Jisho

×

8 strokes
Radical:
mouth, opening
Parts:
fate, command, decree, destiny, life, appoint
Kun:
いのち
On:
メイミョウ
Jōyō kanji, taught in grade 3
JLPT level N3
465 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Speed

Stroke order

On reading compounds

  • 命 【メイ】 order, command, decree, life, destiny, fate
  • 命運 【メイウン】 fate, destiny
  • 延命 【エンメイ】 keeping alive longer, prolonging life, life extension, life-support
  • 十月革命 【ジュウガツカクメイ】 October Revolution
  • 命婦 【ミョウブ】 title for high-ranking court ladies
  • 延命 【エンメイ】 keeping alive longer, prolonging life, life extension, life-support
  • 安心立命 【アンシンリツメイ】 spiritual peace and enlightenment, keeping an unperturbed mind through faith

Kun reading compounds

  • 命 【いのち】 life, life force, lifetime, lifespan, most important thing, foundation, core, paired tattoos of the "life" kanji on the upper arms of a man and woman (indicating unwavering love), fate, destiny, karma
  • 命からがら 【いのちからがら】 for dear life, barely escaping alive
  • 貴い命 【たっといいのち】 precious life
  • 露の命 【つゆのいのち】 life as evanescent as the dew

Readings

Mandarin Chinese (pinyin):
ming4
Korean:
myeong

Spanish

  • orden
  • mandato
  • vida

Portuguese

  • destino
  • comando
  • decreto
  • vida

French

  • destinée
  • destin
  • ordre
  • décret
  • vie
  • nommer (à un poste)
519 A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese (Florence Sakade)
416 A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese 3rd edition (Henshall, Seeley and De Groot)
394 A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall)
388 A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage
430 Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson)
387 Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill)
411 Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki)
671 Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill)
578 Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
587 Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
997 Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono)
325 Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide
2553 Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
1303 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
1772 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern)
1412 Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette)
3473 Morohashi
2058 New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
767 New Nelson (John Haig)
1400 Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig)
1502 Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig)
249 The Kanji Way to Japanese Language Power (Dale Crowley)
316 Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask)
2844 2001 Kanji
2a6.26 The Kanji Dictionary
2-2-6 SKIP code
2-3-5 SKIP code
8062.7 Four corner code
1-44-31 JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code
547d Unicode hex code

4 strokes
Radical:
line
Parts:
in, inside, middle, mean, center
Jōyō kanji, taught in grade 1
JLPT level N5
11 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Speed

Stroke order

On reading compounds

  • 中 【チュウ】 medium (size), average (grade, level, etc.), middle, in, within, out of (e.g. ten people), among, during, while, in (the course of), within (a period), throughout, currently (doing), in the process of, in the middle of, under (e.g. construction, investigation), middle way, moderation, second volume (of three), junior high school, middle school, China
  • 中尉 【チュウイ】 first lieutenant, lieutenant junior grade
  • 宮中 【キュウチュウ】 imperial court
  • 訪中 【ホウチュウ】 visit to China

Kun reading compounds

  • 中 【なか】 inside, interior, among, within, middle, center, centre, during, while, middle, midst, amid, interval, gap, mean, average, second (of three, e.g. sons, volumes), middle, medium grade, medium quality, red-light district
  • 中島 【なかじま】 island in a pond or river
  • 野中 【のなか】 in the middle of a field
  • そんな中 【そんななか】 wherein, therein, thereinto
  • 内 【うち】 inside, within, while (e.g. one is young), during, within (e.g. a day), in the course of, among, amongst, (out) of, between, in (secret, chaos, poverty, etc.), amidst, with (e.g. success), within oneself, one's feelings, inner thoughts, we, our company, our organization, one's home, one's family, my spouse, my husband, my wife, signed on behalf of (husband's name) by his wife, I, me, imperial palace grounds, emperor
  • 碁打ち鳥飼い馬鹿の中 【ごうちとりかいばかのうち】 go players and bird keepers are idiots (both activities demand a lot of time)
  • 此の内 【このうち】 meanwhile, the other day, recently
  • 当たる 【あたる】 to be hit, to strike, to touch, to be in contact, to be affixed, to be equivalent to, to be applicable, to apply to, to be right on the money (of a prediction, criticism, etc.), to be selected (in a lottery, etc.), to win, to be successful, to go well, to be a hit, to face, to confront, to lie (in the direction of), to undertake, to be assigned, to be stricken (by food poisoning, heat, etc.), to be afflicted, to be called on (e.g. by a teacher), to treat (esp. harshly), to lash out at, to be unnecessary, to be hitting well, to be on a hitting streak, to feel a bite (in fishing), (of fruit, etc.) to be bruised, to spoil, to feel (something) out, to probe into, to check (i.e. by comparison), to shave, to be a relative of a person, to be a ... in relation to ..., to stand in a relationship

Readings

Japanese names:
あたる、 かなえ
Mandarin Chinese (pinyin):
zhong1, zhong4
Korean:
jung

Spanish

  • centro
  • dentro
  • interior
  • medio

Portuguese

  • em
  • interior
  • médio
  • meio
  • centro

French

  • dans
  • dedans
  • à l'intérieur
  • milieu
  • centre
  • moyenne
23 A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese (Florence Sakade)
26 A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese 3rd edition (Henshall, Seeley and De Groot)
55 A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall)
13 A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage
81 Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson)
31 Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill)
7 Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki)
75 Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill)
2.3 Japanese for Busy People
28 Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
28 Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
33 Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono)
16 Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide
4262 Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
2150 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
2902 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern)
39 Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette)
73 Morohashi
3451 New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
28 New Nelson (John Haig)
39 Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig)
39 Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig)
12 The Kanji Way to Japanese Language Power (Dale Crowley)
32 Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask)
1655 2001 Kanji
0a4.40 The Kanji Dictionary
4-4-3 SKIP code
5000.6 Four corner code
1-35-70 JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code
4e2d Unicode hex code

12 strokes
Radical:
bow
Parts:
Variants:
bullet, twang, flip, snap
Jōyō kanji, taught in junior high
JLPT level N1
853 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Speed

Stroke order

On reading compounds

  • 弾 【ダン】 counter for parts, stages, installments, etc. (of a story, series, project, campaign, etc.), counter for bullets
  • 弾圧 【ダンアツ】 oppression, suppression, pressure
  • 防弾 【ボウダン】 bulletproof, bombproof
  • 砲弾 【ホウダン】 shell, cannonball
  • 弾棋 【ダンギ】 ancient Chinese board game similar to go
  • 弾指 【ダンシ】 snapping the fingers (esp. by striking the side of the middle finger with the thumb; to indicate consent, joy, a warning, etc.), moment, instant, criticism, shunning, rejection

Kun reading compounds

  • 弾く 【ひく】 to play (a stringed or keyboard instrument)
  • 弾む 【はずむ】 to spring, to bound, to bounce, to be stimulated, to be encouraged, to get lively, to pay handsomely, to splurge, to part eagerly with (money, etc.), to breathe hard, to pant, to be out of breath
  • 玉 【たま】 ball, sphere, globe, orb, bead (of sweat, dew, etc.), drop, droplet, ball (in sports), pile (of noodles, etc.), bullet, bulb (i.e. a light bulb), lens (of glasses, etc.), bead (of an abacus), ball (i.e. a testicle), gem, jewel (esp. spherical; sometimes used figuratively), pearl, female entertainer (e.g. a geisha), person (when commenting on their nature), character, item, funds or person used as part of a plot, egg, okonomiyaki, coin, precious, beautiful, excellent
  • 弾傷 【たまきず】 bullet wound, gunshot wound
  • 弾く 【はじく】 to flip, to snap, to flick, to repel, to use (an abacus), to calculate, to strum, to pluck the strings (of a guitar, etc.)
  • 弾ける 【はじける】 to burst open, to split open, to pop, to be bursting with (e.g. youth, laughter, flavor), to bounce, to bound
  • 弾正台 【だんじょうだい】 Imperial Prosecuting and Investigating Office (1869-1871), Imperial Prosecuting and Investigating Office (under the ritsuryō system)

Readings

Mandarin Chinese (pinyin):
dan4, tan2
Korean:
tan

Spanish

  • bala
  • pelota
  • chasquido
  • golpe seco
  • chasquear
  • tocar (piano
  • guitarra
  • etc.)

Portuguese

  • Bala (arma)
  • fanhoso
  • sacudidela
  • estalo

French

  • boulet
  • rebond
  • chiquenaude
  • vibration
1570 A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall)
933 A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage
1575 Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson)
1099 Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill)
1272 Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki)
1880 Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill)
1539 Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
1641 Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
590 Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono)
613 Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide
697 Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
418 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
524 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern)
1950 Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette)
9836P Morohashi
572 New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
1699 New Nelson (John Haig)
1931 Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig)
2081 Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig)
1529 Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask)
3555 2001 Kanji
3h9.3 The Kanji Dictionary
1-3-9 SKIP code
1925.6 Four corner code
1-35-38 JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code
5f3e Unicode hex code