Meaning
The kanji 逐 has three core meanings: to chase or pursue, to expel or drive away, and one by one or in sequence. All three share a sense of directed movement — following a target, pushing something out, or working through a list methodically. You'll encounter it most in formal written Japanese: legal documents, academic papers, news articles, and classical texts. Everyday speech rarely uses it.
逐 is a compound ideograph (会意文字, kaii moji). Inside sits 豕 (いのこ), an ancient pictograph of a pig or wild boar, wrapped by 辶 (しんにょう) — the movement radical found across kanji dealing with roads and travel. Put them together and the picture is plain: a farmer sprinting after a fleeing pig. That chase is where all three meanings begin.
Over time, that image stretched. Chasing an animal became pursuing a goal or an enemy. Driving a pig out became banishing a political rival. And the one-by-one logic of checking each animal in a pen became a word for methodical, sequential work — reviewing a contract clause by clause, sending field reports step by step. The physical act behind the character never fully disappears.
逐 has 10 strokes and sits at grade 8 in Japan's Joyo kanji system — secondary school level. It's not taught in elementary school but appears on the standard general-literacy list. On the JLPT, it first shows up at N1.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
The only on'yomi for 逐 is チク (chiku), borrowed from the character's ancient Chinese pronunciation. In modern Japanese it shows up almost entirely in formal compound words (熟語, jukugo). You won't hear it much in conversation, but it appears regularly in news articles, legal texts, academic writing, and historical documents. These are the forms that define N1 reading comprehension for this character.
- 駆逐 (kuchiku) — expulsion, extermination, driving out; used both literally (pests, enemies) and as the word for a naval destroyer warship
- 放逐 (hōchiku) — banishment, exile; permanent expulsion from a territory or organization
- 逐次 (chikuji) — one by one, sequentially, in order; standard in formal reports and instructions for step-by-step processes
- 逐一 (chiku-ichi) — one by one, point by point, exhaustively; implies covering every single item without exception
- 逐語 (chikugo) — word-for-word, verbatim; describes translation or quotation that follows the original text literally
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi is お.う (ou), meaning to chase or to follow after. In practice, this reading is nearly extinct. Modern writers almost always reach for 追う instead — same pronunciation, similar meaning, far more common. When 逐 does appear with its kun'yomi, it's in classical or literary texts, carrying a slightly heavier, more archaic weight. Know it exists; spend your time on the チク compounds.
- 逐う (ou) — to chase, to pursue (literary/archaic; the everyday form is 追う)
Common Words & Compounds
The 逐 compounds below are what N1 learners actually encounter. Grouped by meaning so the patterns are easy to see.
Expulsion and Removal
- 駆逐 (kuchiku) — expulsion, extermination, driving out; covers military contexts (destroying enemy forces) and everyday ones (eliminating pests or business rivals)
- 放逐 (hōchiku) — banishment, exile; appears in historical, literary, and political writing about permanent expulsion from a place or group
- 駆逐艦 (kuchiku-kan) — naval destroyer; literally "a ship that drives enemies out"; a staple of Japanese military and historical vocabulary
Sequential and Step-by-Step
- 逐次 (chikuji) — sequentially, one after another; common in formal reports and procedures
- 逐一 (chiku-ichi) — one by one, point by point; implies nothing is skipped or glossed over
- 逐条 (chikujō) — article by article, clause by clause; the standard term when a committee works through a law or contract provision by provision
Verbatim and Translation
- 逐語 (chikugo) — word-for-word, verbatim; a literal approach to language
- 逐語訳 (chikugo-yaku) — literal translation; contrasted with 意訳 (free or interpretive translation) in discussions of translation theory
Fleeing and Disappearing
- 逐電 (chikuden) — absconding, making a sudden disappearance; a literary or archaic word for someone who vanishes to escape consequences
Rivalry and Competition
- 逐鹿 (chikuroku) — competition for power or the throne; a literary idiom meaning "to chase the deer"; turns up in historical and political writing about struggles for dominance
Example Sentences
害虫を駆逐するために農薬が使われた。
Gaichū wo kuchiku suru tame ni nōyaku ga tsukawareta.
Pesticides were used in order to exterminate the harmful insects.
彼は政治的な理由で国外に放逐された。
Kare wa seijiteki na riyū de kokugai ni hōchiku sareta.
He was banished from the country for political reasons.
問題を逐一確認してから提出してください。
Mondai wo chiku-ichi kakunin shite kara teishutsu shite kudasai.
Please check each problem one by one before submitting.
委員会は法案を逐条審議した。
Iinkai wa hōan wo chikujō shingi shita.
The committee deliberated on the bill clause by clause.
現場の状況は本部に逐次報告された。
Genba no jōkyō wa honbu ni chikuji hōkoku sareta.
The situation on site was reported to headquarters step by step.
逐語訳では自然な日本語にならないことが多い。
Chikugo-yaku de wa shizen na nihongo ni naranai koto ga ōi.
Word-for-word translations often fail to produce natural Japanese.
第二次世界大戦中、駆逐艦は潜水艦を追い回した。
Dainiji sekai taisen-chū, kuchiku-kan wa sensuikan wo oi mawashita.
During World War II, destroyers chased and hunted submarines.
部長は会議で各議題を逐一説明した。
Buchō wa kaigi de kaku gidai wo chiku-ichi setsumei shita.
The department head explained each agenda item one by one at the meeting.
古代の王は反乱を起こした貴族たちを王国から放逐した。
Kodai no ō wa hanran wo okoshita kizoku-tachi wo ōkoku kara hōchiku shita.
The ancient king banished the nobles who had staged a rebellion from the kingdom.
借金を抱えた彼女は逐電し、行方がわからなくなった。
Shakkin wo kakaeta kanojo wa chikuden shi, yukue ga wakaranaku natta.
Burdened with debt, she absconded and her whereabouts became unknown.
Memory Tip
Picture a farmer sprinting after a runaway pig (豕) across a muddy field, the movement radical (辶) churning underfoot. As he runs, he shouts: "One by one! (逐一) Drive them all out! (駆逐) And the ringleader gets banished! (放逐)" That one ridiculous scene covers all three meanings — pursuit, expulsion, sequential action. The pig inside the character (豕) also points straight back to the original etymology, so you're not just memorizing a shape: you're reading an ancient picture.