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Kanji for Language

The kanji most commonly used for "Language" are 語、言、舌.

Kanji that mean Language

  • word, language, to narrate

    Onyomi: go Kunyomi: kata.rau, kata.ru 14 strokes Jōyō

  • word

    Also associated with to speak, here.

    Onyomi: gen, gon Kunyomi: i.u, koto 7 strokes Jōyō

  • tongue, language, words

    Onyomi: zetsu Kunyomi: shita 6 strokes Jōyō

語 is the character for language in the sense of a named tongue. Every language name uses it — 日本語, 英語, 中国語 — and the general term 言語 is built on it. Its other life is as a verb: 語る means to tell or relate, which gives 物語, a tale. At smaller scale it also means word: 単語 (a vocabulary item), 語彙 (vocabulary).

言 is the character of speech and of words as such. 言葉 (kotoba) is the ordinary Japanese word for word or language, and 発言 is a statement or remark. 言 is the first half of 言語 and is the character most people are reaching for when they want ‘words’.

舌 is the tongue as the organ in your mouth. It reaches language only through the same metaphor English uses in ‘a sharp tongue’, which is precisely 毒舌 in Japanese. Written alone it is anatomical, not linguistic.

Before you use Language kanji

語 is the safe character for language, though alone it reads slightly incomplete — Japanese readers expect it attached, as in 日本語. 舌 will simply be read as the body part. If you want words themselves rather than a language, 言葉 is the plain choice.

Other meanings to explore

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