Explore 権 in words about rights and authority. Learn each reading together with its meaning and context.

The idea

権 has 15 strokes; use the linked diagram for their order. Its common reading is けん in 権利（けんり）, 人権（じんけん）, 著作権（ちょさくけん） and 権限（けんげん）.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning in context
権利けんりEveryone has rights.
人権じんけんWe must protect human rights.
著作権ちょさくけんThe author holds the copyright to this book.
権限けんげんI checked whether I had permission to use the data.

Examples

  • 誰だれにでも権利けんりがあります。Everyone has rights.
  • 私わたしたちは人権じんけんを守まもらなければなりません。We must protect human rights.
  • 彼女かのじょには投票権とうひょうけんがあります。She has the right to vote.
  • この本ほんの著作権ちょさくけんは著者ちょしゃにあります。The author holds the copyright to this book.
  • データを使つかう権限けんげんがあるか確認かくにんしました。I checked whether I had permission to use the data.
  • 政権せいけんは新あたらしい政策せいさくを説明せつめいしました。The government explained the new policy.

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

Watch out

権利 is a right; 権限 is authority or permission to act in a role. 政権 means a government or administration, not an individual right.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 権利 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    けんり

    権利 is けんり: a right, as in everyone having rights.

  2. Write the reading of 人権 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    じんけん

    人権 is じんけん: human rights, which people must protect.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 著作＿（ちょさくけん）［権／利］.

    Show answer or example answer

    権

    権 completes 著作権（ちょさくけん）, copyright; it concerns an author’s work.

Use it today

Write 権 following the diagram. Cover the table, read 権利 and 人権, and make a sentence with one.