Meaning & readings
proclaim, say, announce
On’yomi セン
Kun’yomi のたま.う
Nanori とおる、のぶ、のぼる、のり、ひさ、よし
Origin
This character combines a roof symbol at the top, which classifies it as relating to a building or official space, with a sound hint at the bottom that indicates the Chinese pronunciation "sen." The roof suggests an official or formal setting, which connects to the character's meaning of making an announcement or proclamation. In ancient China, important declarations would have been made from official buildings or halls, so the combination of these elements evokes the formal act of announcing something publicly from an authoritative place.
Components
- 宀
- 亘
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
- 宣言 せんげん declaration; proclamation
- 宣告 せんこく sentencing; pronouncement of a verdict
- 宣誓 せんせい oath; abjuration
- 宣戦 せんせん declaration of war
- 宣伝 せんでん publicity; advertisement
- 託宣 たくせん oracle; revelation
- 宣教師 せんきょうし missionary
- 街宣車 がいせんしゃ sound truck (used for campaigning, advertising or propaganda); loudspeaker van
Reference
- Strokes
- 9
- Kangxi radical
- 40
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Grade 6 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #695 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+05BA3