Nihongo

Kanji Detail of 尋

Level:N1 Low
Strokes:12
Stroke Order
Related Words
AI Explanation
Basic Meaning

The kanji primarily conveys the meaning of "to seek," "to inquire," or "to search." It can also relate to the concept of "measuring" or "a unit of length." The core idea is related to probing, looking for something, or figuring something out.

Readings

・On-yomi (音読み): ジン (jin) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): たずねる (tazuneru) - to seek, to ask; ひろ (hiro) - an old unit of length (approximately 6 feet).

Usage Examples

⚫︎ 尋ね人(たずねびと) Translation: a missing person; someone being sought after. ⚫︎ (たんきゅう) Translation: seeking; pursuit (of knowledge, etc.). ⚫︎ 尋問(じんもん) Translation: interrogation; questioning.

Correspondence with Your Native Language

Origin and Formation

The kanji is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). It is composed of two parts: * The left side is the radical (sun), meaning "inch" or "small unit of measurement". * The right side is (kou), which originally depicted a tool or a type of construction. The original meaning might have been related to "measuring" or "searching for" something with a small unit, the "寸". This evolved to represent the actions of seeking and inquiring.

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