Description & quality
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.
welcome
joy, delight
cheers, shout of joy
solicitation, invitation
advice, recommendation
to recommend, to urge
inferior, bad
superiority or inferiority
to be inferior
sweetness
person with a sweet tooth
sweet; lenient
fresh
vivid, clear
vivid, brilliant
splendid, gorgeous
beautiful, graceful
lovely, graceful
elegant, graceful
gagaku (court music)
elegance, refinement
delicacy
prizing, valuing
rare, unusual
silence, stillness
quiet, tranquil
lonely, lonesome
Practice
Test yourself on this lesson's kanji.