Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

険: precipitous, inaccessible place

Also: impregnable position, steep place, sharp eyes

JLPT N311 strokesGrade 5Your ink: 白 Not met

⻖ carries the meaning · 㑒 gives the sound

11 strokes
  • Small seal · Qin
  • Today

Small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Two readings, and the words that use each

ケンken · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 冒険するぼうけんするgo on an adventure, take a risk
  • 探険するたんけんするexplore, go on an expedition
  • 保険ほけんinsurance
  • 険悪なけんあくなgrim, threatening
  • 危険なきけんなdangerous, hazardous

けわしいkewashii · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 険しいけわしいsteep (place), sharp (eyes)

Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 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

“Climb high! This radical represents the natural landscape of mounds, hills, and the protective physical barriers they provide for human settlements.”
More in the 阝 hill story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
⻖

Also built on hill (⻖)

All 29
㑒

Also built on 㑒

Also read ケン

39 kanji share this on'yomiAll 39

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
険 precipitous · ⻖
vs倹 frugal · 亻
険 has ⻖ where 倹 has 亻.
In ChineseSimplified 险 · traditional 險 · xiǎn

Three different forms: Japanese 険, simplified 险, traditional 險.

Simplified
险 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
險 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin xiǎn 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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