読み
Meanings
General term for reading something aloud or the act of reading.
He is a fast reader.
reading (of a kanji); pronunciation
Specifically refers to how a kanji is read, especially the kun reading. The spelling 訓み is sometimes used for this sense.
See also: 訓 (くん)
Please tell me the reading of this kanji.
reading (of a situation); insight; judgment
Used for assessing a situation, predicting outcomes, or interpreting subtle cues. Common in phrases like 読みが深い (insightful) or 読みが外れる (misread).
His judgment is always spot-on.
My prediction of the election results was off.
Usage patterns
- 〈人〉は読みが早い(someone) is a fast reader
He's a fast reader and finishes books quickly.
- 〈物〉の読みを調べるto look up how a kanji/word is read
I looked up the reading of the difficult kanji.
- 読みが当たるone's guess or prediction turns out to be right
His prediction was right, and he won the match.
- 〈物〉には複数の読みがあるa kanji has more than one reading
This kanji has multiple readings.
- 読みが外れるone's guess or prediction turns out to be wrong
His prediction was wrong, and the plan failed.
- 読みが深いto have sharp, insightful judgment
He has sharp insight and often predicts the opponent's next move.
Expressions
- 読みが甘いoverly optimistic; misjudged; underestimated
- 読み間違えるmisread; misinterpret; misunderstand
- 読み書きそろばんthe three Rs; reading, writing and arithmetic
- 論語読みの論語知らずknowing a theory without being able to apply it