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Kanji Detail for 甘 - "sweet, lenient"

甘

  • Meaning

    甘 means "sweet, lenient." Also associated with to accept.

    1. Sweet - Sweetness; one of the five tastes.

    2. Lenient - Loose; not strict; dull.

    3. To accept - To be content; to be satisfied; to resign oneself to.

    4. Delicious - Tasty; pleasant; good.

    5. To enjoy - To find tasty; to appreciate.

    6. Not strict - Insufficient; not thorough.

  • Words using 甘

    • 甘い あまい Listen sweet-tasting; sweet; sugary
    • 甘え あまえ Listen overdependence (on others; usu. one's fosterers or seniors); lack of self-reliance; presumed acceptance (of one's behaviour)
    • 甘味 あまみ Listen sweetness; sugary taste; sweets
    • 甘える あまえる Listen to behave like a spoiled child; to fawn on; to take advantage of
    • 甘やかす あまやかす Listen to pamper; to spoil

  • Four-character idioms with 甘

    • 甘言蜜語 かんげんみつご Listen honeyed words; flattery
    • 辛酸甘苦 しんさんかんく Listen hardships and joys; tasting the sweets and bitters of life; being well-versed in the ways of the world (having seen much of life)

  • Tattoo check: 甘

    • Verified meaning: sweet, lenient
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read いくしま, いくじま, いくた, いくだ)
    • Also carries these associations: to accept

    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 甘

    Surnames 甘(いくしま)Listen 甘(いくじま)Listen 甘(いくた)Listen 甘(いくだ)Listen 甘(かん)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    sweet; coax; pamper; be content; sugary

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    sweetness; sweet, tasty

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    surname Gan; abbr. for Gansu Province 甘肅省|甘肃省[Gan1 su4 Sheng3]

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    sweet, tasty; willing

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Sweet taste. | All delicious foods are called 甘. Such as 肥甘 (rich and sweet), 甘旨 (delicious). What the heart desires is called 甘. Such as saying 甘為人下 (willing to be under others), 甘居人後 (willing to stay behind others).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    kan(カン) カン

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    ama.eru(あま-える) あま-える

    ama.i(あま-い) あま-い

    ama.yakasu(あま-やかす) あま-やかす

    umai(うま-い) うま-い

  • Strokes

    tip

    5 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    甘 (amai・kan)

  • Related Keywords

    sweet lenient to accept to enjoy appealing delicious insufficient lax mild pleasant pleasing satisfied tasteful yielding sugary gentle soft honey candy agreeable content indulgent loose not strict

Sentences including 甘

  • The girl played the baby to her mother.

  • Your view is too optimistic.

  • He is unrealistic.

  • He likes sweets.

  • He's a pushover.

  • This cake is sweet.

  • The teacher grades easily.

  • I want something sweet to eat.

  • My sister likes sweets.

  • Don't spoil the children.

More kanji with the radical 甘 (amai・kan)

See all kanji with this radical →

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