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道Nihongo Path
遍

遍·everywhere, widespread, counter for times

On-yomi
ヘン
Kun-yomi
none

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Stroke order

Write it in this order; the numbers mark where each stroke starts.

12 strokes, numbered in writing order. Data: KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Common words

WordReadingMeaning
普遍ふへんuniversality, universal
一遍いっぺんonce, one time
普遍的ふへんてきuniversal
遍歴へんれきtravels, a wandering career

Example sentences

  1. もう一遍説明してください。

    もういっぺんせつめいしてください。

    Please explain it one more time.

  2. その考えは普遍的な価値を持っている。

    そのかんがえはふへんてきなかちをもっている。

    That idea has universal value.

  3. 彼の遍歴は一冊の本になった。

    かれのへんれきはいっさつのほんになった。

    His wanderings became a whole book.

Similar-looking kanji

Do not confuse these on the exam.

Common mistakes

  • Confusing 普遍 (ふへん, universal) with 不変 (ふへん, unchanging) — same sound, different kanji and meaning
  • Reading 一遍 as いちへん — it is いっぺん

Memory aid

Picture it

The road radical 辶 under 扁 (flat, spread out): going flat out over every road there is — everywhere, and so 'one round trip' as a count of times.

Vocabulary using this kanji

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does the kanji 遍 mean?