Meaning & readings
homecoming, arrive at, lead to, result in
On’yomi キ
Kun’yomi かえ.る、かえ.す、おく.る、とつ.ぐ
Origin
This character combines two visual ideas to express the concept of returning home. The left component (刂) represents a knife or cutting tool, used here as a marker of action or movement. The right component (帚) depicts a broom, an object associated with the household and domestic life. Together, these parts suggest the idea of movement toward one's home or family — the action of going back to where one belongs. Over time, this image of returning home expanded to mean arrival, homecoming, and eventually the broader sense of something leading to or resulting in a particular place or state.
Components
- 刂
- 帚
Common words
- 回帰 かいき return (to); revolution
- 帰す かえす to send (someone) back; to send (someone) home
- 帰り かえり return; coming back
- 帰る かえる to return; to come home
- 帰依 きえ becoming a devout believer; (religious) conversion
- 帰化 きか naturalization; naturalisation
- 帰還 きかん return (home); repatriation
- 帰京 ききょう returning (home) to Tokyo; returning to the capital
Easily confused with
These look alike but are unrelated in meaning — check the stroke that differs.
Reference
- Strokes
- 10
- Kangxi radical
- 50
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #504 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 3
- Unicode
- U+05E30