婚 means “marriage”

こん · kon

On'yomi (Chinese reading): コン

Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

A woman (女) at dusk (昏): ancient weddings were held at twilight, when day meets night and two lives merge into one. Traditional Japanese weddings at Shinto shrines still honor this liminal moment with sacred sake shared between bride and groom.

Used in 結婚 (kekkon, marriage), 婚約 (kon'yaku, engagement), and 新婚 (shinkon, newlywed)

Where it comes from

Phonetic-Semantic (形声文字): A woman at dusk: twilight wedding ceremony.

Ancient Chinese weddings were held at dusk (昏), when the yang of day met the yin of night, a symbolic merging of two forces. The woman radical (女) plus dusk (昏) created the character for marriage.

To remember it: A woman (女) at dusk (昏). Ancient weddings happened at twilight!

Words with 婚

結婚 (けっこん, kekkon): marriage

Example sentences

来月結婚します。 I'm getting married next month.
結婚式はとても綺麗でした。 The wedding ceremony was very beautiful.

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