# 潰 — crush; go bankrupt

潰 means “crush; go bankrupt”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 15 strokes. On'yomi: カイ (kai). Kun'yomi: つぶ(す) (tsubusu). You'll see it in words such as 潰す (tsubusu, “to smash; to crush”).

- Meaning: crush; go bankrupt
- On'yomi: カイ (kai)
- Kun'yomi: つぶ(す) (tsubusu)
- Strokes: 15
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Hands at work 7

## How to remember 潰

Parts: 氵 water · 貴 noble

## Words with 潰

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 潰す | つぶす (tsubusu) | to smash; to crush |
| 潰れる | つぶれる (tsubureru) | to be crushed; to be squashed |

## Don't confuse it with

[貴](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/noble/) · [遺](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bequeath/) · [購](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/purchase/) · [噴](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/erupt/)

## More in the “Hands at work 7” set

[汰](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/sift/) · [弄](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/toy-with/) · [采](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/dice/) · [剥](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/peel-off/) · [捻](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/twist/) · [填](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/fill-in/) · [潰](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/crush/)

---

From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/crush/. Last updated 2026-11-01.