2001-2500 of 2500 Kanji

🌏 public list

2,500 kanji ordered in a list that expresses the relative frequency of occurence of a character in the modern Japanese. The survey is based on newspaper articles.

訃【ふ】 news of someone's death
贅【ぜい】 extravagance; luxury
鍼【はり】 (acupuncture) needle / acupuncture
魏【ぎ】 Wei; Cao Wei; kingdom in China during the Three Kingdoms period (220-266) / Wei; kingdom in China during the Warring States period (403-225 BCE)
がん《雁》 wild goose / glans; head of a penis
万【まん】 10,000; ten thousand / myriad / everything; all / various
たで《蓼》 knotweed (Polygonaceae); jointweed; smartweed / water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper)
芸【げい】 art; craft; accomplishment; artistic skill; technique; performance
ほしいまま《恣》 selfish; self-indulgent; arbitrary
ひのき《檜》 hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa); Japanese cypress
檄【げき】 (written) appeal; circular; manifesto / encouragement; encouraging words; letter of encouragement
鞠【まり】 ball (for sport, games, etc.) / kemari; type of football played by courtiers in ancient Japan
うがい《嗽》 gargling; rinsing one's mouth
甕【かめ】 earthenware pot
甦【よみがえ】 resurrection
こぶ《瘤》 bump; lump; protuberance; swelling
磯【いそ】 (rocky) beach; seashore
笏【しゃく】 shaku (flat wooden or ivory baton carried in the right hand when in ceremonial imperial or Shinto garb)
琴【こと】 koto (13-stringed Japanese zither) / stringed instrument / zheng (Chinese zither); guzheng
簗【やな】 (fish) weir; fish trap
絆【きずな】 bonds (between people); (emotional) ties; relationship; connection; link / tether; fetters
綺【き】 thin twilled silk fabric
胚【はい】 embryo; germ (e.g. wheat germ)
膠【にかわ】 glue (usu. from animal and fish bone, skin, etc.)
かど《廉》 charge; grounds; suspicion
呂【りょ】 bass range (in Japanese music) / six even-numbered notes of the ancient chromatic scale / Japanese seven-tone gagaku scale similar to Mixolydian mode (corresp. to: re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do)
楼【ろう】 tower; tall building; turret; lookout; belvedere
牢【ろう】 prison; jail; gaol
おおかみ《狼》 wolf (Canis lupus) / wolf in sheep's clothing; womanizer
かご《籠》 basket (shopping, etc.); hamper; cage
ふもと《麓》 foot (of a mountain or hill); bottom; base
禄【ろく】 stipend; reward
和【わ】 sum / harmony; peace / Japan; Japanese-style
いびつ《歪》 distorted; crooked; irregular; warped / oval; elliptical shape / round, wooden container for cooked rice / oval coin
わら《藁》 straw
蕨【わらび】 bracken
丼【どんぶり】 porcelain bowl / bowl of rice with food on top
冤【えん】 false charge; false accusation
囃子【はやし】 accompaniment for traditional performances (noh, kabuki, etc.); orchestra; band
尹【いん】 director (of the ritsuryo-period Imperial Prosecuting and Investigating Office)
塀【へい】 wall / fence
岳【たけ】 peak / mountain
遼【りょう】 Liao (dynasty, 916-1125 CE); Khitan Empire
うろこ《鱗》 scale (of fish, snake, etc.) / serif (on kana or kanji (e.g. in Mincho font))
あい《藍》 dyer's knotweed (Persicaria tinctoria, used to produce indigo dye) / indigo (dye) / indigo (colour)
梁【はり】 beam; joist
稜【りょう】 edge; angle / ridge (e.g. of a mountain)
窯【かま】 stove; furnace; kiln
庸【よう】 tax paid to avoid forced labor (ritsuryo period)
おおざと《邑》 kanji "large village" radical at right (radical 163)
ゆず《柚》 yuzu (Citrus ichangensis x C. reticulata)
藪【やぶ】 thicket; bush; grove; scrub / (medical) quack
儲け【もうけ】 profit; earnings
もち《餅》 mochi; (sticky) rice cake
厄【やく】 misfortune; bad luck; evil; disaster
蒙【もう】 ignorance / covering; concealing / Mongolia
めす《雌》 female (animal)
麺【めん】 noodles / flour
巳【み】 sixth sign of the Chinese zodiac (The Serpent, 9am-11am, south-southeast, April)
箕【き】 Chinese "winnowing basket" constellation (one of the 28 mansions)
蜜【みつ】 nectar / honey / honeydew / treacle; molasses / sorbitol (when visible as dark patches inside an apple)
港【みなと】 harbour; harbor; port
婿【むこ】 husband; groom / (one's) son-in-law
枕【まくら】 pillow; bolster / introduction (e.g. to a rakugo story); lead-in
ます《鱒》 trout; sea trout
升【ます】 measuring container; measure / box (seating at a theatre, etc.) / square on a grid; cell of a grid / square bearing block (at the top of a pillar)
繭【まゆ】 cocoon
峰【みね】 peak; summit; ridge; top / back of a blade
友【とも】 friend; companion; comrade; pal
蜂【はち】 bee; wasp; hornet
鳳【ほう】 feng (male Chinese firebird)
某【ぼう】 certain; one
矛【ほこ】 long-handled Chinese spear; lance; pike / weapon; arms / grip of a bow / parade float decorated with long-handled Chinese spears
頬【ほお】 cheek (of face)
青【あお】 blue; azure / green / green light (traffic) / black (horse coat color) / immature; unripe; young
編【へん】 compilation (of a text); editing / volume (of a text) / completed literary work
侮【ぶ】 (something) despised; (something) made light of
糞【くそ】 bullshit; shit; damn / feces; excrement; dung / damn; damned; blasted; stupid / very; extremely / a lot
箸【はし】 chopsticks
話【はなし】 talk; speech; chat; story; conversation / discussions; negotiation; argument
はやぶさ《隼》 falcon (esp. the peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus)
ぶち《斑》 spots; speckles; mottles
汎【はん】 pan-
あたり《辺り》 on the bank of; by the side of (e.g. a river, pond) / (in the) neighbourhood; neighborhood; vicinity; nearby / around (Sunday, last year, etc...) / for instance
煩【はん】 trouble
赤【あか】 red; crimson; scarlet / red-containing colour (e.g. brown, pink, orange) / Red (i.e. communist) / red light (traffic) / red ink (i.e. in finance or proof-reading); (in) the red / complete; total; perfect; obvious / copper
眉【まゆ】 eyebrow; eyebrows
膝【ひざ】 knee / lap; knee and thigh (while sitting)
ひのき《檜》 hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa); Japanese cypress
廟【びょう】 mausoleum / shrine / the (imperial) court
ひる《蛭》 leech
匂い【におい】 odour; odor; scent; smell; stench / aura; whiff; smacks of ...; sense; flavour; flavor
虹【にじ】 rainbow
にら《韮》 Chinese chive; garlic chive (Allium tuberosum)
巴【ともえ】 tomoe; heraldic design composed of two or more interlocked comma-shaped figures
ばば《婆》 old woman / joker (card) / hag; bitch
牌【パイ】 tile
瞳【ひとみ】 pupil (of eye) / eye
匿【とく】 shelter; shield; hide
でこ《凸》 brow; forehead / bump
苫【とま】 woven mat (of sedge, hay, etc.)
酉【とり】 tenth sign of the Chinese zodiac (The Bird, 5pm-7pm, west, August)
謎【なぞ】 riddle; puzzle; enigma; mystery / enigmatic; mysterious
なら《楢》 oak (esp. Quercus serrata)
灯【とう】 light; lamp / counter for electric lights
森【もり】 forest / shrine grove
帖【じょう】 folding book / counter for units of paper and nori (48 pages of Mino paper; 20 pages of hanshi; 10 sheets of nori) / counter for folding books, folding screens, shields, etc. / counter for pairs of curtains / counter for tatami mats
蝶【ちょう】 butterfly
勅【ちょく】 imperial decree; imperial edict
槌【つち】 hammer; mallet; sledge(hammer); gavel
けやき《欅》 Japanese zelkova (species of elm-like tree, Zelkowa serrata)
佃【つくだ】 cultivated rice field
つた《蔦》 ivy (esp. Boston ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata)
綴り【つづり】 spelling / orthography / patching; binding
壺【つぼ】 jar; pot; vase / dice cup / depression (i.e. the basin of a waterfall) / target (when aiming an arrow) / (figurative) bull's-eye / key point (of a conversation, etc.) / acupuncture point; moxibustion point / nodes on a fingerboard (of a shamisen, etc.)
爪【つめ】 nail (e.g. fingernail, toenail); claw; talon; hoof / plectrum; pick / hook; clasp
悌【てい】 respect for one's elders / harmony among siblings
挺【ちょう】 counter for long and narrow things such as guns, scissors, spades, hoes, inksticks, palanquins, candles, jinrikishas, shamisen, oars, etc.
はしご《梯子》 ladder / stairs / going to several places in succession (e.g. barhopping)
ひづめ《蹄》 hoof
釘【くぎ】 nail (i.e. small metal spike)
滴【しずく】 drop (e.g. of water); drip
轍【わだち】 rut; wheel track; furrow
凧【たこ】 kite
ただ《唯》 ordinary; common; usual / free of charge / unaffected; as is; safe / only; merely; just; simply / but; however; nevertheless
ただ《唯》 ordinary; common; usual / free of charge / unaffected; as is; safe / only; merely; just; simply / but; however; nevertheless
巽【そん】 xun (one of the trigrams of the I Ching: wind, southeast)
縦【たて】 the vertical; height / front-to-back; length / north-to-south / vertical (relationship); hierarchy / (weaving) warp
たぬき《狸》 tanuki (Nyctereutes procyonoides); raccoon dog / sly dog; sly old fox; sly fox; cunning devil; craftiness; sly person; someone who makes evil plans without ever breaking their poker face
眉墨【まゆずみ】 eyebrow pencil / blackened eyebrows / (metaphorically) distant mountain range
たい《鯛》 sea bream (Sparidae); porgy / tai (species of reddish-brown Pacific sea bream, Pagrus major)
舵【かじ】 rudder; helm
堆【たい】 bank (river, lake)
宋【そう】 Song (dynasty of China)
槍【やり】 spear; lance / javelin / lance / jeering
綜【あぜ】 warp controller (on a loom)
青【あお】 blue; azure / green / green light (traffic) / black (horse coat color) / immature; unripe; young
藻【も】 algae; waterweed; seaweed; duckweed
霜【しも】 frost
仇【あだ】 foe; enemy; rival / resentment; enmity; grudge / harm; injury
草むら【くさむら】 the grass; grassy place (esp. with long dense grass)
背【せ】 back; spine / reverse; rear side / height; stature / ridge (of a mountain)
こすみ《尖み》 diagonal move (in the game of go)
栓【せん】 stopper; cork; stopcock
煎【せん】 infusing (tea); infusion
舞脚【まいあし】 kanji "dancing legs" radical (radical 136)
やや《稍》 a little; partially; somewhat; slightly; semi-; -ish; on the ... side; a short time; a while
膳【ぜん】 small dining table (usu. for a single person); serving tray (with legs) / meal; food; serving / counter for bowlfuls of rice; counter for pairs of chopsticks
租【そ】 rice tax (ritsuryo system); rice levy; tax on rice fields / annual tribute; annual tax
ひよこ《雛》 young bird; chick / hina doll; doll displayed during the Girls' Festival / green; wet behind the ears; juvenile
杉【すぎ】 Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica)
裾【すそ】 hem; (trouser) cuff; shirttail / bottom edge / foot (of a mountain) / tips (of hair) / downstream
畝【うね】 ridge (in field); row of raised earth when planting crops / rib (cloth, mountains, sea); cord (e.g. corduroy)
厨【くりや】 kitchen
帥【そち】 director of the Dazaifu
緑【みどり】 green / greenery (esp. fresh verdure)
杖【つえ】 cane; walking stick; staff; wand
穣【じょう】 10^28; ten octillion
はしばみ《榛》 Asian hazel (Corylus heterophylla var. thunbergii); Siberian hazel
芯【しん】 wick; marrow; staple (for stapler); (pencil) lead; stuffing; pith / core; heart; centre; center
薪【まき】 firewood; kindling; fuel / piece(s) of firewood
壬【じん】 9th in rank; ninth sign of the Chinese calendar
嬢【じょう】 unmarried woman / Miss / -ess; -ette
渚【なぎさ】 water's edge; beach; shore
升【ます】 measuring container; measure / box (seating at a theatre, etc.) / square on a grid; cell of a grid / square bearing block (at the top of a pillar)
宵【よい】 evening; early night hours
抄【しょう】 excerpt; extract / annotation / shou (unit of volume, approx. 1.8 ml)
くすのき《樟》 camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora); camphorwood; camphor laurel
勅【ちょく】 imperial decree; imperial edict
醤【ひしお】 paste similar to miso made from koji mold and salt water / watery mash left over from making soy sauce
鍾【しょう】 round bronze jar used for storing alcohol (Han dynasty China)
醜【しゅう】 ugliness
儒【じゅ】 Confucianism; Confucianist; Chinese scholar
呪【じゅ】 spell; curse / dharani; mantra
腫【しゅ】 tumor; tumour
酌【しゃく】 pouring alcohol; person pouring alcohol
すず《錫》 tin (Sn)
縞【しま】 stripe; bar; streak
潮【しお】 tide; current / sea water / opportunity; chance / thin soup of fish or shellfish boiled in seawater
肉【にく】 flesh / meat / the physical body (as opposed to the spirit) / thickness / ink pad
滴【しずく】 drop (e.g. of water); drip
しっ《叱》 shh!; sh! / shoo!
賜物【たまもの】 gift; boon / (good) result; fruit (e.g. of one's efforts)
足【あし】 foot / leg / gait / pace / bottom structural component (i.e. radical) of a kanji / means of transportation / money; coin
さめ《鮫》 shark
懸け橋【かけはし】 suspension bridge; viaduct; temporary bridge / mediation; go-between
蚕【かいこ】 silkworm (Bombyx mori)
賛【さん】 praise; tribute / inscription (on a painting)
斬【ざん】 beheading; decapitation
伺い【うかがい】 call; visit / inquiry; enquiry; question
鮭【さけ】 salmon (Salmonidae spp.) / chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)
冴え【さえ】 clearness; clarity / skillfulness (skilfulness)
榊【さかき】 sakaki (species of evergreen sacred to Shinto, Cleyera japonica) / evergreen (esp. one planted or used at a shrine)
さぎ《鷺》 heron (Ardeidae)
一日【ついたち】 first day of the month / first ten days of the lunar month
さい《犀》 rhinoceros
砦【とりで】 fort; fortress; stronghold; fortification
ひしくい《鴻》 bean goose (Anser fabalis)
堀【ほり】 moat; fosse / canal; ditch
轟【とどろ】 roaring
鵠【くぐい】 swan
高麗【こうらい】 Goryeo (dynasty of Korea; 918-1392 CE) / Korea (esp. the Goguryeo kingdom or the Goryeo dynasty) / (stone) guardian lion-dogs at Shinto shrine
こん《此》 this (indicating an item near the speaker, the action of the speaker, or the current topic)
ころ《頃》 (approximate) time; around; about; toward / suitable time (or condition) / time of year; season
杭【くい】 stake; post; pile; picket / stump
のど《喉》 throat / singing voice
坑【こう】 pit (esp. of a mine)
穴【あな】 hole / deficit; shortage; missing person (in a team, meeting, etc.) / vacancy; opening / flaw / profitable place (or item, etc.) not well known by others / upset victory (with a large payoff) / pit (of a theater) / hiding place / underbelly (of society, etc.)
巷【ちまた】 the public; the street (e.g. "word on the street") / street; district; quarters / location (e.g. of a battle); scene (e.g. of carnage) / divide (e.g. between life and death) / fork (in a road); crossroads
鯉【こい】 common carp (Cyprinus carpio); koi carp
侯【こう】 marquis; lord; daimyo
きつね《狐》 fox (esp. the red fox, Vulpes vulpes) / fox (i.e. a sly person) / soba or udon topped with deep-fried tofu / light brown; golden brown
袴【はかま】 hakama; man's formal divided skirt
股【また】 crotch; crutch; groin; thigh / fork (in a tree, road, river, etc.); tines (of a fork)
姑【しゅうとめ】 mother-in-law
弧【こ】 arc
谷【たに】 valley
茎【くき】 stalk; stem
ほたる《蛍》 firefly (Luciola cruciata); lightning bug; glowworm
首【くび】 neck / head / dismissal; discharge; firing (from a job)
倹【けん】 economizing; thriftiness; prudence; frugality
硯【すずり】 inkstone
鍵【かぎ】 key / lock
恵【え】 wisdom; enlightenment / prajñā (one of the three divisions of the noble eightfold path); wisdom
せり《芹》 Java water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica); Japanese parsley
襟【えり】 collar; lapel; neckband; neck / nape of the neck; scruff of the neck
矩【く】 quadrature
串【くし】 spit; skewer / proxy (computer server)
櫛【くし】 comb
くま《隈》 corner; nook; recess / shadow; shade / dark circles (e.g. around one's eyes)
饗【きょう】 treating someone (to food or drink); entertaining someone (as one's guest)
侠【きゃん】 tomboy; bobby soxer; flapper
卿【きょう】 Lord; Sir / state minister (under the ritsuryo system) / you (in reference to someone of lower status)
まれ《稀》 rare; seldom
橘【たちばな】 tachibana (Citrus tachibana)
杵【きね】 mallet; pestle; pounder
敵【かたき】 rival; opponent; adversary; competitor; enemy (esp. one with which there is longstanding enmity); foe / revenge / spouse
がん《癌》 cancer
偽【にせ】 imitation; fake; phony; counterfeit; forged; bogus; sham / pseudo-
がん《雁》 wild goose / glans; head of a penis
竿【さお】 rod; pole / neck (of a shamisen, etc.); shamisen / beam (i.e. the crossbar of a balance) / single line (esp. as a flying formation for geese) / penis / counter for flags (on poles); counter for long, thin Japanese sweets (e.g. youkan)
兜【かぶと】 helmet (of armor, armour); headpiece
茅【かや】 grass used for thatching; sedge used for thatching
粥【かゆ】 thin rice porridge; watery cooked rice; rice gruel; congee
棺【かん】 coffin; casket
先駆け【さきがけ】 pioneer; leader; taking the initiative; forerunner; harbinger; herald / leading an attack; charging ahead of others (towards the enemy)
かに《蟹》 crab
ふた《蓋》 cover; lid; cap
かし《樫》 evergreen oak
かし《樫》 evergreen oak
韻【いん】 rhyme
からす《烏》 crow (Corvus spp.); raven
卯【う】 fourth sign of the Chinese zodiac (The Hare, 5am-7am, east, February)
鵜【う】 cormorant (Phalacrocoracidae spp.)
丑【うし】 second sign of the Chinese zodiac (The Ox, 1am-3am, north-northeast, December)
臼【うす】 millstone; mortar
臼【うす】 millstone; mortar
嘘【うそ】 lie; fib; falsehood; untruth / mistake; error / unwise move; bad decision / No way!; Unbelievable!; Really?!
歌【うた】 song / classical Japanese poetry (esp. tanka) / modern poetry
瓜【うり】 melon; gourd
噂【うわさ】 rumour; rumor; report; hearsay; gossip; common talk
荏【え】 egoma (type of perilla); Perilla frutescens var. frutescens
餌【えさ】 (animal) feed; fodder; pet food / bait; lure; enticement
つばめ《燕》 swallow (bird of the Hirundinidae family); martin / barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) / younger man involved with an older woman
艶【つや】 gloss; luster; lustre; shine; sheen; polish / mellowness (of a voice); youthfulness (e.g. of skin) / interest; appeal; charm; color; colour; feeling / romance; love; sexiness
園【その】 garden (esp. man-made); orchard; park; plantation / place; location
おいて《於て》 at; in; on
凹【おう】 concave; hollow; sunken
翁【おう】 old man; venerable gentleman / venerable; old; father
かもめ《鴎》 common gull (Larus canus); mew gull / gull (Laridae spp.); seagull
桶【おけ】 bucket; pail; tub
おす《雄》 male (animal)
伽【とぎ】 nursing; nurse; attending; attendant; entertainer
寡婦【かふ】 widow; divorced woman not remarried; unmarried woman
災い【わざわい】 calamity; catastrophe; misfortune
蚊【か】 mosquito
牙【きば】 tusk; fang
あおい《葵》 mallow (any plant of family Malvaceae) / Asarum caulescens (species of wild ginger) / hollyhock
あかね《茜》 madder (esp. Japanese madder, Rubia argyi) / madder (red color)
あし《葦》 common reed (Phragmites australis)
あずさ《梓》 Japanese cherry birch (Betula grossa) / yellow catalpa (Catalpa ovata) / Japanese mallotus (Mallotus japonicus) / printing block / catalpa bow / catalpa medium
あゆ《鮎》 sweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis); ayu / salmon
ある《或》 a certain ...; some ...
粟【あわ】 foxtail millet (Setaria italica); Italian millet (also Hungarian, German)
庵【いおり】 hermitage; retreat
鞍【くら】 saddle
あんず《杏》 apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
恵比寿【えびす】 Ebisu; god of fishing and commerce
尉【じょう】 inspector (third highest of the four administrative ranks of the ritsuryo system) / (noh) old man / white ash (of charcoal)
これ《此れ》 this (indicating an item near the speaker, the action of the speaker, or the current topic) / this person (usu. indicating someone in one's in-group) / now / here / I (me) / certainly
かしこ《畏》 yours sincerely (used to sign off on letters); respectfully yours
一【いち】 one / best / first; foremost / beginning; start / ace (playing card) / bottom string (on a shamisen, etc.)
芋【いも】 tuber; taro; potato / yokel; bumpkin
陰【かげ】 shade; shadow / other side; back; background