About Kanji
Japanese kanji originates from Chinese hanzi characters.
Most Japanese kanji are readable for Chinese speakers and have a similar meaning but usually have different pronounciations. Some characters have a different meaning in Japanese, there are also characters peculiar to Japanese known as kokuji.
A kanji character may have several (in rare cases ten or more) possible pronunciations, depending on its context, intended meaning, use in compounds, and location in the sentence. These pronunciations, or readings, are typically categorized as either on'yomi or kun'yomi (often abbreviated ON and KUN).
KUN Reading
The kun'yomi of a kanji (also called its KUN reading or Japanese reading) is a reading based on the pronunciation of a native Japanese word that closely approximated the meaning of the Chinese character when it was introduced. There can be multiple KUN readings for the same kanji, and some kanji have no kun'yomi at all.
Kun'yomi are characterized by the strict syllable structure common to Japanese.
ON Reading
The on'yomi of a kanji (also called its ON reading or Chinese reading) is based on the Japanese approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced. Some kanji were reintroduced from different parts of China at different times, and so have multiple on'yomi (and often multiple meanings as well). Other Kanji are original to Japanese and have no on'yomi at all.
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