熟語
Meanings
1
Linguistics term for a word made of two or more kanji, such as 漢字熟語. Also used in everyday language to refer to multi-kanji words.
"学校" is a two-character kanji compound.
Please tell me how to read this kanji compound.
2
Refers to a fixed expression or idiomatic phrase, often with a meaning not predictable from its parts. Common in language learning contexts.
"油を売る" is an interesting idiom, isn't it?
Memorizing English idioms is tough.
Usage patterns
- 〈熟語〉を覚えるto memorize a kanji compound/idiom
I memorized a hundred kanji compounds for the test.
- 〈熟語〉を使うto use a kanji compound/idiom
He often uses difficult kanji compounds.
- 〈熟語〉の意味を調べるto look up the meaning of an idiom/compound
I looked up the meaning of the idiom in a dictionary.