Hand actions
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.
kidnapping
absconding with funds
kidnapper
all at once, lump sum
comprehensive, inclusive
control, overall supervision
mock, simulated
personification
mimicry, camouflage
refusal, denial
rejection, rebuff
to refuse, to decline
pincer attack
to pinch, to insert
to get caught between
torture
torture chamber
instruments of torture
abridged copy, abstract
excerpt, abstract
poetry anthology
deferment; stationary unit
to look steadily at
to set in place, to install
clumsy, inferior
crude, unskilled
clumsy, poor
investigation (police)
search
to search for
Practice
Test yourself on this lesson's kanji.