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堅

strict
Stroke count: 12

Readings

On readingケン
Kun readingかた.い、-がた.い

Meanings

  1. strictRtK
    彼は自分の神を堅く信じていた。He had a firm belief in his God.tatoeba
    彼は私達に対して実に堅苦しい。He is very formal with us.tatoeba
  2. hard
    また江戸時代の遺品は漆を厚くかけるのでとても堅い。Belts made in the Edo period that exist today are very hard because a thick coat of lacquer was applied to them.wiki
    非常に堅いため削ったものを食べたり、料理に使ったりする。Shaved pieces are eaten or used for cooking, because this tofu is very hard.wiki
  3. solid
  4. tough
  5. tight
    彼は口が堅い。He is a tight-lipped man.tatoeba
  6. reliable
  1. strength
  2. solidity
  3. firmness
  4. armour
  5. armor

Popular Usage

堅/硬/固い堅い

Radicals and components

Radical土earth
Components
How it's built
堅
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Mnemonic (RtK)

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loincloth · retainer · slave · crotch · soil (土) · dirt (土) · ground (土)

From "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig · Frame 917

Compound words

彼は堅物だから、どうも息子が転職するのにいい顔をしないんだよね。
He's a really straight-laced guy, so he doesn't like the idea of his son changing jobs.tatoeba

Real voices: how native speakers say it

These sentences were read aloud by real people — native Japanese speakers — for the open Mozilla Common Voice project. Listen to how a phrase sounds in real speech: the intonation, the pace, the way words run together. Two speakers mean two different people read it — compare them.

カジュアルな服を着ても、どこか堅苦しさは隠せない
かじゅあるなふくをきても、どこかかたくるしさはかくせないEven wearing casual clothes, I can't hide the stiffness.
友情が深く堅いこと。
ゆうじょうがふかくかたいこと。Deep and firm friendship.
妻が堅く貞操を守ること。
つまがかたくていそうをまもること。A wife maintaining chastity firmly.

Recordings and sentences: Mozilla Common Voice, CC0

Stroke Order

12 strokes

Practice Writing

Practice Writing 堅

Draw with a guide, then from memory — checked at every step