剣けん

Don't confuse with

• 刃はN1sense 1

  刃 refers only to the cutting edge of a blade, whereas 剣 refers to the entire sword.

• 日本にほん刀とう

  剣 usually denotes a straight, double-edged sword (as in Western or Chinese styles), unlike the curved, single-edged 日本刀.

Counted with

• 枝しsense 1

  剣 is counted with 枝, the counter used for long, thin objects such as swords and pens.

• 振ふりN2

  For swords and blades (刀一振り).

• 佩はい

  Archaic counter for swords worn at the waist.

Word family· 75

• 真しん剣けんN3

  serious; earnest; sincere · real sword; actual blade

• 剣けん道どうN1

  kendo; Japanese fencing

• 刀とう剣けん

  sword; dagger; knife; bayonet

• 剣けん士し

  swordsman; swordswoman; fencer

• 短たん剣けん

  short sword; dagger; stiletto · hour hand (of a clock)

See all 75 in Explore →

Written forms

• 剣Usage99%iUsage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
  • けん

    Standard modern kanji for sword, blade, and related senses.

  • つるぎ
• つるぎUsage1%

  Kana spelling for the native reading つるぎ, used when the reading is explicitly つるぎ or to avoid ambiguity with けん.

• 劒Usage<1%iUsage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
  out-dated kanji form
  • けん

    Outdated kanji variant; not used in modern Japanese.

  • つるぎ
• 劍Usage<1%iUsage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
  out-dated kanji form
  • けん

    Outdated kanji variant; not used in modern Japanese.

  • つるぎ

Etymology

A Sino-Japanese reading of Chinese 劍, now written 剣, meaning “sword.” The character combines the semantic element 刀 with 僉 as its phonetic element.