Work & effort
Tap an example word to hear it pronounced.
On'yomi & Kun'yomi
On'yomi (音読み) is the reading borrowed from Chinese, usually used in compound words, e.g. 三月 (さんがつ, March).
Kun'yomi (訓読み) is the native Japanese reading, used when the kanji stands alone or takes kana endings, e.g. 三つ (みっつ, three items).
By convention the readings list writes on'yomi in katakana (シュ) and kun'yomi in hiragana (さけ). Example words show furigana in hiragana, so the same on'yomi can look like シュ in the list but しゅ in a word.
What the component colors mean
Blue - the main radical the kanji is filed under in dictionaries.
Green - a component that hints at the meaning.
Orange - a component that hints at the reading (sound).
Grey - another building block, with no clear meaning or sound role.
effort, endeavor
to strive, to make an effort
labor, work
hardship, toil
labor, effort
success
seniority, long experience
meritorious service
A kokuji (kanji made in Japan); unusually it also has an on'yomi ドウ.
to work
labor, work
dual-income (both spouses work)
to pile up, to load
area
volume
especially, particularly
special
limited express (train)
word, vocabulary item
unit; credit (school)
singular (grammar)
to add
participation
joining, enrollment
guidance, information
good idea
Practice
Test yourself on this lesson's kanji.