Solitary & curves
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.
solitude, loneliness
isolation
orphan
arc (of a circle)
parentheses, brackets
arc-shaped
Meaning
hole, opening; Confucius
Components
On'yomi
コウ
Kun'yomi
あな
stoma, air hole
pupil (of the eye)
Confucius
skillful, clever
elaborate, exquisite
skill, dexterity
employment
dismissal, layoff
to employ, to hire
customer, client
recollection, retrospect
to look back; to heed
one ship (counter)
one eye; insight
several ships
parking
residence, being stationed
stationing (troops)
orbit, track
trajectory, locus
normal course
axle
the earth's axis
hanging scroll
conquering, overcoming
detailed, meticulous
conflict, rivalry
Practice
Test yourself on this lesson's kanji.