Onyomi: ダン · Kunyomi: ことわ.る, さだ.める, た.つ · Meanings: apologize, cutting, decision, decline, dismiss, judgement, prohibit, refuse, severance, warn
Kanji for apologize, cutting, decision, decline, dismiss
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断 is made from 斤, meaning “axe,” and 米, meaning “rice.” An axe is used to cut rice stalks or separate grains. From this idea of cutting and separating something completely, 断 came to mean to cut off, break, or decide firmly.
An axe cuts and separates something completely. That act of cutting off is 断.
Imagine an axe cutting rice cleanly in two. That clear break is 断.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 断 | だん | decision, judgment, resolution | common Noun |
| 断る | ことわる | to refuse, to reject, to dismiss, to turn down, to decline | common JLPT-N3 Godan verb with 'ru' ending, Transitive verb |
| 断定 | だんてい | conclusion, decision, judgement, declaration | common JLPT-N2 Noun, Suru verb |
| 断水 | だんすい | suspension of water supply, water outage | common JLPT-N2 Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb, Intransitive verb |
| 断然 | だんぜん | firmly, flatly, resolutely, decisively, absolutely, definitely | common JLPT-N1 Adverb (fukushi), 'taru' adjective |
| 断言 | だんげん | assertion, declaration, affirmation | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb |
| 絶える | たえる | to die out, to peter out, to become extinct | common JLPT-N1 Ichidan verb, Intransitive verb |
| 断食 | だんじき | fasting, fast | common Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 断絶 | だんぜつ | extinction (e.g. of a family), dying out, discontinuation | common Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 断念 | だんねん | abandoning (hope, plans), giving up | common Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb |