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Kanji Detail for 言 - "word"

言

  • Meaning

    言 means "word." Also associated with to speak, here.

    1. To speak - To talk; to utter words.

    2. Word - Words; language expressing meaning.

    3. I - A word referring to oneself.

    4. Here - A word to adjust the tone.

    5. Careful - "Gingin" means a cautious manner.

  • Words using 言

    • 宣言 せんげん Listen declaration; proclamation; announcement
    • 発言 はつげん Listen statement; remark; observation
    • 証言 しょうげん Listen testimony; (verbal) evidence
    • 提言 ていげん Listen proposal; motion; recommendation
    • 言語 げんご Listen language
    • 一言 ひとこと Listen single word; a few words; brief comment
    • 狂言 きょうげん Listen kyogen; farce presented between noh plays or during the interlude of a noh play; kabuki play
    • 言論 げんろん Listen (one's) speech; expression of views; discussion

  • Four-character idioms with 言

    • 言語道断 ごんごどうだん Listen outrageous; preposterous; scandalous
    • 一言一句 いちごんいっく Listen every single word and phrase; word by word
    • 一言一行 いちげんいっこう Listen every word and act; just a word or an act
    • 一言半句 いちげんはんく Listen a single word; (not even) a word; (not even) a syllable
    • 一言居士 いちげんこじ Listen person who is ready to comment on every subject; ready critic
    • 三百代言 さんびゃくだいげん Listen pettifogging lawyer; unscrupulous or unethical lawyer; shyster

  • Tattoo check: 言

    • Verified meaning: word
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read げん, こと, ことは, ことば)
    • Also carries these associations: to speak, here

    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 言

    Given names 言(げん)Listen 言(こと)Listen 言(ことは)Listen 言(ことば)Listen 言(ごん)Listen

    Surnames 言(さちよ)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

    say; word

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    words; speech; to say; to talk

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    words, speech; to speak, to say

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

    What the mouth emits to express meaning. Speaking oneself is called 言. Answering is called 語. | One sentence of text is called 一言 (one word). The Analects says "One word to cover it all." Also one character is also called 一言. Such as in poetry, five-character and seven-character verses.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    gen(ゲン) ゲン

    gon(ゴン) ゴン

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    i.u(い-う) い-う

    koto(こと) こと

  • Strokes

    tip

    7 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    言 (gen・gomben・kotoba)

  • Related Keywords

    to speak word here careful I language speech talk say remark statement declaration utter articulate discourse narration dialogue conversation communicate

Sentences including 言

  • Do it as you are told.

  • That being the case , he had little to say.

  • What he says is true.

  • You don't have to pay attention to what he says.

  • He is sincere about what he says.

  • I doubt the truth of his statement.

  • Listen to me , will you?

  • That's why i told you not to go by yourself.

  • My boss says one thing and means another.

  • Her words gave me hope.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 言 (gen・gomben・kotoba)

See all kanji with this radical →

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