Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Tools & Weapons

剣: sabre, sword

Also: blade, clock hand

JLPT N110 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

刂 carries the meaning · 㑒 gives the sound

10 strokes

One reading, and the words that use it

ケンken · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 剣けんsword (esp. a large, double-edged one)
  • 剣道けんどうkendo
  • 剣士けんしswordsman; swordswoman; fencer
  • 真剣しんけんserious; earnest
  • 刀剣とうけん
  • 銃剣じゅうけんbayonet

Also read つるぎ, with no example words in our sources. Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Slice through it! This "standing knife" radical is all about precision and force.”
More in the ⺉ knife story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
㑒

Also built on 㑒

刂

Also built on knife (刂)

All 27

Also read ケン

39 kanji share this on'yomiAll 39

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
剣 sabre · 刂
vs倹 frugal · 亻
剣 has 刂 where 倹 has 亻.
In ChineseSimplified 剑 · traditional 劍 · jiàn

Three different forms: Japanese 剣, simplified 剑, traditional 劍.

Simplified
剑 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
劍 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin jiàn 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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