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Kanji for Talk

The kanji most commonly used for "Talk" are 話、談、喋.

Kanji that mean Talk

  • talk, to speak, rumor

    Onyomi: wa Kunyomi: hana.su, hanashi 13 strokes Jōyō

  • to talk, to discuss, story

    Onyomi: dan 15 strokes Jōyō

  • chatter, speak

    Also associated with peck.

    Onyomi: choh, toh Kunyomi: shabe.ru, tsuiba.mu 12 strokes Jinmeiyō

話 is talk in every ordinary sense — to speak, and also a story or a tale. 会話 is conversation, 電話 the telephone, 話題 a topic, and hanashi alone means a story or the matter under discussion. This is the character for talking as an everyday act.

談 is talk with a purpose, and usually more than one party to it: to discuss, to confer. 相談 is consulting someone about a problem, 会談 formal talks between leaders, 対談 a published two-person discussion. Where 話 can be idle, 談 implies the conversation is going somewhere.

喋 is chatter — 喋る, to talk away, and おしゃべり for chatting or a chatterbox. In practice it is usually written in kana rather than with the character, and it has a light, faintly unserious tone that the other two do not.

Before you use Talk kanji

話 is the neutral choice and is read by everyone. 談 will read as formal discussion — accurate, but it sounds institutional. Avoid 喋 unless you want the sense of prattling; it is the character behind おしゃべり and suggests talking too much.

Other meanings to explore

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