禁 means “prohibit, ban”

きん · kin

Also: prohibition, forbid

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

キン

JLPT N2 · Taught in grade 5 · 13 strokes

The story

Woods (林) around an altar (示): picture a sacred grove where no one may set foot. 禁止 is a ban, 禁煙 means no smoking, and 撮影禁止, no photos, is posted at many temples and museums.

Used in 禁止 (kinshi, prohibition), 禁煙 (kin'en, no smoking), and 厳禁 (genkin, strictly prohibited)

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