Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Action & Movement

説: opinion, theory

Also: explanation, rumor

JLPT N314 strokesGrade 4Your ink: 白 Not met

言 carries the meaning · 兌 gives the sound

14 strokes

Three readings, and the words that use each

セツsetsu · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 説明するせつめいするexplain
  • 説得するせっとくするpersuade
  • 説教するせっきょうするpreach, sermon
  • 解説するかいせつするgive commentary
  • 演説するえんぜつするgive a speech
  • 小説しょうせつnovel [n.]
  • 小説家しょうせつかnovelist
  • 仮説かせつhypothesis
  • 社説しゃせつeditorial

ゼイzei · on'yomi

  • 遊説するゆうぜいするcampaign (for an election)

とくtoku · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 説くとくpreach, persuade

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)言 (meaning) + 兌 (sound)

Source: Wiktionary, 說 (rev. 92201762), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Words flowing from the heart and into the world! The lines radiating upward show the power of the voice as it leaves the mouth.”
More in the 言 speech story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
言

Also built on speech (言)

All 72
兌

Also built on 兌

The 兌 family reads エツ (etsu); 説 is read セツ、ゼイ.

Also read セツ

11 kanji share this on'yomi

Also read ゼイ

2 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
説 opinion · 兌
vs誤 mistake · 呉
説 has 兌 where 誤 has 呉.
In ChineseSimplified 说 · traditional 說 · shuō

Three different forms: Japanese 説, simplified 说, traditional 說.

Simplified
说 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
說 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin shuō 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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