Meaning & readings

deliberation, consultation, debate, consideration

On’yomi
Nanori かた、のり

Origin

This character combines "words" () on the left with a sound component () on the right that hints at pronunciation. The left side, showing speech or language, makes sense for a character about debate and discussion — it's literally "words" used for deliberation. The right component doesn't add meaning but tells you roughly how to say the character. Together, the character pictures the idea of exchanging words in consultation, which is why it means deliberation or debate.

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

20 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

  • 異議 いぎ objection; dissent
  • 会議 かいぎ meeting; conference
  • 閣議 かくぎ cabinet meeting
  • 議案 ぎあん legislative bill; measure
  • 議員 ぎいん member of an assembly; member of the Diet
  • 議院 ぎいん parliament; congress
  • 議会 ぎかい congress; parliament
  • 議決 ぎけつ resolution; decision

Reference

Strokes
20
Kangxi radical
149
Grade
Grade 4 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#25 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+08B70