liver, pluck, nerve, chutzpah
On'yomi (音読み)
- カン
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- きも
About this kanji
The kanji 「肝」 primarily means "liver" and represents not only the organ itself but also concepts like "pluck" or "nerve" in a figurative sense. It is commonly used as a noun. Some important compounds include 肝炎 (かんえん), which means "hepatitis," 肝臓 (かんぞう), meaning "liver," and 肝心 (かんじん), signifying something "essential" or "crucial." A useful note about this kanji is that while it refers to the liver physically, it can also reflect inner strength or determination in various contexts. This duality makes it an interesting character to learn.
Example sentences
肝心なのは信頼だ。
The essence is trust.
Meanings across languages
- English
- liver, pluck, nerve, chutzpah
- Tiếng Việt
- gan, cả gan, dũng cảm, gan dạ
- 日本語
- 肝, 肝臓, 気概, 度胸
- 한국어
- 간, 용기, 신경, 거침없이
- 中文
- 肝, 勇气, 神经, 胆量
- id
- hati, memberani, guts
- th
- ตับ, ความกล้า, ความกล้า
- es
- hígado, agallas, agallas
- fr
- foie, nerf, culot
- de
- Leber, Mumm, Nerv, Courage
- pt
- fígado, coragem, atrevimento
Common compounds
- 肝炎かんえんhepatitis
- 肝臓かんぞうliver
- 肝心かんじんessential, important, crucial
- 肝要かんようextremely important, essential, vital
- 肝硬変かんこうへんcirrhosis (of the liver)
- 肝油かんゆfish-liver oil (cod, shark, etc.)
- 肺肝はいかんthe lungs and liver, depths of one's heart, innermost heart
- 荒肝あらぎもguts
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.