Meet 甘 in flavours and in less literal uses. Learn each reading with a whole word.

The idea

甘 has five strokes; follow the linked diagram. 甘い is あまい, 甘味 is かんみ, 甘える is あまえる and 甘口 is あまくち.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
甘いあまいThis apple is sweet.
甘味かんみThe sweetness of this tea is mild.
甘えるあまえるThe child seeks affection from their mother.
甘口あまくちThis shop sells sweet sake.

Examples

  • この林檎りんごは甘あまいです。This apple is sweet.
  • 私わたしは甘あまいものが好すきです。I like sweet things.
  • このお茶ちゃの甘味かんみは穏おだやかです。The sweetness of this tea is mild.
  • 子供こどもがお母かあさんに甘あまえています。The child seeks affection from their mother.
  • その計画けいかくは甘あますぎます。That plan is too optimistic.
  • この店みせでは甘口あまくちの日本酒にほんしゅを売うっています。This shop sells sweet sake.

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

Watch out

甘い can describe a sweet taste or an overly optimistic assessment. 甘える means seeking affection or relying on someone’s indulgence, not tasting sweet.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 甘い in hiragana.

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    あまい

    甘い is あまい: the apple tastes sweet. Learn the reading with the adjective.

  2. Write the reading of 甘味 in hiragana.

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    かんみ

    甘味 is かんみ: it names sweetness, as in the tea example.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿口（あまくち）［甘／味］.

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    甘

    甘 completes 甘口（あまくち）, a word for a sweet or mild flavour.

Use it today

Write 甘 using the diagram, cover the table and read 甘い and 甘味. Make a sentence with one.