, and the lower strokes complete the wedge. Put that axe head on a balance scale — its standardized weight becomes the reference: one catty. Now step into a Japanese supermarket: the scale holds a loaf of bread. パン一斤. The leap from stone axe to bread bag is odd enough to stick. Four strokes. One axe. One loaf.