Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Tools & Weapons

判: judgement, judgment

Also: signature, stamp, seal

JLPT N37 strokesGrade 5Your ink: 白 Not met

刂 carries the meaning · 半 gives the sound

7 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

ハンhan · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 判はんstamp [n.]
  • 判事はんじjudge [n.]
  • 判決はんけつjudicial decision
  • 判断するはんだんするjudge, decipher
  • 判明するはんめいするprove, turn out
  • 批判するひはんするcriticize

バンban · on'yomi

  • 評判ひょうばんreputation
  • 裁判さいばんtrial
  • 裁判所さいばんしょcourt

Also read わかる, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Origin · sourced

Phono-semantic compound (形聲)半 (sound) + 刀 knife (meaning)

Source: Wiktionary, 判 (rev. 92160354), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Half (半) + knife (⺉). To take a situation and use a "knife" to cut it exactly in "half"—to make a clear judgment or decision between two sides.”
From the ⺉ knife story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
半

Also built on half (半)

判 takes the 半 family's reading, ハン (han).

刂

Also built on knife (刂)

All 27

Also read ハン

26 kanji share this on'yomiAll 26

Also read バン

8 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
判 judgement · 刂
vs伴 consort · 亻
判 has 刂 where 伴 has 亻.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · pàn

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

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

Pinyin pàn 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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