specialty, exclusive, mainly, solely
On'yomi (音読み)
- セン
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- もっぱ.ら
About this kanji
The kanji 専 (sen) primarily means "specialty" or "exclusive." It is commonly used as a noun in various contexts. For example, 専攻 (せんこう) means "major subject" in school, while 専門 (せんもん) refers to a "speciality" in a particular field. You can also find it in the term 専用 (せんよう), which means "exclusive use," indicating something meant for one specific person or purpose. A useful note is that 専 is often associated with singular focus, so when you see it in compounds, it usually highlights a sense of specialty or exclusivity.
Example sentences
彼女は専業主婦です。
She is a full-time housewife.
Meanings across languages
- English
- specialty, exclusive, mainly, solely
- Tiếng Việt
- chuyên môn, độc quyền, chủ yếu, duy nhất
- 日本語
- 専門, 排他的, 主に, 単独
- 한국어
- 전문, 독점, 주로, 오직
- 中文
- 专门, 独占, 主要, 仅仅
- id
- spesialisasi
- th
- ความเชี่ยวชาญ
- es
- especialidad
- fr
- spécialité
- de
- Spezialität
- pt
- especialidade
Common compounds
- 専攻せんこうmajor subject, special study
- 専務せんむspecial duty, being in sole charge of a duty, senior managing director
- 専門せんもんspeciality, specialty, special subject of study
- 専用せんよう(one's) exclusive use, private use, personal use
- 専門家せんもんかspecialist, expert, professional
- 専門学校せんもんがっこうvocational school, technical school
- 住専じゅうせんhousing-loan corporation
- 専らもっぱらwholly, solely, entirely
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.