flats, counter for houses, eaves

About this kanji

The kanji「軒」(けん) primarily refers to the eaves or the overhanging part of a roof, but it can also be used as a counter for houses. You'll often see it in different compounds like「軒並み」(のきなみ), which means a row of houses, and「一軒」(いっけん), referring to one house. Another example is「軒下」(のきした), meaning under the eaves. This kanji captures the idea of shelter and structure, making it quite useful in everyday conversation about homes. A usage note is that while it can describe physical structures, it's usually more common in written Japanese.

Example sentences

• 屋根の軒先に小鳥が止まった。

  A small bird perched on the eaves of the roof.

Meanings across languages

English

flats, counter for houses, eaves

Tiếng Việt

tầng, đếm nhà, mái hiên

日本語

屋根, 家の数, 軒

한국어

층, 집의 수, 처마

中文

公寓, 家数, 屋檐

id

flat, penghitung rumah, atap

th

แฟลต, จำนวนบ้าน, ชายคา

es

planos, contador de casas, aleros

fr

planches, compteur de maisons, avant-toit

de

Fläche, Zähler für Häuser, Vordach

pt

apartamentos, contagem de casas, beiral

Common compounds

• 軒並みのきなみrow of houses, every house, each house
• 一軒いっけんone house
• 軒下のきしたunder the eaves
• 軒先のきさきedge of the eaves, house frontage
• 一軒家いっけんやdetached house, single house, single building
• 軒昂けんこうhigh-spirited, in high spirits
• 軒数けんすうnumber of houses
• 軒灯けんとうlamp or electric light at the eaves of a house, door light