字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

practice, gloss, train, drill, polish, refine

On’yomi レン
Kun’yomi ね.る、ね.り
Nanori ねり

Origin

The character 練 combines the silk thread radical on the left with a sound component on the right that hints at the pronunciation "ren." The connection to meaning comes from the silk thread part: in ancient times, raw silk had to be repeatedly boiled, stretched, and worked to refine it into glossy, usable thread. This repeated labor-intensive process of silk refinement became the natural metaphor for practice and training—both involve repetition and gradual improvement to perfect a skill.

練 14 strokes

Components

  • 糸 radical left
  • 東 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

  • 訓練 くんれん training; drill
  • 試練 しれん test; trial
  • 熟練 じゅくれん skill; expertise
  • 洗練 せんれん refinement; polish
  • 未練 みれん lingering attachment; lingering affection
  • 練る ねる to knead; to thicken into a paste (stirring over a flame)
  • 練習 れんしゅう practice; training
  • 修練 しゅうれん training; drill

Related kanji

Same sound component 東
Same radical

Reference

Strokes
14
Kangxi radical
120
Formation type
Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade
Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#788 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+07DF4