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One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.
The kanji most commonly used for "Talk" are 話、談、喋.
話
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.
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.
What is Onyomi?
Onyomi, also known as the "Sino-Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is derived from the original Chinese pronunciation.
What is Kunyomi?
Kunyomi, also known as the "native Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is based on the native Japanese pronunciation. Kunyomi readings are often used when a kanji character stands alone or is followed by hiragana, as in verbs and adjectives. Mastering both kunyomi and onyomi is crucial for understanding and using kanji effectively in the Japanese language.
What is Radical?
A radical, also known as "bushu" in Japanese, is a fundamental component of kanji characters. Radicals are the building blocks of kanji and are used to categorize and organize them in dictionaries. There are 214 traditional radicals, each with its own meaning, which often provides a clue to the meaning of the kanji character it forms.
What is strokes?
Stroke count, or "kakusuu" in Japanese, refers to the number of individual brushstrokes required to write a kanji character. Each kanji has a specific stroke order and stroke count, which are essential for writing the character correctly and legibly. Understanding and following the correct stroke order not only ensures proper balance and aesthetics but also makes writing more efficient and fluid.