鑑 means “appraise, mirror, model”

かん · kan

Also: specimen, take warning from, learn from

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)
かんがみる, かがみ
On'yomi (Chinese reading)
カン

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 23 strokes

The story

Metal (金) beside 監, a figure peering into a basin (皿) of water: before glass, a bronze mirror. 鑑 is looking closely: 鑑賞 is appreciating art, 図鑑 an illustrated guide, and 印鑑, the name seal, makes contracts official.

Used in 図鑑 (zukan, illustrated guide), 鑑賞 (kanshou, appreciation), and 印鑑 (inkan, name seal)

More from Learning & Reason

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.