占 means “fortune-telling, occupy”

うらなう · uranau

Also: divining, forecasting

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

しめる, うらなう

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

セン

JLPT N2 · Taught in secondary school · 5 strokes

The story

A crack (卜) above a mouth (口): a diviner reading a scorched shell aloud. 占う is to tell fortunes, morning TV shows run a daily 星占い, horoscope, and 占める is to occupy: 独占 is a monopoly.

Used in 占い (uranai, fortune-telling), 占める (shimeru, to occupy/hold), and 独占 (dokusen, monopoly)

More from Respect & Ritual

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• 仏 Buddha
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• 敬 respect
• 祭 festival
• 賢 wise
• 尊 revered
• 祝 celebrate
• 拝 worship
• 祈 pray
• 召 summon

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

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