Archaic term for intelligence, wisdom, or virtue. Rarely used independently in modern Japanese; appears in classical texts and some compound words.
In classical literature, '賢' refers to a person possessing both wisdom and virtue.
wise person; sage
wise; sensible; prudent
wise person; sage; virtuous person · unrefined sake
great sage
the Seven Wise Men (of Confucius's Analects) · Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
The kanji 賢 has been used since classical Chinese to denote wisdom and virtue. In Japanese, the standalone reading けん is archaic and now mainly found in compounds or literary contexts.