# 優 — superior; gentle; actor

優 means “superior; gentle; actor”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 17 strokes. On'yomi: ユウ (yuu), ウ (u). Kun'yomi: やさ(しい) (yasashii), すぐ(れる) (sugureru). You'll see it in words such as 優しい (yasashii, “tender; kind”).

- Meaning: superior; gentle; actor
- On'yomi: ユウ (yuu), ウ (u)
- Kun'yomi: やさ(しい) (yasashii), すぐ(れる) (sugureru)
- Strokes: 17
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Qualities 2

## How to remember 優

A person (亻) with melancholy (憂) in their eyes: gentle, and a fine actor.

Sounds like 憂: both read ユウ.

Parts: 亻 person · 憂 melancholy

## Words with 優

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 優しい | やさしい (yasashii) | tender; kind |
| 優れる | すぐれる (sugureru) | to be better; to be superior |
| 優に | ゆうに (yuuni) | easily; comfortably |

## Don't confuse it with

[憂](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/melancholy/)

## More in the “Qualities 2” set

[容](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/contain/) · [必](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/certainly/) · [能](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/ability/) · [無](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/nothing/) · [状](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/condition/) · [可](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/possible/) · [難](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/difficult/) · [優](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/superior/)

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