# 塗 — paint; smear

塗 means “paint; smear”. It is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 13 strokes. On'yomi: ト (to). Kun'yomi: ぬ(る) (nuru). You'll see it in words such as 塗る (nuru, “to paint; to spread”).

- Meaning: paint; smear
- On'yomi: ト (to)
- Kun'yomi: ぬ(る) (nuru)
- Strokes: 13
- Level: JLPT N2 · set Hands at work 3

## How to remember 塗

Sounds like 土: both read ト.

Parts: 氵 water · 余 surplus · 土 earth

## Words with 塗

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 塗る | ぬる (nuru) | to paint; to spread |

## Don't confuse it with

[途](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/en-route/)

## More in the “Hands at work 3” set

[刺](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/pierce/) · [掃](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/sweep/) · [掘](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/dig/) · [捨](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/throw-away/) · [塗](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/paint/) · [磨](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/scrub/) · [挟](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/pinch/)

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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/n2-kanji/paint/. Last updated 2026-11-01.