啓 means “open, enlighten”

けい · kei

Also: disclose, say

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ひらく, さとす

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ケイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

A hand tapping (攵) a door (戸) open, with a mouth (口) below to speak: 啓 opens minds. 拝啓 is how a formal Japanese letter begins, answered by 敬具 at the end, and 啓発 is raising awareness, as in a safety campaign.

Used in 拝啓 (haikei, Dear Sir or Madam), 啓発 (keihatsu, raising awareness), and 啓蒙 (keimou, enlightenment)

More from Speak & Explain

• 諭 admonish
• 挨 push close
• 拶 press close
• 詮 scrutinize
• 謝 apologize
• 訳 translation
• 釈 explain
• 喚 call out
• 陳 display
• 尋 ask

Learn 啓 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

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