念
念 — Wish
wish, sense, idea, thought, feeling, desire
On’yomiネン (nen)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (8 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 念
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 記念 | きねん kinen | commemoration; celebration; remembrance |
| 懸念 | けねん kenen | worry; fear; anxiety |
| 残念 | ざんねん zannen | regrettable; unfortunate; disappointing |
| 理念 | りねん rinen | (Platonic) ideal (of how things ought to be, e.g. human rights); foundational principle; idea |
| 念 | ねん nen | sense; idea; thought |
| 念頭 | ねんとう nentou | (on one's) mind; heed |
Study notes
念 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 8 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #390 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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