Meet 件 in words for incidents and conditions, and as a counter for individual cases.

The idea

件 has 6 strokes; use the linked diagram for stroke order. Its usual on-reading is けん: learn 事件（じけん） and 条件（じょうけん） as whole words. As a counter, 一件 is いっけん and 三件 is さんけん.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
事件じけんI read about the incident in the newspaper.
条件じょうけんPlease check the conditions of the contract.
一件いっけんI received one inquiry today.
三件さんけんThere are three unread messages.

Examples

  • 新聞しんぶんでその事件じけんを読よみました。I read about the incident in the newspaper.
  • 警察けいさつがその事件じけんを調しらべています。The police are investigating the incident.
  • 契約けいやくの条件じょうけんを確認かくにんしてください。Please check the conditions of the contract.
  • この部屋へやは条件じょうけんに合あっています。This room meets the conditions.
  • 今日きょうは問とい合あわせを一件いっけん受うけました。I received one inquiry today.
  • 未読みどくのメッセージが三件さんけんあります。There are three unread messages.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

事件 is an incident, often a serious event; 条件 is a condition or requirement. 件 counts distinct matters, not every kind of physical object.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 事件 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    じけん

    事件 is じけん: the word refers to an incident, as in the newspaper example.

  2. Write the reading of 条件 in hiragana.

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    じょうけん

    条件 is じょうけん: it means a condition, such as a contract requirement.

  3. Write the reading of 一件 in hiragana.

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    いっけん

    一件 is いっけん: いち changes to いっ before けん, giving one case.

Use it today

Write 件 following the diagram. Cover the table, read 事件 and 条件, then count one inquiry aloud.