監 means “oversee, watch”

かん · kan

Also: official, govt office, rule

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

カン

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 15 strokes

The story

A wide eye (臣) and a person bending over a basin (皿): 監 once showed someone gazing at their reflection in water. Looking hard became watching over: a 監督 runs a film set, 監視カメラ watch the street, and 監修 is expert supervision.

Used in 監督 (kantoku, director/manager), 監視 (kanshi, surveillance), and 監修 (kanshuu, editorial supervision)

More from Plans & Leadership

• 推 push forward
• 督 supervise
• 催 host
• 司 administer
• 執 grasp
• 措 measure
• 揮 wield
• 操 operate
• 託 entrust
• 宰 preside
• 轄 control
• 摂 take in

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

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