ぜ (ze)
Pronunciation
The character ぜ represents the syllable 'ze', a soft 'z' followed by 'e' as in 'pet'. It is せ with the dakuten that voices 's' to 'z'.
Stroke-by-Stroke Guide
ぜ is written in five strokes. The first three strokes are identical to せ (a horizontal at the top, a long vertical on the right crossing through, and a long horizontal at the bottom curving up at the right end). Then add the dakuten: Stroke 4: a small diagonal mark at the upper right. Stroke 5: a second small diagonal mark below or to the right of the first. The two marks voice the syllable from 'se' to 'ze'.
Common Words with ぜ
- かぜ (kaze) — wind / breeze / draught
- おおぜい (oozei) — crowd of people / great number of people
- ぞうぜい (zouzei) — tax increase
- ぜったい (zettai) — absolutely / definitely / unconditionally
- だつぜい (datsuzei) — tax evasion
- ぜひ (zehi) — certainly / without fail
- はいぜつ (haizetsu) — abolition / elimination
- ぜつぼう (zetsubou) — despair / hopelessness
- あんぜん (anzen) — safety / security
- いぜん (izen) — before / prior to / ago
- かいぜん (kaizen) — betterment / improvement
- かんぜん (kanzen) — perfect / complete
- ぐうぜん (guuzen) — coincidence / chance / accident
- ごぜん (gozen) — morning / a.m.
- しぜん (shizen) — nature
- じぜん (jizen) — charity / benevolence / philanthropy
- ぜいきん (zeikin) — tax / duty
- ぜんいん (zenin) — all members / all hands / everyone
- ぜんかい (zenkai) — previous time / last time / previous installment
- ぜんこく (zenkoku) — the whole country
How to Write ぜ (ze) in Hiragana
The hiragana character ぜ is romanized as "ze" and is written with 5 strokes. Like "ze" in "zest". Example word: ぜんぶ (zenbu) — all.
Stroke Order for ぜ
When writing ぜ, follow the numbered stroke order shown in the reference character above. Japanese characters are generally written from left to right and top to bottom. Correct stroke order improves readability and writing speed.
Practice Tips
- Print this sheet on standard 8.5" × 11" letter paper
- Start by tracing the light grey guide characters in the first column
- Then practice writing ぜ freehand in the empty squares
- Pay attention to stroke direction and order — follow the numbered guide
- For interactive practice with animations, visit the main study page
About Hiragana
Hiragana is one of the three Japanese writing systems. It consists of 46 basic characters, each representing a syllable. Hiragana is used for native Japanese words, grammar particles, and verb endings. Learning correct stroke order is essential for proper Japanese handwriting.