Kanji With the Most Readings: ็, ่ก, ไธ and How to Survive Them
The kanji ็ has more than a dozen readings: ใใ, ใใใ, ใชใพ, ใ, ใ, ใฏ, ใ, and more. Every learner who sees that list panics. But nobody actually memorizes readings one by one. You memorize words, and the reading comes along for the ride. Letโs look at why a few kanji ended up with so many readings, and why that doesnโt have to scare you.
Why So Many Readings
Every kanji carries two kinds of readings. Kunโyomi (่จ่ชญใฟ) are native Japanese words mapped onto the character. Onโyomi (้ณ่ชญใฟ) are borrowed Chinese pronunciations.
The complication is that Japan didnโt borrow from China just once. It happened in waves over centuries (ๅ้ณ, ๆผข้ณ, ๅ้ณ), and Japanese often kept more than one of the pronunciations it picked up. So an old, everyday character like ็ collected several onโyomi as well as several kunโyomi, simply because it shows up in so many words. A rarer character usually has just one of each, which is why it never feels this overwhelming.
The Reading Champions
ๅญฆ็ ใใใใ ยท ็ ใชใพ ยท ็ใพใใ ใใพใใ
ๅฐไธ ใกใ ยท ไธ ใใ ยท ไธใใ ใใ ใใ
ๆ ่ก ใใใใ ยท ่กใ ใใ ยท ่กใ ใใใชใ
ไธๆ ใใใใ ยท ไธ ใใ ยท ไธใ ใฎใผใ
ๆฅๆ ใซใกใใ ยท ๆฅ ใฒ ยท ไธๆฅ ใฟใฃใ
Learn Words, Not Readings
No native speaker recalls ็ by reciting its readings either. They just know the words: ๅญฆ็ (ใใใใ), ๅ ็ (ใใใใ), ็ใพใใ (ใใพใใ), ็ (ใชใพ). The reading is glued to the word, not to the bare character.
One pattern does help. In compounds (two kanji sitting together) you usually reach for onโyomi. A kanji standing alone, or with okurigana attached, usually takes kunโyomi. Itโs a rule of thumb rather than a law, but it settles a surprising number of cases on the first guess.
A Worked Example
Say you meet ไธ่ป for the first time. Two kanji sitting together, no okurigana attached, so the compound-vs-standalone rule points you toward on'yomi for both: ไธ as ใ or ใ, ่ป as ใใ. Combining them, ใใใ is the real word, meaning to get off a train or bus. You would not have guessed ใใ or ใใ (the standalone kun'yomi of ไธ) here, and the rule steered you away from them correctly.
Now compare ไธใใ, which has okurigana attached. That signals kun'yomi: ใ from ใใใ, meaning to go down or decrease. Same kanji, same first guess process, different answer, because the surrounding structure of the word changed which rule applied.
How This Is Tested
Kanji-reading questions on the JLPT almost always target exactly this kind of ambiguity: a high-frequency, many-reading kanji like ็, ไธ, or ไธ embedded in a word you may not have memorized as a whole unit. The wrong answer choices are typically built from other valid readings of the same kanji, applied incorrectly to this particular word.
This is precisely why memorizing a kanji's reading list in isolation does not transfer well to the exam. The test is not asking "what are the readings of ็," it is asking "which specific word is this," and only knowing real words answers that reliably.
Practical Tips
- Never drill readings in isolation. Drill the words that contain them. Thatโs what actually sticks.
- Use the compound-vs-standalone rule as your first guess for an unfamiliar word.
- Keep an eye on the worst offenders (็, ไธ, ไธ, ่ก, ๆฅ, ๆ, ไบบ) and learn four to six key words for each.
- Forget about โall the readings.โ The JLPT only ever tests readings inside real words, never as a recital.
Teacher's Note
When a student tells me โI canโt remember all the readings of ็,โ I ask them to read ๅญฆ็, ๅ ็, and ็ใพใใ instead. They always can. The character isnโt the unit of memory. The word is.
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