General term for audible sound or noise. Also used as a suffix in compounds like 爆音 (explosion sound) or 足音 (footsteps).
speech sound; phonetic sound
Specifically refers to sounds of spoken language, such as vowels and consonants.
The sound 'n' in Japanese does not exist in English.
on'yomi; Chinese-derived reading
In the context of kanji, refers to the reading derived from Chinese, as opposed to 訓 (kun'yomi). Often used in compounds like 音読み.
See also: 訓
The on'yomi of this kanji is 'ka'.
I looked up the on-reading of this kanji in the dictionary.
I heard a strange sound from far away.
This machine makes a loud noise.
Japanese has fewer distinct sounds than English.
When you read the kanji for "mountain" using its on'yomi, it becomes "san".
When studying kanji, it's important to distinguish on-readings from kun-readings.
音 is the Chinese-derived (on'yomi) reading of a kanji, while 訓 is the native Japanese (kun'yomi) reading — the two readings systems are opposites.
オン means a device or switch is 'on', the direct opposite of オフ meaning 'off'.
音 read as おと is the everyday native word for a concrete sound (足音, 物音), while 音 read as おん is the more abstract, Sino-Japanese term used in phonetics and kanji readings (音読み, 発音).
音 (sound) is pronounced identically to 恩 but means an entirely unrelated concept, sound, so context is needed to distinguish them.
Standard kanji form for all senses.
The kanji 音 represents 'sound' and is used in many compounds. The reading おん comes from Middle Chinese. The word itself is a basic Sino-Japanese term.
sound wave; acoustic wave
low tone; bass; low voice
tone deafness; amusia; having no ear for music · having no sense of; being hopeless at; -illiterate
lead; taking the lead · group folk dance and song · leader of wind instruments in gagaku
speed of sound; sonic speed
explosion sound; roar of a machine
noise; unpleasant sound · interference; static; noise · gossip; irresponsible criticism
musical note; note symbol · phonetic symbol; kana or kanji doubling mark; vowel lengthening mark · phonetic component of a kanji
high-pitched tone; high note; soprano
musical interval; step · pitch; key
silence; no sound
soundproofing; sound insulation
correspondence; news; letter; tidings
reading aloud; oral reading · on'yomi reading; Chinese-derived reading of a kanji
range; register; compass
imitative sound; sound effect
heart sound; cardiac sound
sweet voice; beautiful sound
musical scale
stuttering; stammering
the Emperor's voice · beautiful voice; beautiful sound