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Kotomora

圏

sphere, circle, radius, range

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes12

Readings

On'yomi

  • ケン

Kun'yomi

  • かこ.い

Meaning

圏 centers on a bounded area or conceptual domain: a sphere, circle, or range. The idea of a radius fits as the defining line of that bounded space.

Most common words using 圏

20 of 103
  • 圏けん
    N1

    sphere; circle; range; area; zone; bloc

  • 圏内けんない
    N1

    inside (a region, area, etc.); within the range (of); within the sphere (of influence, etc.)

  • 圏外けんがい
    N1

    outside (a region, area, etc.); out of range (of a mobile network, radar, etc.); outside the sphere (of influence, etc.); out of contention; out of reach

  • 大気圏たいきけん
    N1

    the atmosphere

  • 北極圏ほっきょくけん

    Arctic Circle; the Arctic

  • 成層圏せいそうけん

    stratosphere

  • 商圏しょうけん

    business region; marketing area; commercial sphere; trading area; region in which a business operates

  • 首都圏しゅとけん
    N1

    Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area

  • 勢力圏せいりょくけん
    N1

    sphere of influence

  • 暴風圏ぼうふうけん
    N1

    storm zone

  • イスラム圏イスラムけん

    Islamic world; Muslim world

  • スペイン語圏スペインごけん

    Spanish-speaking world; Spanish-speaking countries

  • ソ連圏ソれんけん

    Soviet bloc

  • ドイツ語圏ドイツごけん

    German-speaking countries; German language sphere

  • フランス語圏フランスごけん

    French-speaking world; francophone world; francophonie

  • ユーロ圏ユーロけん

    eurozone; euro zone; euro area

  • 中京圏ちゅうきょうけん

    Chūkyō metropolitan area (most of Aichi, and parts of Gifu and Mie prefectures; centered around Nagoya); Chūkyō region

  • 中国語圏ちゅうごくごけん

    sinophone world; Chinese-speaking world

  • 中華圏ちゅうかけん

    Greater China (incl. Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and sometimes Singapore); Sinosphere

  • 中間圏ちゅうかんけん

    mesosphere

Explore all words using 圏 →

Study

Etymology

圏 combines the enclosure 囗 with 巻 (roll, scroll), which likely contributes the sound and the idea of a bounded area. The character expresses a sphere or range.

Meaning mnemonic

The enclosure 囗 wraps around 巻 (scroll), like a scroll defining the boundary of a sphere or range. Picture a rolled-up map inside a box, marking the limits of a territory.

Reading mnemonic

For ケン, imagine a ken (a Japanese prefecture) as a bounded sphere: ken -> ケン, and the enclosure 囗 marks its range.