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Kotomora

棺

coffin, casket

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 5,000Strokes12

Readings

On'yomi

  • カン

Kun'yomi

—

Meaning

棺 centers on the container for a dead body: a coffin or casket.

Most common words using 棺

  • 棺かん

    coffin; casket

  • 棺桶かんおけ

    coffin; casket

  • 石棺せっかん

    sarcophagus; stone coffin

  • 納棺のうかん

    placing a body in a coffin

  • 出棺しゅっかん

    carrying out a coffin; funeral procession

  • 入棺にゅうかん

    placing in the coffin

  • 寝棺ねかん

    coffin; casket

  • 木棺もっかん

    wooden coffin

  • 棺に納めるかんにおさめる

    to lay in a coffin

  • 棺を蓋いて事定まるかんをおおいてことさだまる

    a person's worth is assessed only when their coffin is sealed

  • 棺を覆うかんをおおう

    to cover a coffin; to die

  • 棺内分娩かんないぶんべん

    coffin birth; postmortem fetal extrusion

  • 棺架かんか

    bier

  • 甕棺かめかん

    burial urn (often two-storey); funerary urn

  • 納棺師のうかんし

    person who prepares a body for burial; mortician; undertaker

Explore all words using 棺 →

Study

Etymology

棺 combines 木 (wood) with 官, which likely contributes the sound and may relate to an official or formal container. The character originally referred to a wooden coffin.

Meaning mnemonic

A wooden (木) box with an official (官) seal: a coffin prepared for a formal burial.

Reading mnemonic

For カン, imagine a can-shaped coffin made of wood: can -> カン, and the wooden can holds the body.