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JLPT N56画 · 6 strokesradical 言grade 2freq #50

talk, speech, story

On'yomi (音読み)

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

  • はなし
  • はな.す

Mnemonic

When the tongue (舌) starts to move, stories (話) come pouring out like a waterfall of words (言) from a talkative mouth.

About this kanji

The kanji 話 (はなし, はなす) conveys meanings related to talking, speech, and stories. It functions as both a noun and a verb: for example, 話す (はなす) means 'to talk,' whereas 話 (はなし) refers to a 'story' or 'talk.' You may encounter かいわ (会話), which means 'conversation,' and it represents a two-way exchange of spoken ideas. Another common term is 電話 (でんわ), meaning 'telephone,' which literally connects people through talk. Remember, when discussing topics in a casual setting, you can use 知らせる (しらせる) to casually talk about something you want to share.

Built from

Example sentences

  • 彼は話が好きです。

    He likes to talk.

Meanings across languages

English
talk, speech, story
Tiếng Việt
cuộc nói chuyện, lời nói, câu chuyện
日本語
話, 話し, する話
한국어
이야기
中文
谈话, 故事
id
pembicaraan, cerita
th
การสนทนา
es
charla, discurso, historia
fr
conversation, discours, histoire
de
gespräch, rede, geschichte
pt
conversa, discurso, história

Common compounds

  • 会話かいわconversation
  • 話すはなすto talk, to speak
  • 話題わだいtopic, subject
  • 電話でんわtelephone, call

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