kanji
Americannoun
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kanji,
plural
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kanjis
plural
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a system of Japanese writing using Chinese-derived characters.
-
a character in this system.
noun
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a Japanese writing system using characters mainly derived from Chinese ideograms
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a character in this system
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of kanji
1915–20; < Japanese < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese hàn Han (i.e., China) + zì characters
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Called “The Core,” the album cover features a large kanji character that translates to “core” or “nucleus.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
Most kanji have two or more pronunciations, and a further 50,000 or so rarely used kanji exist.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 15, 2023
According to the nursing home where Tanaka lived, on days when she was feeling well, she would do exercises with other residents and solve kanji or calculation problems.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2022
He paused, then with a few strokes of a pen signed his name in Japanese kanji.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 24, 2020
Each kanji was made up of separate lines, called “strokes,” and a single kanji could have more than thirty strokes—sometimes many more.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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