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Kanji Detail for 楽 - "music, happy, to play"

楽

  • Meaning

    楽 means "music, happy, to play."

    1. Music - Musical art.

    2. To play - To make sounds; to perform.

    3. Happy - Enjoyable; to enjoy; to rejoice.

    4. To like - To love; to wish for; to seek.

    5. Easy - Simple; comfortable; free from physical or mental pain.

  • Words using 楽

    • 音楽 おんがく Listen music
    • 楽器 がっき Listen musical instrument
    • 能楽 のうがく Listen noh play
    • 倶楽部 クラブ Listen club; fraternity; sorority
    • 楽観 らっかん Listen optimism; taking an optimistic view
    • 声楽 せいがく Listen vocal music
    • 楽観的 らっかんてき Listen optimistic; hopeful
    • 気楽 きらく Listen carefree; comfortable; at ease

  • Four-character idioms with 楽

    • 喜怒哀楽 きどあいらく Listen human emotions (joy, anger, grief and pleasure); feelings
    • 先憂後楽 せんゆうこうらく Listen worrying before one's people worry, enjoying oneself only after one's people have enjoyed themselves (a precept to be observed by a ruler)
    • 寂滅為楽 じゃくめついらく Listen freedom from one's desires (entry into Nirvana) is true bliss
    • 幸災楽禍 こうさいらくか Listen delighting in the misfortune of others
    • 抜苦与楽 ばっくよらく Listen a Buddha or Bodhisattva taking away suffering and conferring peace
    • 極楽往生 ごくらくおうじょう Listen rebirth in paradise; peaceful death

  • Origin of 楽

    A pictograph of a musical instrument: wood 木 strung and bodied (the white drum 白 at its centre), read gaku for music and raku for ease — pleasure and music sharing one shape from the start.

    How to remember it: Strings and a drum on a wooden stand — the instrument itself: music, and the ease it brings.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 楽

    • Verified meaning: music, happy, to play
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read えでん, がく, この, このみ)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 楽

    Given names 楽(えでん)Listen 楽(この)Listen 楽(このみ)Listen 楽(ささ)Listen 楽(たのし)Listen 楽(のの)Listen 楽(らく)Listen

    Surnames 楽(がく)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    music; comfort; ease

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    happy, glad; enjoyable; music

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    Japanese variant of 樂|乐[le4]

  • Onyomi

    tip

    gaku(ガク) ガク

    goh(ゴウ) ゴウ

    raku(ラク) ラク

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    kono.mu(この-む) この-む

    tano.shii(たの-しい) たの-しい

    tano.shimu(たの-しむ) たの-しむ

  • Strokes

    tip

    13 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    木 (ki・kihen)

  • Related Keywords

    music to play happy ease easy enjoyment fun comfort amusement bliss cheerful composition content delight entertainment glad happiness harmony joyful leisure melody merriment merry pleasure relaxation rhythm

Sentences including 楽

  • It's always delightful to see you.

  • My mother loves music.

  • He lives for nothing but pleasure.

  • He became a great musician.

  • The boy enjoyed painting a picture.

  • I have no ear for music.

  • It will do you good to have a holiday.

  • We enjoyed our holidays to the full.

  • We enjoyed the dinner to the full.

  • They were not listening to music.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 木 (ki・kihen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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