Kanji Study

Bushu (Radical) Info: 糸 (いと) – thread

Henshall Mnemonic: trace thread-like line to source

Levels: JLPT N2 | JLPT 2 (old) | Grade 2
Frequency: #382 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 N4 Words

• 線   [せん]
  (n,n-suf) line (also telephone, railway); wire; beam   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N3 Words

• 地平線   [ちへいせん]
  (n) horizon   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N2 Words

• 内線   [ないせん]
  (n) phone extension; indoor wiring; inner line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 線路   [せんろ]
  (n) line; track; roadbed   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 光線   [こうせん]
  (n) beam; light ray   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 脱線   [だっせん]
  (n,vs) derailment; digression   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 直線   [ちょくせん]
  (n) straight line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 水平線   [すいへいせん]
  (n) horizon   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 新幹線   [しんかんせん]
  (n) bullet train (very high speed); Shinkansen   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 曲線   [きょくせん]
  (n) curve   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N1 Words

• 沿線   [えんせん]
  (adj-no,n) along railway line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 無線   [むせん]
  (n) wireless; radio   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 幹線   [かんせん]
  (n) main line; trunk line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 電線   [でんせん]
  (n) electric line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 三味線   [しゃみせん]
  (n) three-stringed Japanese guitar; shamisen   [K] [D] [Jisho]

Other Popular Words Not Classified by JLPT

• 車線   [しゃせん]
  (n) car track   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 三十八度線   [さんじゅうはちどせん]
  the Thirty-eighth Parallel   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 横線   [おうせん]
  (n) horizontal line; abscissa   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 最前線   [さいぜんせん]
  (n) foremost line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 全線   [ぜんせん]
  (n) the whole line; all lines; the whole ship   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 白線   [はくせん]
  (n) white line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 配線   [はいせん]
  (n) wiring   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 人民戦線   [じんみんせんせん]
  (n) popular front   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 紫外線   [しがいせん]
  (n) ultra-violet rays   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 赤外線   [せきがいせん]
  (n) infra-red rays   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 線香   [せんこう]
  (n) incense stick   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 回線   [かいせん]
  (n) circuit; line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 線量   [せんりょう]
  (n) dose   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 第一線   [だいいっせん]
  (n) the front (of a battlefield); forefront   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 一線   [いっせん]
  (n) line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 伏線   [ふくせん]
  (n) preparation; foreshadowing; underplot (in a novel); precautionary measures   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 本線   [ほんせん]
  (n) main line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 路線   [ろせん]
  (n) route; line; alignment   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 打線   [だせん]
  (n) baseball lineup   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 放射線   [ほうしゃせん]
  (n) radiation   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• エックス線   [エックスせん]
  (n) X-ray   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 視線   [しせん]
  (n) one's eyes; glance; look   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 一直線   [いっちょくせん]
  (n) straight line   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 導火線   [どうかせん]
  (n) fuse   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 有線   [ゆうせん]
  (n) communicate by wire   [K] [D] [Jisho]

Find more details for 線 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.