12 strokes
Jouyou kanji
Taught in 7th grade
JLPT exam level N1

strict, hard, solid, tough, tight, reliable

Kun'yomi
  • hard ②stiff ③strong ④safe
  • -がた
On'yomi
  • strength ②armor
Nanori
  • きん

Main Radical

(KanXi)

Reading Commonality

ケン 52.6%
かた-がた 47.4%

Character Breakdown

strict, hard, solid
ケン かた.い きん (7th, N1)
hard, wise
カン ケン コウ
retainer, subject
シン とみ おみ (4th, N2)
or again, furthermore, on the other hand
また ユウ やす (8th, N1)
soil, earth, ground
ド つち は (1st, N5)

Contained In

Common Words

strength ②armor
nucleus ②medium-level ③main body (of troops) ④center field
confirmation (rite)
straight-laced person
possessed of a strong sense of duty
holding on to
honest ②respectable occupation (i.e. not yakuza, prostitute, etc.) ③person in a respectable occupation
More Words...

References

Unicode hex code 5805
JIS X 0208 1-23-88
Nelson, A. Classic Nelson 1096
Haig, J. New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary 1038
Halpern, J. New Japanese-English Character Dictionary 2823
Halpern, J. Kodansha Kanji Dictionary 3502
Halpern, J. Kanji Learners Dictionary (Kodansha) 1805
Halpern, J. Kanji Learners Dictionary (Kodansha), 2nd edition (2013) 2457
Heisig, J. Remembering The Kanji 853
Heisig, J. Remembering The Kanji, Sixth Ed. 917
Gakken A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage 914
O'Neill, P.G. Japanese Names 1796
O'Neill, P.G. Essential Kanji 995
Morohashi Daikanwajiten 5210
Henshall, K. A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters 1217
Spahn and Hadamitzky Kanji and Kana 1289
Spahn and Hadamitzky Kanji and Kana (2011 edition) 1363
Hodges & Okazaki Japanese Kanji Flashcards 1155
Kask, A. Tuttle Kanji Cards 1513
Nishiguchi & Kono Kanji in Context 1228
Kodansha Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide 356
Maniette, Y. Les Kanjis dans la tete 861
Tuttle Dictionary Descriptor Code 3b9.13
Four corner code 7710.4
De Roo Code 3472