Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Tools & Weapons

冠: crown, best

Also: peerless

JLPT N19 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

冖 and 寸 carry the meaning · 元 gives the sound

9 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

カンkan · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 栄冠えいかんcrown of victory; laurels
  • 三冠馬さんかんばwinner of Japan's three main horse races
  • 冠婚葬祭かんこんそうさいimportant ceremonial occasions in family…
  • 冠水かんすいbeing covered with water (i.e. in a flood)
  • 王冠おうかんcrown; diadem

かんむりkanmuri · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 冠かんむりtraditional cap worn by Shinto clergy and…

Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Origin · sourced

Phono-semantic compound (形聲)冖 hat (meaning) + 元 head (sound) + 寸 hand (meaning)

A hand putting a hat on the head.

Source: Wiktionary, 冠 (rev. 92199969), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Cover (冖) + source + inch/law. A formal "covering" for the head that follows traditional "law"—the literal image of a "crown."”
From the 冖 cover story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
冖

Also built on cover (冖)

All 21
元

Also built on beginning (元)

冠 takes the 元 family's reading, カン (kan).

寸

Also built on inch (寸)

All 24

Also read カン

51 kanji share this on'yomiAll 51

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
冠 crown · 冖 + 寸
vs完 perfect · 宀
冠 has 冖 + 寸 where 完 has 宀.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · guān

Same form: 冠 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
冠 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
冠 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin guān most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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