Kanji Study

Bushu (Radical) Info: 木 (き) – tree

Henshall Mnemonic: tasseled drum on stand makes pleasing music

Levels: JLPT N4 | JLPT 3 (old) | Grade 2
Frequency: #373 of the 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Common Words and/or Phrases Using this Kanji:

Click any individual kanji to view a similar information sheet for it.
Click [K] to look up the word's individual character(s) at WWWJDIC.
Click [D] to look up the word at WWWJDIC (definition is the same but other useful features exist).
Click [Jisho] to look up the word at Jisho.org.

JLPT N5 Words

• 音楽   [おんがく]
  (n) music; musical movement   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 楽しい   [たのしい]
  (adj) enjoyable; fun   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N4 Words

• 楽しみ   [たのしみ]
  (adj-na,n) enjoyment; pleasure   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 楽しむ   [たのしむ]
  (v5m) to enjoy oneself   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N3 Words

• 楽   [らく]
  (adj-na,n,n-suf) comfort; ease   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N2 Words

• 楽器   [がっき]
  (n) musical instrument   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 娯楽   [ごらく]
  (n) pleasure; amusement   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N1 Words

• 楽譜   [がくふ]
  (n) score (music)   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 極楽   [ごくらく]
  (n) paradise   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 気楽   [きらく]
  (adj-na,n) at ease; comfortable   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 楽観   [らっかん]
  (n) optimism   [K] [D] [Jisho]

Other Popular Words Not Classified by JLPT

• 楽天家   [らくてんか]
  (n) optimist; easy-going person   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 楽天的   [らくてんてき]
  (adj-na,n) optimistic   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 舞楽   [ぶがく]
  (n) court dance and music   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 安楽死   [あんらくし]
  (n) euthanasia   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 歓楽街   [かんらくがい]
  (n) pleasure quarter   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 雅楽   [ががく]
  (n) old Japanese court music   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 洋楽   [ようがく]
  (n) western (non-Japanese) music   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 邦楽   [ほうがく]
  (n) (traditional) Japanese music   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 管弦楽   [かんげんがく]
  (n) orchestral music   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 管弦楽団   [かんげんがくだん]
  orchestra   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 神楽   [かぐら]
  (n) ancient Shinto music and dancing   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 能楽   [のうがく]
  (n) Noh play   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 室内楽   [しつないがく]
  (n) chamber music   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 声楽   [せいがく]
  (n) vocal music   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 文楽   [ぶんらく]
  (n) Japanese puppet theatre; Bunraku   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 打楽器   [だがっき]
  (n) percussion instrument   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 倶楽部   [くらぶ]
  (n) club; fraternity; sorority; clubhouse   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 千秋楽   [せんしゅうらく]
  (n) concluding festivities; final day of a sumo tournament; concluding program   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 軽音楽   [けいおんがく]
  (n) light music   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 行楽   [こうらく]
  (n) outing; picnic; excursion; pleasure trip   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 行楽地   [こうらくち]
  (n) tourist resort; holiday resort   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 快楽   [かいらく]
  (n) pleasure   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 楽園   [らくえん]
  (n) pleasure garden; paradise   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 楽屋   [がくや]
  (n) dressing room; green room; backstage   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 交響楽   [こうきょうがく]
  (n) symphony (orchestra)   [K] [D] [Jisho]

Find more details for 楽 at jisho.org, Yookoso! or WWWJDIC

Acknowledgments

The sofware used to generate this kanji information uses the EDICT and KANJIDIC files. These files are the property of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group at Monash University and are used in conformance with the Group's license.

NOTE: I converted the sources just mentioned years ago and have never really updated so there may be some missing or incorrect information that has been addressed in the original sources but not here.

The first Stroke Order image used on this page is courtesy of Ulrich Apel's excellent open source KanjiVG project. The second image is from the folks at the excellent Jisho Japanese-English dictionary site and it too is based on KanjiVG.

Classifying the kanji and popular vocabulary by the new JLPT levels was done by consulting Jonathan Waller‘s JLPT Resources page, renshuu, Wictionary, and Nihongo Ichiban.

The Henshall Mnemonics are the copyright of Tuttle Publishing and are the result of the hard work by Professor Henshall. See the list I used here.

If you are curious about the lexicography shown in the word definitions, visit the WWWJDIC abbreviations and codes guide and the JMdict/Edict Lexicographical details page.