Position, marks & things
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.
place value (of digits)
first place
status, standing
low
low pitch, bass
decline, drop
bottom of a valley
seabed, ocean floor
riverbed
right side
both sides
each person, individually
each country
arrow (symbol)
landmark, sign
printing
goal, target
a sign, a marker
standard, norm
purpose, aim
off the mark, irrelevant
destination
promise
bouquet
Practice
Test yourself on this lesson's kanji.