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Kanji Detail for 剣 - "sword, swordsmanship"

剣

  • Meaning

    剣 means "sword, swordsmanship." Also associated with martial arts.

    1. Sword - A blade with edges on both sides.

    2. Swordsmanship - The martial art of using swords.

  • Words using 剣

    • 剣道 けんどう Listen kendo; Japanese martial art using bamboo swords
    • 剣士 けんし Listen swordsman; swordswoman; fencer
    • 真剣 しんけん Listen serious; earnest; real sword (as opposed to a wooden practice weapon)

  • Four-character idioms with 剣

    • 剣林弾雨 けんりんだんう Listen fierce battle; intense combat
    • 真剣勝負 しんけんしょうぶ Listen fighting with real swords; game played in real earnest

  • Origin of 剣

    僉, "all together", lending the reading ken, beside the blade radical 刂 (the old form is 劍): the double-edged straight sword — the blade that cuts on every side.

    How to remember it: A blade 刂 that gathers everything 僉 to its point — the double-edged sword of legend.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 剣

    • Verified meaning: sword, swordsmanship
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read けん, けんざき, つるぎ, まやか)
    • Also carries these associations: martial arts

    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 剣

    Given names 剣(けん)Listen 剣(つるぎ)Listen 剣(まやか)Listen

    Surnames 剣(けんざき)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

    sabre; sword; blade; clock hand

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    sword, dagger, saber

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    Japanese variant of 劍|剑

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ken(ケン) ケン

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    tsurugi(つるぎ) つるぎ

  • Strokes

    tip

    10 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    刀 刂 (katana・ritto)

  • Related Keywords

    sword swordsmanship martial arts blade katana steel edge cut sharp fencing dueling hilt scabbard samurai combat battle guard parry point

Sentences including 剣

  • I'm serious about my job.

  • Let's have a serious talk about your future.

  • I studied really hard so as to pass the exam.

  • We call the mountain tsurugidake.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 刀 刂 (katana・ritto)

See all kanji with this radical →

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