Kanji 男 — "Man"
Here is what 男 means, how it is read, what it is built from, and a story that makes "Man" stick.
How it is read
だん, なん
the reading borrowed from Chinese — usually appears in compound words
おとこ, お
the native Japanese reading — usually appears when the kanji stands alone
How to remember it
Kanji are not random strokes. Learn the parts and the whole becomes easy. Put the parts together into one picture. The stranger it is, the harder it is to forget.
A Man needs Power to work in the Rice Paddy!
- 田 Rice Paddy
Quite clear that it's the shape of a Rice Paddy divided into neat squares.
- 力 Power
The right side of this component looks like an arm flexing its muscles to show you Power.
Words that use 男
6 of 6 words in the app that contain this kanji — the most common ones first.
- 男 おとこ man, male
- 男性 だんせい man, male
- 男子 だんし young man, male
- 男の子 おとこのこ boy
- 男の人 おとこのひと man
- 長男 ちょうなん eldest son
Want 男 to still be there next month?
Reading it once is not remembering it. The app brings each kanji back right before you would have forgotten it.
