険
険 — Precipitous
precipitous, inaccessible place, impregnable position, steep place, sharp eyes
On’yomiケン (ken)
Kun’yomiけわしい (kewashii)
Stroke order (11 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 険
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 危険 | きけん kiken | danger; peril; hazard |
| 保険 | ほけん hoken | insurance; guarantee; warranty |
| 生命保険 | せいめいほけん seimeihoken | life insurance |
| 保険金 | ほけんきん hokenkin | insurance payout; insurance money |
| 冒険 | ぼうけん bouken | adventure; venture; venture which is unlikely to succeed |
| 健康保険 | けんこうほけん kenkouhoken | health insurance |
Study notes
険 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #707 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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