Meaning & readings
prefecture
Origin
This character most likely combines "eye" or "see" with "hang" or "suspend" to represent a prefecture. The idea appears to be that a prefecture is a division of territory that stands out or is marked off — something you can see as distinct. Over centuries of writing, the original picture-like form became more abstract and geometric, until it developed into the simplified shape we see today. The character's meaning shifted from the literal sense of something visible or suspended to the administrative concept of a regional division.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (県).
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 9
- Kangxi radical
- 109
- Grade
- Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #140 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 3
- Unicode
- U+0770C