Meaning & readings

podium, stage, rostrum, terrace

On’yomi ダン、タン

Origin

This character combines the radical for earth or ground () on the left with a sound component on the right that hints at the pronunciation. The earth radical makes sense because a podium or stage is fundamentally a raised platform — a constructed earthen or solid mound. The right component primarily tells you how to say the character rather than contributing additional meaning. Together, these parts create a character that represents an elevated platform made of earth or stone, the kind of structure used for ceremonies, speeches, or performances.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).

16 strokes

Components

  • radical left
  • sound hint right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 演壇 えんだん rostrum; platform
  • 教壇 きょうだん (teacher's) platform; podium
  • 祭壇 さいだん altar
  • 仏壇 ぶつだん Buddhist (household) altar
  • 文壇 ぶんだん literary world; literary circles
  • 花壇 かだん flower bed
  • 壇上 だんじょう on a stage; on a platform
  • 土壇場 どたんば last moment; eleventh hour

Reference

Strokes
16
Kangxi radical
32
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#1512 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+058C7