Skip to content
Kotomora

管

pipe, tube, wind instrument, drunken talk, control, jurisdiction

JLPTN2StatusJōyō · grade 4FrequencyTop 1,000Strokes14

Readings

On'yomi

  • カン

Kun'yomi

  • くだ

Nanori

  • すが

Meaning

管 centers on a hollow cylinder that channels or directs something: a pipe or tube, a wind instrument, and by extension the idea of controlling or having jurisdiction over a flow. The 'drunken talk' sense is a rare, figurative application of uncontrolled speech flowing out.

Most common words using 管

24 of 647
  • 管理かんり
    N3

    control; management (e.g. of a business)

  • 管かん
    N3

    pipe; tube

  • 保管ほかん
    N1

    charge; custody; safekeeping; deposit; storage

  • 管くだ
    N3

    pipe; tube

  • 血管けっかん
    N2

    blood vessel; vein

  • 管轄かんかつ
    N1

    jurisdiction; control

  • 管制かんせい

    control (by the state); controlling; coordination

  • 配管はいかん

    plumbing; piping

  • 管弦楽かんげんがく

    orchestral music

  • 管内かんない

    within the jurisdiction (of); one's jurisdiction

  • 管区かんく

    jurisdiction

  • 所管しょかん

    jurisdiction

  • 移管いかん

    transfer of control

  • 気管きかん

    trachea; windpipe

  • ブラウン管ブラウンかん

    cathode-ray tube; CRT; Braun tube

  • 気管支きかんし

    bronchus; bronchial tube

  • 管財かんざい

    administration of property; custodianship; receivership

  • 管制塔かんせいとう

    control tower

  • 主管しゅかん

    supervision; management; supervisor; manager

  • 管長かんちょう

    superintendent priest; chief abbot

  • 管理職かんりしょく
    N2

    management; managerial position; administrative post; person in a managerial position

  • 食管法しょっかんほう

    law governing food quality

  • 入国管理局にゅうこくかんりきょく

    Immigration Bureau; Immigration Office

  • 管区気象台かんくきしょうだい

    district meteorological observatory

Explore all words using 管 →

Study

Etymology

管 combines 竹 (bamboo) with 官, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of governing or controlling. The original meaning is a bamboo pipe or tube, later extended to wind instruments and the abstract sense of control.

Meaning mnemonic

Bamboo 竹 on top of 官 suggests a bamboo tube used to control or channel something, like a pipe or a wind instrument. The idea of control extends to having jurisdiction over a flow.

Reading mnemonic

For カン, imagine a can (カン) being used as a simple pipe: the can channels water, and the sound 'can' cues カン while the pipe controls the flow.