Onyomi: ト · Kunyomi: あだ, いたずら · Meanings: emptiness, ephemeral thing, futility, gang, junior, on foot, party, people, set, uselessness, vanity
Kanji for emptiness, ephemeral thing, futility, gang, junior
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Find visually similar kanji, commonly confused characters, related meanings, and useful words connected to 徒.
徒 combines the “person” radical (彳) on the left with 走, which depicts running or moving. Long ago, people imagined someone **walking or running behind another**, following along a path or journey. This character captures the idea of a **follower, apprentice, or someone on a path of learning or service**. Over time, 徒 came to represent not just physical following, but also the concept of discipleship, students, or people acting under guidance.
徒 shows a person (彳) moving or running (走) behind another — representing a follower, apprentice, or someone on a guided path.
Picture a person stepping carefully behind a mentor on a path — each step following the guide. That’s 徒 — a follower or apprentice learning the way.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 無駄 | むだ | futility, waste, uselessness, pointlessness, idleness | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Na-adjective (keiyodoshi) |
| 只 | ただ | ordinary, common, usual | common JLPT-N3 JLPT-N2 Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', Noun |
| 徒 | いたずら | useless, vain, aimless, idle | Na-adjective (keiyodoshi) |
| 徒 | あだ | vain, futile, transient, frivolous | Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun |
| 徒 | かち | foot soldier (Edo period), samurai on foot | Noun |
| 徒 | と | party, set, gang, company, person | Noun |
| 徒 | ず | imprisonment (for 1-3 years; third most severe of the five ritsuryō punishments) | Noun |
| 無駄遣い | むだづかい | waste (of money, time, etc.), squandering, frittering away | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb |
| 徒歩 | とほ | walking, going on foot | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 無駄話 | むだばなし | idle talk, chit-chat, gossip | Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |