Share this link via
Or copy link
Kanji for Knowledge
The kanji most commonly used for "Knowledge" are 識、知、智.
識
Kanji that mean Knowledge
識 is knowledge as the faculty of knowing and telling things apart, rather than a store of facts. It is the second half of 知識 (knowledge), and the sense of discernment shows in 認識 (recognition, cognition), 意識 (consciousness) and 常識 (common sense).
The character it is normally paired with is 知, to know. 知 is the plain verb — 知る, to come to know — and 知識 puts the two together. If you want a single character that an ordinary reader takes as knowledge, 知 is the more direct one; 識 is bookish and rarely stands by itself in modern Japanese.
智 is the third of the family: wisdom, intellect, knowledge that has hardened into judgment. It is common in given names, read Tomo or Satoshi, where 識 is not. Choose 知 for knowing, 識 for discernment, 智 for wisdom.
Before you use Knowledge kanji
識 is accurate but reads as a component of longer words rather than a word itself, so alone it can look unfinished. If you want knowledge as a single character, 知 is clearer; the two-character 知識 is unambiguous to any reader.