# 侍 — samurai; wait on

侍 means “samurai; wait on”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 8 strokes. On'yomi: ジ (ji). Kun'yomi: さむらい (samurai). You'll see it in words such as 侍 (samurai, “warrior; samurai”).

- Meaning: samurai; wait on
- On'yomi: ジ (ji)
- Kun'yomi: さむらい (samurai)
- Strokes: 8
- Level: JLPT N1 · set People & roles 3

## How to remember 侍

Sounds like 寺: both read ジ.

Parts: 亻 person · 寺 temple

## Words with 侍

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 侍 | さむらい (samurai) | warrior; samurai |

## Don't confuse it with

[付](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/attach/) · [寺](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/temple/) · [封](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/seal-an-envelope/) · [佳](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/fine/)

## More in the “People & roles 3” set

[侍](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/samurai/) · [嬢](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/young-lady/) · [翁](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/old-man/) · [婆](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/old-woman/) · [侶](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/companion/) · [爵](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/peerage/)

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