賢 means “wise, clever”
かしこい · kashikoi
Also: intelligent, wisdom, cleverness
- Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)
- かしこい
- On'yomi (Chinese reading)
- ケン
JLPT N2 · Taught in secondary school · 16 strokes
The story
A watchful eye (臣) and a hand (又) above shells (貝), the old money: picture a steward who checks every coin and is never fooled. 賢い is clever or wise, owners praise a dog with 賢いね, and 賢明 means sensible.
Used in 賢い (kashikoi, clever/wise), 賢明 (kenmei, wise/sensible), and 賢者 (kenja, sage)
More from Respect & Ritual
- 尊 revered
- 祝 celebrate
- 拝 worship
- 祈 pray
- 召 summon
- 伺 humbly ask
- 賞 prize
- 占 fortune-telling
- 承 accept
- 仏 Buddha
- 像 statue
- 栄 flourish
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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.