Kanji
/ˈkɑːn.dʒi/noun
A Chinese character used in the Japanese writing system, often alongside hiragana and katakana.
Did you know?A single kanji can have multiple pronunciations because Japan borrowed Chinese characters and their readings during different historical periods.
Etymological Timeline
Before 206 BCE
Old Chinese
漢
“The name associated with the Han River and, later, the Han polity; it became an ethnonym for the Han people.”
Han Dynasty, 206 BCE–220 CE
Classical Chinese
漢字
““Han characters,” referring to the Chinese writing system associated with the Han cultural world.”
5th–6th Century
Middle Japanese
漢字
“Chinese characters introduced into Japan through cultural and religious contact, especially via Korea.”
8th Century
Japanese
かんじ / 漢字
“A Japanese reading of the compound, meaning Chinese characters used in Japanese writing.”
19th Century
English
kanji
“An English borrowing for a Chinese character used in Japanese.”
Modern English
English
kanji
“The standard term for logographic Chinese characters in the Japanese writing system.”
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