kanji

K5A1N1J8I1
/ˈkænd͡ʒi/Australia/ˈkaːnd͡ʒi/US/ˈkɑnd͡ʒi/

noun

The system of writing Japanese using Chinese characters.

“I know about a thousand kanji.”

OriginHindi कांजी →
Less commonScrabble 16
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Meanings

kanji1

nounkanji (countable and uncountable, plural kanji or kanjis)

plural kanjis · alternative Kanji

  1. uncountableThe system of writing Japanese using Chinese characters.

    Japanese is written in a mixture of kanji and kana.

  2. countableuncountableAny individual Chinese character as used in the Japanese language.

    I know about a thousand kanji.

kanji2

nounkanji (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA North Indian fermented drink made with beetroot, black mustard seeds, carrots etc.
  2. uncountableDrink made from sugarcane vinegar.
  3. uncountableRice gruel made by fermentation of rice and tastes sour.

Kanji3

proper noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of kanji.

Origin

kanji · noun

Borrowed from Japanese 漢字(かんじ) (kanji, “Chinese characters”), from Middle Chinese 漢 (MC xanH, “Han dynasty, China”) + Middle Chinese 字 (MC dziH, “[written] character”) (Compare Korean 한자 (hanja), Mandarin 漢字 /汉字 (hànzì), Vietnamese Hán tự, Hokkien 漢字 /汉字 (hàn-jī / hàn-lī), Cantonese 漢字 /汉字 (hon³ zi⁶)). Doublet of hanja and Hanzi.

Full word history & related roots →

kanji · noun

  1. Hindiकांजी
  2. Englishkanji

Borrowed from Hindi कांजी (kāñjī).

More words from Hindi

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic كَانْجِي, طَابِع يَابَانِيّ
  • كَانْجِي (kānjī)Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • طَابِع يَابَانِيّ (ṭābiʕ yābāniyy)Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • حَرْف يَابَانِيّ (ḥarf yābāniyy)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Bengali জাপানী হরফ, কাঞ্জি
  • জাপানী হরফ (japanī hôrôf)Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • কাঞ্জিChinese characters in Japanese context
Bulgarian канджи
  • канджи (kandži)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Chinese Mandarin 日本漢字 /日本汉字, 漢字 /汉字
  • 日本漢字 /日本汉字 (Rìběn hànzì)Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • 漢字 /汉字 (hànzì)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Czech kandži
  • kandžiChinese characters in Japanese context
Dutch kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Finnish kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
French kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
German Kanji, japanisches Zeichen
  • KanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
  • japanisches ZeichenChinese characters in Japanese context
Greek κάντζι
  • κάντζι (kántzi)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Hebrew קאנג׳י
  • קאנג׳יChinese characters in Japanese context
Hindi कांजि, कानजी
  • कांजि (kāñji)Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • कानजी (kānjī)Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • कान्जी (kānjī)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Hungarian kandzsi
  • kandzsiChinese characters in Japanese context
Indonesian kanji, honji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
  • honjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Irish Ceansaí
  • CeansaíChinese characters in Japanese context
Italian kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Japanese 漢字, 日本における漢字
  • 漢字Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • 日本における漢字Chinese characters in Japanese context
Korean 한자, 일문 한자
  • 한자Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • 일문 한자 (ilmun hanja)Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • 일본어(日本語)의 한자 (ilboneo-ui hanja)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Malay kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Persian کانجی
  • کانجی (kânji)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Polish kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Portuguese kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Punjabi ਕਾਂਜੀ
  • ਕਾਂਜੀ (kāñjī)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Russian кандзи́, япо́нский иеро́глиф
  • кандзи́ (kandzí)Chinese characters in Japanese context
  • япо́нский иеро́глиф (japónskij ijeróglif)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Slovak kandži
  • kandžiChinese characters in Japanese context
Spanish kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Swahili kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Swedish kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Thai คันจิ
  • คันจิ (kan-jì)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Turkish kanji
  • kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
Ukrainian кандзі́
  • кандзі́ (kandzí)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Urdu کانجی
  • کانجی (kānjī)Chinese characters in Japanese context
Vietnamese chữ kanji, chữ Nhật
  • chữ kanjiChinese characters in Japanese context
  • chữ NhậtChinese characters in Japanese context

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with kanji

Angie
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

congee (US)

Anagrams

Kajin
Cite this entry
APA

kanji. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kanji

MLA

“kanji.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kanji. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kanji,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kanji.

Source: kanji on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.