戒 means “guard against, admonish, precept”

かい · kai

Also: commandment

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

いましめる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

カイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 7 strokes

The story

Two hands (廾) gripping a halberd (戈): the Shuowen's picture of a guard on watch. 警戒 is vigilance, 戒める is to admonish, 戒律 are the precepts a monk vows to keep, and a 戒名 is the Buddhist name given to the dead.

Used in 警戒 (keikai, vigilance/caution), 戒律 (kairitsu, religious precepts), and 戒名 (kaimyou, posthumous Buddhist name)

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