Meaning

Primary

Pencil

Word Type

noun

Explanation

Your lead writing brush has lead in it. What kind of writing instrument has lead in it? How about a pencil?

Reading

えんぴつ
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is a jukugo word that uses the on'yomi readings of the kanji. You should be able to read this on your own. Just be careful because the ひつ gets rendaku'd to ぴつ. In case you need help with this rendaku reading, here's a mnemonic:

You know how some people put a pencil behind their ear? Well, you keep yours between your pits (ぴつ). Why? So your friends will stop mooching pencils off you in class. No one wants a gross sweaty pencil you've been keeping between your pits.

Context

Context Sentences

最初はボールペンじゃなくて鉛筆で練習してください。

Please practice with a pencil instead of a ballpoint pen at first.

筆箱の中に、鉛筆は何本ありますか?

How many pencils are in your pen case?

そのパグは、このHBの鉛筆で描いたんだよ。

I drew the pug with this HB pencil.

Kanji Composition