To Sharpen

July 22, 2010

"To Sharpen" in kanji. Japanese calligraphy art by Nao.

"To Sharpen" by Nao

to-gu, ken

Togu is a verb meaning to sharpen.

To put the edge of something is expressed as ha wo togu.”

Sharpening a Japanese long sword is katana wo togu.” It’s unusual to do so, though.

This verb is also used for washing rice. Kome wo togu” means to wash rice.

Kenshū means training. The shū of kenshū means to master the skills of something. Its verb “kenshūsuru means do training.

Kenkyū is research or studies. The kyū of kenkyū means to reach the ultimate goal. Its verb “kenkyūsuru means to do research or to study.

Kenma means grinding and polishing. The ma of kenma means to polish.

The verb “togisumasu” means to polish up or to sharpen finely. Sumasu is also a verb meaning to make something clear.

If you want to see Japanese for these words, visit ->here.


  1. Draw the horizontal stroke from the upper left corner.
  2. Draw the sweeping stroke touching the previous stroke.
  3. Draw the left side of the rectangle.
  4. Draw the upper and right sides of the rectangle.
  5. Draw the lower side of the rectangle.
  6. Draw the other horizontal stroke on the top.
  7. Draw the horizontal stroke parallel to the previous stroke.
  8. Draw the sweeping stroke crossing the previous stroke.
  9. Draw the vertical stroke.

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