kanji

American  

[kahn-jee] / ˈkɑn dʒi /

noun

plural

kanji, kanjis

1. a system of Japanese writing using Chinese-derived characters.

2. a character in this system.

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kanji British  

/ ˈkɑːn-, ˈkændʒɪ /

noun

1. a Japanese writing system using characters mainly derived from Chinese ideograms

2. a character in this system

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Etymology

Origin of kanji

1915–20; < Japanese < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese hàn Han (i.e., China) + zì characters

Example Sentences

In a closely watched event on Tuesday, the top Buddhist monk at the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto used a brush to write the kanji character of the year on the temple balcony.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2023

Whereas English has just 26 letters, written Japanese consists of two sets of 48 basic characters, plus 2,136 regularly used Chinese characters, or kanji.

From Scientific American • Sep. 15, 2023

Later, the kanji characters for “kara-te” were changed to spell the phrase “empty hand.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 6, 2021

His card artwork centers on Kintaro, the folklore character also known as Golden Boy, usually depicted wearing a bib with the kanji character for gold.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2019

Old wooden signs with kanji, the most complicated of the three ways of writing Japanese.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata