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Kanji Detail for 口 - "mouth, entrance, to speak"

口

  • Meaning

    口 means "mouth, entrance, to speak."

    1. Mouth - The organ for eating and speaking.

    2. Entrance - A place where people or things enter and exit.

    3. To speak - To say something; to utter; those words.

    4. Counter - A word for counting people or households.

    5. Personally - By one's own mouth; in one's own words.

    6. Counter for swords - A word for counting blades.

    7. Portion - A unit for counting divided things (e.g., donations per portion).

    8. Type - Classification of things; variety (e.g., sweet type, different type).

    9. Employment - A place of work; also, a marriage prospect.

    10. Beginning - The start of something; the edge.

  • Words using 口

    • 人口 じんこう Listen population; common talk
    • 窓口 まどぐち Listen counter; window; teller window
    • 口座 こうざ Listen account (e.g. bank)
    • 大口 おおぐち Listen big mouth; mouth opened wide; boastful speech
    • 出口 でぐち Listen exit; way out; outlet
    • 口調 くちょう Listen tone (of voice); manner of talking
    • 河口 かこう Listen mouth of river; estuary
    • 手口 てぐち Listen modus operandi; criminal technique; trick

  • Four-character idioms with 口

    • 異口同音 いくどうおん Listen (saying) with one voice; unanimously; in chorus
    • 悪口雑言 あっこうぞうごん Listen all kinds of malicious gossip; heaping verbal abuse (on); cursing and swearing (words)
    • 衆口一致 しゅうこういっち Listen speaking with one voice; being unanimous
    • 金口木舌 きんこうぼくぜつ Listen (public) opinion leader
    • 閉口頓首 へいこうとんしゅ Listen being at a complete loss as to what to do; being at one's wit's end; being at a loss for an answer
    • 開口一番 かいこういちばん Listen at the very beginning of one's speech; immediately upon opening one's mouth (to speak); before anything else

  • Origin of 口

    A pictograph of an open mouth — the simplest opening in the script, which is why it also serves for gates, exits and population (mouths to feed).

    How to remember it: An open mouth: box empty, ready to speak, eat or count heads.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 口

    • Verified meaning: mouth, entrance, to speak
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read くち, くちだ, さきくち, はまのぐち)

    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 口

    Surnames 口(くち)Listen 口(くちだ)Listen 口(さきくち)Listen 口(はまのぐち)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    mouth

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    mouth; open end; entrance, gate

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc); classifier for bites or mouthfuls

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    mouth; entrance, gate, opening

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

    An organ of the human body. Used for speech and eating. In household registration law, counting the population: one household is called 一戶, one person is called 一口. Hence 戶口 (households). Adults are called 丁口. | An important passage for entry and exit. All passes in the Great Wall are called 口. Beyond the passes is also called 口外. Under the old penal law, those exiled all went beyond the passes, hence also called 出口.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    koh(コウ) コウ

    ku(ク) ク

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    kuchi(くち) くち

  • Strokes

    tip

    3 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    口 (kuchi・kuchihen)

  • Related Keywords

    mouth entrance to speak beginning counter employment personally portion unit of measurement opening breathe cavity chew drink express gateway language lips orifice portal say shout sing speech swallow talk taste

Sentences including 口

  • Mind your own business !

  • I opened my account with the bank.

  • Don't speak with your mouth full.

  • How dare you speak to me like that?

  • He is very clever for a boy of ten.

  • Mind your own business !

  • The boy entered by the back door.

  • Don't say bad things about others.

  • She knows better than to answer back to him.

  • He bought his way into college.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 口 (kuchi・kuchihen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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