山やま勘かん

や

ま

か

ん

Meanings

A guess or hunch, often based on intuition or experience rather than solid evidence. Frequently used in phrases like 山勘が当たる (the guess is right) or 山勘で言う (say based on a hunch).

彼かれの山やま勘かんが当あたって、宝たからくじに当とう選せんした。
His hunch was right, and he won the lottery.
山やま勘かんで答こたえたら、たまたま正せい解かいだった。
I answered based on a guess, and it happened to be correct.

See all 4 example sentences ›

Kanji

山mountain
勘intuition, perception, check

Related words

推すい測そく
推測 is a more formal word for conjecture or inference, often based on reasoning. 山勘 is more casual and implies a gut feeling or lucky guess.
勘かん
勘 means intuition or sixth sense. 山勘 specifically refers to a guess or hunch, often in a context of predicting an outcome.

Built from

山やま+勘かん

Written forms

山やま勘かんUsage25%
Standard kanji spelling.
ヤマカンUsage63%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common in casual writing.
ヤマ勘かんUsage13%
search-only kanji form
Search-only mixed kanji-katakana form.

Etymology

The origin is disputed. A leading explanation treats it as a shortening of 山師の勘, “a prospector’s intuition,” referring to a guess made without firm evidence.