Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

磨: grind, polish

Also: scour, improve, brush (teeth)

JLPT N216 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

石 carries the meaning · 麻 gives the sound

16 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

マma · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 研磨するけんまするgrind, polish, study
  • 琢磨たくまpolish (jewels); cultivation

みがくmigaku · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 磨くみがくpolish, shine, refine, improve
  • 靴磨きくつみがきshoe polishing
  • 磨きみがきpolish; burnishing
  • 歯磨きはみがき

Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.

  • 達磨だるまdaruma, daruma doll

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

“Imagine walking along a steep cliff and discovering a solid, square stone lying at the bottom. This is the essence of hardness and durability.”
More in the 石 stone story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
麻

Also built on hemp (麻)

磨 takes the 麻 family's reading, マ (ma).

石

Also built on stone (石)

All 20

Also read マ

5 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
磨 grind · 石
vs麿 I · 呂
磨 has 石 where 麿 has 呂.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · mó

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

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

Pinyin mó 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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