# 劣 — inferior

劣 means “inferior”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 6 strokes. On'yomi: レツ (retsu). Kun'yomi: おと(る) (otoru). You'll see it in words such as 劣る (otoru, “to be inferior to; to be less good at”).

- Meaning: inferior
- On'yomi: レツ (retsu)
- Kun'yomi: おと(る) (otoru)
- Strokes: 6
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Qualities 5

## How to remember 劣

Parts: 少 a little · 力 power

## Words with 劣

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 劣る | おとる (otoru) | to be inferior to; to be less good at |

## Don't confuse it with

[少](https://moji.ninja/n5-kanji/few/) · [歩](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/walk/) · [省](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/ministry/) · [秒](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/second-of-time/)

## More in the “Qualities 5” set

[疎](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/estranged/) · [剛](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/sturdy/) · [潔](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/spotless/) · [酷](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/severe/) · [邪](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/wicked/) · [劣](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/inferior/) · [怪](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/weird/) · [佳](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/fine/) · [壮](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/robust/)

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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/inferior/. Last updated 2026-11-01.