Meaning
勘 (カン) carries several distinct meanings, each shaped by classical law texts, literary tradition, and daily speech. In modern Japanese, 勘 most commonly means intuition or sixth sense — the instinct to read a situation before the conscious mind catches up. You hear it most often in expressions like 勘が働く (intuition kicks in) or 勘がいい (to have sharp instincts).
Historically, 勘 also meant investigation, examination, and careful inquiry. In classical administrative and judicial settings, it described the methodical scrutiny of records, accounts, or evidence. That investigative sense survives today in formal vocabulary: 勘案 (careful consideration) and the archaic 勘当 (disownment; historically, official dismissal from a lord's service).
A third meaning — forgiveness or tolerance — lives on in the very common compound 勘弁 (かんべん). 勘弁してください is one of those phrases you hear constantly, in apologies, disagreements, and even lighthearted complaints. 勘 also covers accounting and calculation: 勘定 (かんじょう), the bill or numerical reckoning, is a word every restaurant visitor to Japan picks up fast.
Two components build 勘: 甚 (jin, "extreme") on top, and 力 (chikara, "power") below — also the radical. Together they suggest pouring extreme, focused effort into a thorough examination. With enough disciplined practice, that scrutiny becomes instinctive. The answers arrive without conscious reasoning — and that is the modern 勘. The kanji has 11 strokes, is Grade 8 Jōyō, and sits firmly in N1 territory. Its radical is 力 (ちから), Kangxi radical 19.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
勘 has one on'yomi: カン. It appears almost exclusively in compound words (熟語, jukugo), reflecting the character's Chinese origin. カン is shared with many other kanji — 感 (feeling), 観 (observation), 館 (building) — so context and the written form matter far more than the reading alone when distinguishing 勘.
The key compounds using 勘's カン reading:
- 勘定 (kanjō) — bill, account, calculation, numerical reckoning
- 勘弁 (kanben) — forgiveness, pardon, tolerance, indulgence
- 勘案 (kan'an) — consideration, deliberation, taking all factors into account
- 勘当 (kandō) — disownment; historically, official punishment of dismissal from household
- 勘違い (kanchigai) — misunderstanding, mistaken assumption, false belief
Because カン is a common reading shared by dozens of kanji, focus on the written character and surrounding context rather than the sound alone.
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
勘 has no kun'yomi. It arrived via Chinese-origin vocabulary (漢語, kango) rather than being mapped to a pre-existing native Japanese word, so no native reading developed.
In casual spoken Japanese, however, 勘 does stand alone to mean intuition or instinct. 勘がいい (kan ga ii) means "to have good intuition"; 勘が鋭い (kan ga surudoi) means "to have sharp instincts." This is technically on'yomi functioning as a standalone noun — a common pattern with abstract Chinese-origin words in Japanese.
Common Words & Compounds
勘 turns up across a wide range of contexts — restaurants, apologies, formal documents, and historical texts. Here are the key compounds by theme:
Intuition and Perception
- 勘 (kan) — intuition, sixth sense, instinct; the standalone noun form
- 勘所 (kandokoro) — key point, crucial aspect, the knack or trick of something
- 勘働き (kanbataraki) — the workings of one's intuition; how one's instincts function
Forgiveness and Leniency
- 勘弁 (kanben) — forgiveness, pardon, tolerance; used when asking to be excused
- 勘弁ならない (kanben naranai) — unforgivable, intolerable, cannot be pardoned
Calculation and Accounting
- 勘定 (kanjō) — bill, account, calculation, reckoning; the check at a restaurant
- お勘定 (okanjō) — the bill (polite/honorific form, standard usage in restaurants and shops)
- 勘定書 (kanjōgaki) — itemized bill, detailed invoice
Misunderstanding
- 勘違い (kanchigai) — misunderstanding, mistaken belief, false assumption; one of the most commonly used 勘 compounds in daily speech
Investigation and Deliberation
- 勘案 (kan'an) — careful consideration, deliberation, taking all circumstances into account; used in formal written Japanese
- 勘合 (kangō) — tallying, verification by checking documents against a counterpart; also a historical term for the Kangō trade system between Japan and Ming China
- 勘当 (kandō) — disownment of a family member; in classical usage, official punishment or dismissal from a lord's service
Example Sentences
彼女は勘がいいので、すぐに気づいた。
Kanojo wa kan ga ii node, sugu ni kizuita.
Because she has good intuition, she noticed right away.
勘定をお願いします。
Kanjō o onegai shimasu.
The bill, please.
それは勘違いですよ。
Sore wa kanchigai desu yo.
That is a misunderstanding.
もう一度だけ勘弁してください。
Mō ichido dake kanben shite kudasai.
Please forgive me just this one more time.
あの探偵は勘が鋭くて有名だ。
Ano tantei wa kan ga surudokute yūmei da.
That detective is famous for having razor-sharp intuition.
すべての事情を勘案した上で、判断してください。
Subete no jijō o kan'an shita ue de, handan shite kudasai.
Please make a judgment after taking all the circumstances into consideration.
父は息子を勘当してしまった。
Chichi wa musuko o kandō shite shimatta.
The father ended up disowning his son.
長年の経験で培われた勘が彼を救った。
Naganen no keiken de tsuchikawa reta kan ga kare o sukutta.
The intuition cultivated through years of experience saved him.
勘に頼るだけでなく、きちんとデータを確認しましょう。
Kan ni tayoru dake de naku, kichinto dēta o kakunin shimashō.
Rather than relying solely on intuition, let us properly verify the data.
その仕事の勘所をつかむのに三年かかった。
Sono shigoto no kandokoro o tsukamu no ni san-nen kakatta.
It took three years to grasp the key points of that job.
Memory Tip
Picture 勘 as a seasoned detective applying extreme effort (甚 — "very much") and raw force (力 — "power") to crack a difficult case. 甚 means going to extraordinary lengths — every clue examined, no document unread, no witness skipped. 力 is the energy driving that investigation forward.
Now picture that same detective thirty years later — no longer consciously reasoning through the evidence. The answers simply arrive: unbidden, instantaneous, certain. That automatic knowing is 勘: the sixth sense born from disciplined, repeated investigation.
To remember the character: 甚 (extreme) + 力 (force) → thorough investigation → intuition. The more rigorously you examine the world, the sharper your 勘 becomes.