漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements
堪: withstand, endure
Also: support, resist
土 carries the meaning · 甚 gives the sound
Four readings, and the words that use each
カンkan · on'yomi · in compounds
- 堪忍袋かんにんぶくろone's store of patience
タンtan · on'yomi
- 堪能たんのうproficient; skilled; skillful
たえるtaeru · kun'yomi · on its own
- 堪えるたえるto bear; to stand; to endure
たまるtamaru · kun'yomi
- 堪らないたまらないintolerable; unbearable; unendurable
Also read こらえる, こたえる, with no example words in our sources. Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Phono-semantic compound (形聲)土 earth (meaning) + 甚 extreme, profound (sound)
Originally meaning “heavy mountain/earthen protrusion”, it later came to signify the act of “enduring” that earth's weight.
Source: Wiktionary, 堪 (rev. 93437138), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Earth (土) + exceedingly/sweet (甚/甘). It refers to the ability to withstand extreme pressure or "swallow" a difficult situation, like enduring a bittersweet fate.”
Connections
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · kān
Same form: 堪 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 堪 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 堪 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin kān most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.