兼
兼 — Concurrently
concurrently, and, beforehand, in advance
On’yomiケン (ken)
Kun’yomiかねる (kaneru)
Kun’yomi-かねる (kaneru)
Stroke order (10 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 兼
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 兼 | けん ken | and (concurrently; e.g. chauffeur and secretary); in addition to; at the same time |
| 気兼ね | きがね kigane | constraint; reserve; feeling hesitant |
| 兼ねる | かねる kaneru | to be unable to; to find difficult (unpleasant, awkward, painful) to do; to serve two or more functions or roles simultaneously |
| 兼ね合い | かねあい kaneai | equilibrium; good balance; poise |
| 兼ね備える | かねそなえる kanesonaeru | to have both; to possess both; to combine with |
| 兼任 | けんにん kennin | serving concurrently as; holding the additional post of |
Study notes
兼 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught at secondary-school level in Japan. Ranked #1164 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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