Meaning

Primary

Postage Stamp

Alternative

Stamp

Word Type

noun

Explanation

This is a pretty old word, and in the olden days, everything was cut by hand, including postage stamps. Having to cut thousands of stamps each day by hand sounds incredibly laborious, so maybe that's why this word came to be associated specifically with stamps.

Reading

きって
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

You'd think that the reading for this would consist of the on'yomi readings, but human body parts (hand) do funny things to words. In this case, it's the kun'yomi readings of both the kanji. You should know the kun'yomi reading for and from the previous levels, meaning you should be able to remember the reading for this word fairly easily. Watch out for the small , though.

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 切手をあつめる

    to collect stamps

    切手をなくす

    to lose a stamp

    切手をはる

    to affix a stamp

Context Sentences

これはアメリカの切手です。

This is an American stamp.

四十円の切手を二つ下さい。

Please give me two 40 yen stamps.

主人は切手コレクターです。

My husband is a stamp collector.

Kanji Composition