Refers to an armed uprising or large-scale conflict, often in historical or formal contexts. Commonly appears in compound words such as 反乱 (rebellion) and 内乱 (civil war).
A peasant revolt broke out.
This rebellion lasted for three years.
The Ōnin War was a major civil war that broke out during the Muromachi period.
Revolts broke out all over the country, and the nation fell into chaos.
戦乱 emphasizes the chaos and fighting of warfare in general, while 乱 more narrowly points to a specific uprising or revolt.
動乱 describes widespread social or political turmoil and unrest, while 乱 is the plainer term often used to name a single historical revolt.
騒乱 refers to a riot or disturbance, usually smaller in scale than the armed conflicts that 乱 can denote.
乱 refers to disorder or rebellion, while 治 refers to peaceful, orderly rule, making them opposites in the classical phrase 治乱 (peace and chaos).
乱 (revolt, war) and 蘭 (orchid) are pronounced identically as らん but are completely unrelated in meaning and written with different kanji.
欄 (a column, field, or railing) and 乱 (disorder, chaos) are pure homophones read らん with completely unrelated meanings.
disorder; chaos; confusion; mayhem
rebellion; revolt; insurrection; mutiny; uprising
lewd; lascivious; debauched
violence; assault; rowdiness · rough; reckless; rude; unreasonable · rape; sexual assault
abuse; misuse; overuse
brawl; melee; free-for-all
intrusion; bursting in; barging in
confusion; mental derangement; distraction
boisterous dance; wild dancing
The kanji 乱 means 'disorder' or 'revolt'. As a standalone noun, it is used in historical or formal contexts to refer to uprisings and wars. The reading らん is the on'yomi.
random walk
dispersion; scattering; being scattered about
random number
indiscriminate shooting; random shooting; firing blindly
standing in disorderly clusters; jumbled together · flood of candidates; too many people running for office
overfishing; overhunting; indiscriminate taking
random firing; reckless shooting · excessive issuance; overissue
civil war; insurrection; rebellion; domestic conflict
warfare; turmoil of war
fury; frenzy; madness; wildness
disturbance; riot; mayhem
great rebellion; large-scale uprising
troubled times; turbulent era
astigmatism
disorder; mess; clutter
disturbance; disruption; confusion
disturbance; upheaval; unrest; riot; war
in profusion; riotously blooming
mental derangement; madness; insanity
violent fluctuation; wild swings
wholeheartedly; single-mindedly; with intense concentration