Regions & places
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.
outline, contour
castle, fortress
outer wall, periphery
suburbs
suburbs, environs
distant suburbs
hindrance, nuisance
evil, wickedness
a cold
traditional Japanese music
federation, commonwealth
foreigner
mountains
father-in-law
Mount Fuji (literary)
gorge, canyon
strait, channel
isthmus
collapse, breakdown
crumbling, cave-in
to collapse, to crumble
low price, cheap
integrity, honesty
shamelessness
corridor, hallway
gallery, cloister
art gallery
Practice
Test yourself on this lesson's kanji.