Kanji Study

Bushu (Radical) Info: 斤 (おの) – axe

Henshall Mnemonic: decisively decline rice cut with ax in corner

Levels: JLPT N3 | JLPT 2 (old) | Grade 5
Frequency: #338 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 N3 Words

• 横断   [おうだん]
  (n,vs) crossing   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断つ   [たつ]
  (v5t) to sever; to cut off; to suppress; to abstain (from)   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断る   [ことわる]
  (v5r) (1) to refuse; to reject; to dismiss; to turn down; to decline; (2) to inform; to give notice; (3) to ask leave; to excuse oneself (from)   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 判断   [はんだん]
  (n,vs) judgement; decision; adjudication; conclusion; decipherment; divination   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N2 Words

• 断水   [だんすい]
  (n) water outage   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断定   [だんてい]
  (n,vs) conclusion; decision   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 診断   [しんだん]
  (n,vs) diagnosis   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 油断   [ゆだん]
  (n,vs) negligence; unpreparedness   [K] [D] [Jisho]

JLPT N1 Words

• 中断   [ちゅうだん]
  (n,vs) interruption; suspension; break   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 決断   [けつだん]
  (n) decision; determination   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断言   [だんげん]
  (n,vs) assertion; declaration; affirmation   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断然   [だんぜん]
  (adj-na,adv,n) firmly; absolutely; definitely   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断面   [だんめん]
  (n) cross-section   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 無断   [むだん]
  (n) without permission; without notice   [K] [D] [Jisho]

Other Popular Words Not Classified by JLPT

• 横断歩道   [おうだんほどう]
  pedestrian crossing   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 横断幕   [おうだんまく]
  (n) banner strung across a street   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断   [だん]
  (n) failure   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 独断   [どくだん]
  (n) one's own judgement; arbitrary   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断じて   [だんじて]
  (adv) absolutely; positively; decidedly   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 遮断   [しゃだん]
  (n,vs) interception; quarantine   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 遮断機   [しゃだんき]
  (n) circuit breaker; railway crossing gate   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断らず   [ことわらず]
  without permission   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断り   [ことわり]
  (n) declining; nonacceptance; declination; refusal; rejection; turndown   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 不断   [ふだん]
  (adj-no,adj-na,n-adv,n-t) constant; persistent; unremitting; continually; constantly   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断固   [だんこ]
  (adj-na,adv,n) firm; determined; resolute   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断固たる   [だんこたる]
  (adj-t) firm; conclusive; determined   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断行   [だんこう]
  (n,vs) decisive action; carry out   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断食   [だんじき]
  (n,vs) fasting   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断絶   [だんぜつ]
  (n,vs) become extinct; cease to exist; break off   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断層   [だんそう]
  (n) dislocation   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断続   [だんぞく]
  (n,vs) intermittent   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 優柔不断   [ゆうじゅうふだん]
  (n) shilly-shally; indecisiveness   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断熱   [だんねつ]
  (n) insulation   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断念   [だんねん]
  (n,vs) abandoning (hope, plans); giving up   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 断片   [だんぺん]
  (n) fragment; crumb; shred; bits and pieces   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 寸断   [すんだん]
  (n,vs) cut (tear) to pieces   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 予断   [よだん]
  (n,vs) guessing; prediction; conclusion   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 縦断   [じゅうだん]
  (n,vs) flying through; cutting across   [K] [D] [Jisho]
• 引っ張り剪断強度   [ひっぱりせんだんきょうど]
  peel strength (conductor from substrate)   [K] [D] [Jisho]

Find more details for 断 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.