款かん

か

ん

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

Used in legal, contractual, or formal documents to refer to a specific article, clause, or section. Not a general word for 'title' or 'heading' in everyday contexts.

契けい約やく書しょの第だい3款かんに違い反はんしている。
It violates Article 3 of the contract.

noun

benevolence; friendly feeling

Rare and archaic; mainly appears in the fixed expression 款を通ずる (to establish friendly relations). Not used independently in modern Japanese.

See also: 款を通ずる (かんをつうずる)

両りょう国こくは款かんを通つうじて平へい和わを保たもった。
The two countries maintained peace by establishing friendly relations.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Expressions

款かんを通つうずるcommunicate secretly; form a close friendship

Kanji

款goodwill, article, section

Related words

条じょう
条 is the more common term for 'article' or 'clause' in legal documents; 款 is more formal and often used for subsections.
項こう
項 refers to a paragraph or item within an article; 款 is a higher-level division.

Word family

定てい款かん
articles of incorporation; company statute
約やっ款かん
clause; article; stipulation
借しゃっ款かん
loan; borrowing
落らっ款かん
signature and seal (on artwork)
条じょう款かん
clause; article; provision; stipulation
款かん冬とう
giant butterbur · Japanese silverleaf · kerria

Etymology

The kanji 款 originally meant 'sincere' or 'to knock', and was borrowed into Japanese with the meaning 'article' or 'clause' in formal writing. The 'benevolence' sense is an extension of the idea of sincerity, but is now largely obsolete outside set phrases.