# 腐 — rot; decay

腐 means “rot; decay”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 14 strokes. On'yomi: フ (fu). Kun'yomi: くさ(る) (kusaru). You'll see it in words such as 腐る (kusaru, “to rot; to go bad”).

- Meaning: rot; decay
- On'yomi: フ (fu)
- Kun'yomi: くさ(る) (kusaru)
- Strokes: 14
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Food & cooking 1

## How to remember 腐

Sounds like 府: both read フ.

Parts: 府 government office · 肉 meat

## Words with 腐

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 腐る | くさる (kusaru) | to rot; to go bad |

## More in the “Food & cooking 1” set

[渋](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/astringent/) · [酸](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/acid/) · [腐](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/rot/) · [糧](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/provisions/) · [豆](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bean/) · [糖](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/sugar/) · [煮](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/boil-food/) · [酔](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/intoxicated/)

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