The character 味 relates to taste; flavor. Learn its readings together with whole words and see them in context.

The idea

Kanji may have native Japanese readings (kun) and readings borrowed through Chinese (on); learn a reading with its word. Learn complete words: 味 (あじ) means taste; flavor, and 意味 (いみ) means meaning. 味 has 8 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
味あじtaste; flavor
意味いみmeaning
趣味しゅみa hobby

Examples

  • このスープはいい味あじがします。This soup tastes good.
  • 味あじが少すこし濃こいです。The flavor is a little strong.
  • この言葉ことばの意味いみを知しっていますか。Do you know the meaning of this word?
  • その意味いみが分わかりません。I do not understand what that means.
  • 趣味しゅみは音楽おんがくを聞きくことです。My hobby is listening to music.
  • 週末しゅうまつに趣味しゅみで写真しゃしんを撮とります。On weekends I take photos as a hobby.

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

Watch out

味 alone is あじ, but it is み in 意味 and 趣味; 趣味 means a hobby, not a flavor. Do not guess a word’s reading or meaning from the character alone: compare 味 and 意味. Also compare the shapes of 味 and 未; they are different characters. Compare the components: 味：口＋未／未.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 味 in hiragana.

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    あじ

    味 is read あじ and means taste; flavor.

  2. Write the reading of 意味 in hiragana.

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    いみ

    意味 is read いみ and means meaning.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: 趣＿（しゅみ）.

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    味

    味 completes 趣味, read しゅみ; the word means a hobby.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 味 from memory, read 味 and 意味 aloud, and make a sentence with one of them.