A compound character that was changed such that one or more components became unrecognizable. Such characters are considered roots because they cannot be broken up meaningfully into components. This corruption of character's shape often occurs due to graphical stylization, sometimes as a form of simplification.

Examples:

光 used to be written closer to 灮 (火 ("fire") + 儿 (form of 人, "person")), but shape change made the top 火 portion unrecognizable
成 used to be written closer to 成 (戊 ("halberd") + 丁 ("ward", originally "nail")), but shape change made the 丁 unrecognizable
旅 used to be written closer to 𣃨 (㫃 ("flag") + 从 ("two people")), but shape change made the 从 unrecognizable

Component (部品)

A part of a kanji character that can do one of the following:

Appear alone as a different character

Examples:

門 ("gate") and 音 ("sound") are components of 闇 ("darkness")
山 ("mountain") and 風 ("wind") are components of 嵐 ("storm")

Be recognized as a form of a different character

Examples:

灬 is a form of 火 (ひ, "fire") and a component of 点 (てん, "dot")
扌 is a form of 手 (て, "hand") and a component of 持 (も[つ], "hold")

Compound Character (合体文字)

A kanji character made up of more than one root or root form.

Examples:

明 ("light") is a compound of 日 ("sun") and 月 ("moon")
畑 ("field") is a compound of 火 ("fire") and 田 ("rice paddy")

Phono-Semantic Compound Character (形声文字)

A compound character that combines components that lend sound (phonetic components) with components that lend meaning (semantic components). The widespread development of phono-semantic characters displaced the Rebus Principle or kasha as a process for borrowing characters for new words based on similar pronunciation. Rather than use an existing character for a new word with a similar pronunciation, a new character was made using the existing character and another character chosen for either its meaning (semantic component) or its sound (another phonetic component) to differentiate the new character.

Examples:

If a picture of a "bee" were hypothetically used to denote "to be", the abstract meaning of "to be" could be applied to the "bee" picture and a new phono-semantic character could be created from "bee" + "beetle" for the meaning "bee" where the "beetle" qualifies the meaning as "insect-related"
切 ("to cut") was created from 七 ("seven", originally "to cut", phonetic + semantic) + 刀 ("knife", semantic) when 七 was borrowed to mean "seven"
鼻 ("nose") was created from 自 ("self", originally "nose", phonetic + semantic) + 畀 ("flathead arrow", phonetic) when 自 was borrowed to mean "self"
麦 ("wheat", originally "to come") was originally written closer to 麥 (来 (來, phonetic + semantic) + 夂 (semantic)) to distinguish it from 来 (來, "to come", originally "wheat"), but the two characters swapped places and 麦 qualified with a foot 夂 came to mean "wheat" instead of "to come"

Pictograph (象形文字)

A character or symbol that shows the appearance of an object. Though many kanji characters began as pictographs, heavy stylization has made them unrecognizable when compared to the objects they originally depicted. For this reason, kanji characters are generally considered logographs, not pictographs.

Examples:

The emoji 🌳 is a pictograph of a tree
The Egyptian hieroglyph 𓅓 is originally a pictograph of an owl but was later used phonetically for the sound "m"

Ideograph (表意文字)

A symbol that visually represents a concept or idea and is typically not language-specific.

Examples:

The emoji ❤️ represents the idea of love across many languages
The symbol ∞ represents the idea of infinity across many languages
The symbol ♀ represents the idea of female across many languages

Logograph (表語文字)

A symbol that means a word within the context of a specific language. Kanji characters are generally considered logographic.

Examples:

The kanji 山 ("mountain") was originally a pictograph of a mountain but was later stylized to be unrecognizable outside of languages written with Chinese characters
The Egyptian hieroglyph 𓇳 is a pictograph of the sun and can function as a logograph for the word "rꜥ" ("sun" or the sun god Ra) in Ancient Egyptian
The Sumerian cuneiform sign 𒀭 was originally a pictograph of a star and can function as a logograph for the words "an" ("sky") and "dingir" ("god")

Ryakuji (略字)

A colloquial simplification of a character. Ryakuji regularly appear in Japanese despite being unofficial characters and having limited support in computer fonts.

Examples:

々 is a ryakuji from 仝, a variant form of 同 ("the same"), used as a kanji duplication mark
〆 is a ryakuji from 占 ("to account for") used as a phonetic substitute for 締 ("to tighten") in 〆切り (締切り, "deadline")
ヶ is a ryakuji from 箇 (counter word) used as a counter in 一ヶ月 ("one month")

Character Forms

Character Form (字体 + 部品の形)

One of the many ways a character can appear, either alone (字体) or as a component (部品の形). Both root characters and compound characters can have different character forms. Character forms generally fall into one of the following categories:

Alone (字体)

Traditional form
Simplified form
Kyūjitai form
Shinjitai form
Standard form
Variant form

As a component (部品の形)

Component form
Compressed component form
Variant component form

Traditional Form (繁体)

An older character form that is not recognized as having been simplified. This term usually refers to characters used in Chinese language-speaking regions like Taiwan and Hong Kong where there was not a major writing system reform towards simplification (繁体字). In Japanese, this term overlaps significantly with the term "kyūjitai", meaning older forms of characters that were given newer "shinjitai" forms by law.

Examples:

龜 ("turtle") is the traditional form of 龟 (Chinese only)
馬 ("horse") is the traditional form of 马 (Chinese only)

Simplified Form (簡体)

A newer character form that was created from a traditional character form, often to reduce character complexity. This term usually refers to characters used in Chinese language-speaking regions like Mainland China where a major writing system reform towards simplification has occured, typically by law (簡体字). In Japanese, this term is sometimes used to describe newer "shinjitai" forms of characters.

Examples:

连 (Chinese only) is the simplified form of 連 ("to take along")
读 (Chinese only) is the simplified form of 読 ("to read")

Kyūjitai Form (旧字体)

An older form of Japanese kanji that contrasts with the newer "shinjitai" forms established by The Table of Character Forms for the Tōyō Kanji established in 1949. This term only applies to characters used in Japanese.

Examples:

龜 is the kyuujitai form of 亀 ("turtle")
國 is the kyuujitai form of 国 ("country")

Shinjitai Form (新字体)

A newer form of an existing character that was established by The Table of Character Forms for the Tōyō Kanji in 1949. This term only applies to characters used in Japanese.

Examples:

会 ("meeting") is the shinjitai form of 會
学 ("study") is the shinjitai form of 學

Standard Form (正字)

A character form (or set of forms) that is designated as standard, typically by law. In Japanese, standard kanji forms for print media were set by the Table of Character Forms for the Tōyō Kanji in 1949 and by the Jōyō Kanji List that later replaced it.

Examples:

神 ("god") is a standard form character even though the kyūjitai form 神 is also occasionally used
喜 ("joy") is a standard form character even though the variant form 㐂 is also occasionally used

Variant Form (異体字)

A form of a character other than the accepted standard form.

Examples:

髙 is a variant form of 高 ("quantity") that appears in names and old writing
嶋 is a variant form of 島 ("island") that appears in names and old writing
﨑 is a variant form of 崎 ("peninsula") that appears in names and old writing

Corrupted Form (意味喪失の字体)

A character form that has been graphically changed in a way that obscures the original meaning of the character's components and the reasoning behind its composition.

Examples:

光 ("light") is a corrupted form of its earlier form 灮 because graphical stylization of the top portion destroyed its relationship to the root 火 ("fire")
音 ("sound") is a corrupted form of its original composition (言 ("word") + 丶 ("dot"), a dot in the mouth of 言 to indicate "sound") because the current composition (立 ("to stand") + 日 (form of 曰, "to say")) obscures the reasoning behind the character

Component Form (部品の形)

A form a character can take when used as a component within another character. Both root characters and compound characters can have component forms, and component forms cannot be used as stand-alone characters. Component forms come in two types:

Compressed component form (部品の圧縮形)

See compressed component form

Variant component form (部品の変形)

See variant component form

Compressed Component Form (部品の圧縮形)

A component form that is written nearly identically to the stand-alone character but is compressed or distorted to fit a position within a compound character.

Examples:

⻗ is a compressed component form of 雨 ("rain")
訁 is a compressed component form of 言 ("word")
釒 is a compressed component form of 金 ("gold")

Variant Component Form (部品の変形)

A component form that is visually different from its stand-alone form. Changes in singular stroke type (e.g., bottom stroke of 釒 vs 金) do not generally make a component form a variant. Variant component forms arose from graphical simplification of compressed component forms during the various stages of writing style evolution that led to the modern character forms.

Examples:

扌 is a variant component form of 手 ("hand")
氵 is a variant component form of 水 ("water")
⺩ is a variant component form of 玉 ("jewel")

Component Categories

Semantic Component (意符)

A component added to a kanji that relates to its meaning. All components that are not phonetic components are semantic components by default.

明 ("light"), 晴 ("to be sunny"), 曜 ("day") all share the semantic component 日 ("sun")
雰 ("atmosphere"), 雹 ("hail"), 霞 ("mist") all share the semantic component 雨 ("rain")
縦 ("warp"), 緯 ("weft"), 縫 ("to sew") all share the semantic component 糸 ("thread")
腕 ("arm"), 脚 ("leg"), 腰 ("hip") all share the semantic component ⺼, a form of 肉 ("meat")

Phonetic Component (音符)

A component that either is present in a kanji or was present in its historical forms and that lends the kanji a similar reading or sound.

緋 ("crimson"), 誹 ("ridicule"), 匪 ("bandit") all share the phonetic component 非 ("not")
花 ("flower"), 貨 ("freight"), 靴 ("shoe") all share the phonetic component 化 ("change")
政 ("politics"), 征 ("subjugate"), 整 ("organize") all share the phonetic component 正 ("correct")
泊 ("overnight stay"), 舶 ("oceanliner"), 柏 ("oak") all share the phonetic component 白 ("white")

Stable Component (安定した部品)

A component present in a kanji that has also been present in some or all forms of the character historically. (present before → present now)

Examples:

木 ("tree") is a stable component of 森 ("forest") because it has been present since the character's creation
心 ("heart") is a stable component of 悪 ("evil") because it has been present since the character's creation

Acquired Component (加わった部品)

A component present in a kanji that was not historically present prior to a specific time point in the character's evolution. (not present before → present now)

Examples:

立 ("to stand") is an acquired component in 音 ("sound") because it arose through corruption of 言 (originally 言 ("word") + 丶 ("dot"))
乂 ("to mow") is an acquired component in 気 ("spirit") because it arose through simplification of 氣 ("spirit") (originally 气 ("air") + 米 ("rice"))
王 ("king") is an acquired component in 玉 ("jewel") because it arose through graphical stylization (originally unrelated)

Historical Component (失われた部品)

A component not present in a kanji that was present in earlier historical forms of the kanji. (present before → not present now)

Examples:

言 ("word") is a historical component of 音 ("sound") because it was removed through corruption (originally 言 ("word") + 丶 ("dot"))
米 ("rice") is a historical component of 気 ("spirit") because it was replaced through simplification (originally 气 ("air") + 米 ("rice"))

False Component (見かけの部品)

A component that appears to be present in a kanji but actually arises from misparsing the kanji's strokes. As a general rule, if removing a group of strokes leaves behind ungroupable strokes, the group is likely a false component.

Examples:

日 is a false component of 百 ("hundred") that misparses the component 白 (一 + 白)
少 is a false component of 雀 ("sparrow") that takes a stroke from 隹 (小 + 隹)

Pseudo-Component (擬似部品)

A group of strokes that appears to be a component but fails to meet the definition because it is neither a stand-alone character nor a form of a stand-alone character. Pseudo-components are typically only part of a root but appear component-like because they are shared among characters that are similar in shape but that are historically unrelated.

Examples:

亠 is a pseudo-component that is part of roots like 六 ("six"), 交 ("to be mixed"), 京 ("capital"), and 高 ("quantity") that share a stylized top portion
龷 is a pseudo-component that is part of roots like 共 ("together") and 昔 ("long ago") that share a stylized top portion

Reading & Meaning Terms

Rebus Principle (レブス原理)

A technique for expanding the meaning of a symbol or character by using it to represent a different word that sounds similar. It played an important role in allowing pictographic writing systems to represent abstract ideas that could not be directly depicted. In the context of kanji characters, the Rebus Principle is called kasha.

Examples:

A drawing of a soup can to indicate "can", as in "is possible"
A drawing of a bee to indicate "to be"

Kasha (仮借)

The use of a kanji character for another meaning because of a similar pronunciation. This is a kanji-specific term for the Rebus Principle. In contrast to ateji, which describes the assignment of Japanese word readings to existing characters, kasha primarily describes the borrowing of existing characters for new words during the early development of the Chinese writing system. The kasha process was later largely displaced by the widespread development of phono-semantic characters, which combine phonetic borrowing with semantic qualifiers.

Examples:

A drawing of wheat 来 (來) used to write 来る ("to come") because of similar pronunciation in Old Chinese
A drawing of a nose 自 used to write "self" because of similar pronunciation in Old Chinese

On-reading (音読み)

A kanji pronunciation phonetically borrowed from a Chinese language. The character 音 means "sound" and points to the idea of reading characters by their associated (Chinese-derived) sounds.

Examples:

豆 ("bean") has the on-readings トウ and ズ
港 ("harbor") has the on-reading コウ
楓 ("maple") has the on-reading フウ

Kun-reading (訓読み)

A kanji pronunciation that is a native Japanese word (wago). The character 訓 means "to explain" and points to the idea of reading characters in a way that explains or indicates their meaning.

Examples:

豆 ("bean") has the kun-reading まめ
港 ("harbor") has the kun-reading みなと
楓 ("maple") has the kun-reading かえで

Ateji (当て字・充て字)

An assignment (当てる) of characters for a word based on either the characters' sounds or their meanings. In contrast to jukujikun, which generally assign Japanese words to existing character compounds from Chinese (characters → word), ateji generally seeks characters for existing words (word → characters)..

Examples:

寿司 is written as 寿 ("longevity") + 司 ("office"), both used for sound
煙草 (タバコ) can be written as 煙 ("smoke") + 草 ("grass"), both used for their meanings
硝子 (ガラス) can be written as 硝 ("saltpeter") + 子 ("child"), 硝 for meaning and 子 for sound

Jukujikun (熟字訓)

A kun-reading that spans multiple characters. In contrast to ateji, which generally assigns characters for existing words (word → characters), jukujikun generally assign Japanese words to existing character compounds from Chinese (characters → word).

Examples:

大人 is read おとな, which cannot be divided by character
今日 is read きょう, which cannot be divided by character
田舎 is read いなか, which cannot be divided by character

Gikun (義訓)

A reading assigned to a kanji word based on an associated meaning (義). Gikun readings partially overlap with Jukujikun readings in that they both assign readings to existing character compounds (characters → word) based on the characters' associated meaning.

Examples:

身体 is sometimes read からだ (体) because both mean "body"
牛乳 is sometimes read ミルク because both mean "milk"
智慧之王 ("Lord of Wisdom") is read as ラファエル ("Rafael") in "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" because "Lord of Wisdom" and "Rafael" are intended to be synonymous by the author

Word Categories

Wago (和語)

Native Japanese words, also called Yamato words (大和言葉) after the Yamato (大和) majority ethnic group of Japan. The Yamato ethnic group formed during the Yayoi (弥生) and Kofun (古墳) periods through migrations from mainland China and Korea, displacing the pre-existing Jōmon (縄文) people and forming the Japanese language. This category includes all Japanese words that are not derived from loan words.

Examples:

くるま (車) is a native Japanese word meaning "car"
いぬ (犬) is a native Japanese word meaning "dog"
さくら (桜) is a native Japanese word meaning "cherry blossom"

Loan Word (借用語)

A word that is borrowed from another language. This is a broader category than gairaigo and includes both recently borrowed words and older assimilated words (including kango and words from early Portuguese contact).

Examples:

パン is a loan word from the Portuguese word "pão" ("bread")
天ぷら is a loan word from the Portuguese word "tempora" ("time", referring to the Ember Days when fried foods were eaten)
煙草 (タバコ) is a loan word from the Portuguese word "tabaco" ("tobacco")
文化 is a loan word from the Chinese word 文化 (wénhuà, "culture")

Gairaigo (外来語)

Japanese words that are borrowed forms of foreign words. This is a narrower category than general loan words and typically refers to newer foreign words that are widely recognized as being foreign in origin. As words assimilate, they gradually stop being gairaigo but are still considered loan words.

Examples:

コンピューター is a gairaigo from the English word "computer"
レストラン is a gairaigo from the French word "restaurant"
アルバイト is a gairaigo from the German word "arbeit" ("work")
イクラ is a gairaigo from the Russian word "ikra" ("salmon roe")

Kango (漢語)

Japanese words that originate from Chinese loan words.

Examples:

社会 ("society") is a kango from the Chinese word 社会 (shèhuì, "society")
経済 ("economy") is a kango from the Chinese word 經濟 (jīngjì, "economy")
政治 ("politics") is a kango from the Chinese word 政治 (zhèngzhì, "politics")

Hybrid Word (混種語)

A word that combines parts borrowed from at least 2 different languages.

Examples:

カップ麺 ("cup noodles") is a hybrid word from カップ (English "cup") + 麺 (Chinese miàn, "noodle")
製パン ("breadmaking") is a hybrid word from 製 (Chinese zhì, "to manufacture") + パン (Portuguese "pão", "bread")
サボる ("to sabotage") is a hybrid word from サボ (abbreviated form of サボタージュ, English "sabotage") + る (Japanese verb ending)

Abbreviated Word (省略語)

A word formed by shortening another existing word.

Examples:

コンビニ ("convenience store") is an abbreviated form of the English loan word コンビニエンスストア
テレビ ("television") is an abbreviated form of the English loan word テレビジョン
アニメ ("anime") is an abbreviated form of the English loan word アニメーション

Glossary

Table of Contents

Character Types

Root Character (根字)

Root By Corruption (意味喪失による根字)