Kanji Library
Kanji VocabularyJLPT N3 › 関

関 — Connection

JLPT N314 strokesGrade 4#70 most used
connection, barrier, gateway, involve, concerning
On’yomiカン (kan)
Kun’yomiせき (seki)
Kun’yomi-ぜき (zeki)
Kun’yomiかかわる (kakawaru)
Kun’yomiからくり (karakuri)
Kun’yomiかんぬき (kannuki)

Stroke order (14 strokes)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).

Common words using 関

WordReadingMeaning
関係かんけい
kankei
relation; relationship; connection
関係者かんけいしゃ
kankeisha
person concerned; people involved (in an event); those concerned
関心かんしん
kanshin
concern; interest
関連かんれん
kanren
relation; connection; relevance
機関きかん
kikan
engine; agency; organisation
せき
seki
barrier; gate; seki

Study notes

関 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 14 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #70 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).

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