健
健 — Healthy
healthy, health, strength, persistence
On’yomiケン (ken)
Kun’yomiすこやか (sukoyaka)
Stroke order (11 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 健
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 健康 | けんこう kenkou | health; healthy; sound |
| 保健 | ほけん hoken | preservation of health; hygiene; sanitation |
| 健全 | けんぜん kenzen | healthy; sound; wholesome |
| 穏健 | おんけん onken | moderate (view, politics, etc.); temperate; sensible |
| 健康保険 | けんこうほけん kenkouhoken | health insurance |
| 健闘 | けんとう kentou | fighting bravely; strenuous efforts |
Study notes
健 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 11 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #572 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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