Explore 磨 in everyday cleaning and the improvement of a skill. Learn each reading as part of a complete word.
The idea
磨 has 16 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. 磨く is read みがく, while the compound 研磨 is read けんま and means polishing or grinding.
Examples
- 毎朝歯を磨きます。I brush my teeth every morning.
- 出かける前に靴を磨きました。I polished my shoes before going out.
- 彼女は柔らかい布で鏡を磨きます。She polishes the mirror with a soft cloth.
- 彼は料理の腕を磨いています。He is honing his cooking skills.
- 職人は石の表面を研磨しました。The craftsman polished the surface of the stone.
- この機械は金属を研磨するために使います。This machine is used to polish metal.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
磨く can describe brushing teeth or polishing an object, but 腕を磨く is figurative: it means honing a skill, not physically polishing an arm.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 磨く in hiragana.
Show answer or example answer
みがく
磨く is みがく: 歯を磨く means to brush one’s teeth.
Write the reading of 研磨 in hiragana.
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けんま
研磨 is けんま: it names polishing or grinding, as in polishing stone.
Choose the missing kanji: 研＿（けんま）［磨／近］.
Show answer or example answer
磨
磨 completes 研磨（けんま）, the word for polishing or grinding.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 磨く in hiragana.
Write the reading of 研磨 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: 研＿（けんま）［磨／近］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 磨 using the stroke-order diagram. Cover the readings and read 磨く and 研磨, then make a sentence about a skill.