Blades & battle
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.
rice harvesting
grass cutting, mowing
to cut, to mow
kendo, swordsmanship
serious, earnest
short sword, dagger
medicine, drug
detergent
tablet, pill
stimulus, stimulation
business card
to pierce, to stab
arrival
attainment, reaching
rush, flood (of people)
attack
major (of study)
to attack
vigilance, caution
religious precepts
to admonish, to warn
bullet
bomb
to play (a stringed instrument)
cannon, artillery
gun, firearm
cannon shell
contradiction
point of a spear; target
bronze spear
struggle, conflict
combat, battle
to fight, to struggle
fine, penalty
punishment
divine punishment
Practice
Test yourself on this lesson's kanji.