General term for audible sound or noise. Also used as a suffix in compounds like 爆音 (explosion sound) or 足音 (footsteps).
I looked up the on-reading of this kanji in the dictionary.
I heard a strange sound from far away.
This machine makes a loud noise.
speech sound; phonetic sound
Specifically refers to sounds of spoken language, such as vowels and consonants.
The sound 'n' in Japanese does not exist in English.
on'yomi; Chinese-derived reading
In the context of kanji, refers to the reading derived from Chinese, as opposed to 訓 (kun'yomi). Often used in compounds like 音読み.
See also: 訓
The on'yomi of this kanji is 'ka'.
Japanese has fewer distinct sounds than English.
When you read the kanji for "mountain" using its on'yomi, it becomes "san".
When studying kanji, it's important to distinguish on-readings from kun-readings.
音 is the Chinese-derived (on'yomi) reading of a kanji, while 訓 is the native Japanese (kun'yomi) reading — the two readings systems are opposites.
オン means a device or switch is 'on', the direct opposite of オフ meaning 'off'.
音 read as おと is the everyday native word for a concrete sound (足音, 物音), while 音 read as おん is the more abstract, Sino-Japanese term used in phonetics and kanji readings (音読み, 発音).
音 (sound) is pronounced identically to 恩 but means an entirely unrelated concept, sound, so context is needed to distinguish them.
Standard kanji form for all senses.
The kanji 音 represents 'sound' and is used in many compounds. The reading おん comes from Middle Chinese. The word itself is a basic Sino-Japanese term.
sound quality; tone quality
sound wave; acoustic wave
low tone; bass; low voice
tone deafness; amusia; having no ear for music · having no sense of; being hopeless at; -illiterate
lead; taking the lead · group folk dance and song · leader of wind instruments in gagaku
speed of sound; sonic speed
explosion sound; roar of a machine
noise; unpleasant sound · interference; static; noise · gossip; irresponsible criticism
musical note; note symbol · phonetic symbol; kana or kanji doubling mark; vowel lengthening mark · phonetic component of a kanji
high-pitched tone; high note; soprano
musical interval; step · pitch; key
silence; no sound
soundproofing; sound insulation
correspondence; news; letter; tidings
reading aloud; oral reading · on'yomi reading; Chinese-derived reading of a kanji
range; register; compass
imitative sound; sound effect
heart sound; cardiac sound
sweet voice; beautiful sound
musical scale
stuttering; stammering
the Emperor's voice · beautiful voice; beautiful sound