# 約 — promise; approximately

約 means “promise; approximately”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 9 strokes. On'yomi: ヤク (yaku). It has no common kun'yomi. You'll see it in words such as 約 (yaku, “approximately; about”).

- Meaning: promise; approximately
- On'yomi: ヤク (yaku)
- Kun'yomi: —
- Strokes: 9
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Numbers & amounts 1

## How to remember 約

Thread (糸) wrapped (勹) round a drop (丶) on your finger, so you remember a promise.

Parts: 糸 thread · 勺 ladle

## Words with 約

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 約 | やく (yaku) | approximately; about |

## Don't confuse it with

[糸](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/thread/) · [紙](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/paper/) · [終](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/end/) · [細](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/thin/)

## More in the “Numbers & amounts 1” set

[全](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/whole/) · [最](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/most/) · [約](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/promise/) · [総](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/overall/) · [加](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/add/) · [数](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/number/) · [第](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/ordinal-number/) · [増](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/increase/) · [各](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/each/)

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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/n3-kanji/promise/. Last updated 2026-11-01.