Usage patterns 肝かん 心じん な 〈 事こと 〉 the crucial thing/point
I forgot the most crucial thing.
肝かん 心じん な 〈 時とき 〉 に at the critical moment
My phone battery died at the critical moment.
肝かん 心じん なのは 〈 事こと 〉 だ what really matters is...
What matters most is not giving up until the end.
Related words 重要 is a formal, objective term for 'important' used in reports and business, while 肝心 stresses the one indispensable element in a given situation.
大切 conveys personal or emotional value (cherishing something), whereas 肝心 points to functional necessity for success or understanding.
大事 is a broad everyday word for 'important', while 肝心 is narrower, singling out the single most critical part.
肝要 is a more literary/formal synonym of 肝心 , often found in writing or set phrases, while 肝心 is common in everyday speech.
Don't confuse with 関心 (かんしん , 'interest/concern') sounds close to 肝心 (かんじん , 'essential') but differs by voicing and has a completely different meaning.
感心 (かんしん , 'admiration') is easily confused with 肝心 (かんじん , 'essential') due to their near-identical pronunciation despite unrelated meanings.
肝心 is a fixed adjectival compound meaning 'essential,' while 肝 alone is a noun that can mean the crux of something in phrases like 話の肝 .
肝心 (also read かんじん ) means 'essential, crucial' and is unrelated in meaning to 勧進 , which refers to temple fundraising; the two are pure homophones.
Written forms 肝かん 心じん Usage 87%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency in news and general use.
肝かん 腎じん Usage 9%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 肝心 is overwhelmingly preferred.
かんじん Usage 4%
カンジン Usage <1%
Etymology Composed of 肝 (liver) and 心 (heart), both considered vital organs in traditional East Asian medicine, thus metaphorically meaning 'essential' or 'crucial'.
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