字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

isolate, alternate, distance, separate, gulf

On’yomi カク
Kun’yomi へだ.てる、へだ.たる

Origin

The left side (⻖) is a classifier that signals this character relates to dividing or blocking — it's the "mound" or "earthen wall" radical. The right side (鬲) serves as a sound hint, suggesting the character's pronunciation without adding to the meaning. Together, they create a character meaning to separate or isolate: just as an earthen wall or barrier divides space, this kanji expresses the idea of distance and separation between things.

隔 13 strokes

Components

  • ⻖ radical left
  • 鬲 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

  • 遠隔 えんかく distant; remote
  • 隔て へだて partition; division
  • 隔月 かくげつ every second month; every other month
  • 隔離 かくり isolation; segregation
  • 間隔 かんかく space; interval
  • 隔週 かくしゅう every other week; every two weeks
  • 隔たり へだたり distance; difference
  • 隔たる へだたる to be distant

Related kanji

Same sound component 鬲
Same radical

Reference

Strokes
13
Kangxi radical
170
Formation type
Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#1382 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+09694