Meaning
The kanji 奮 means rousing oneself to action, mustering energy or courage, and exerting oneself with vigor and spirit. The character captures something distinctly human — gathering inner strength and springing into decisive motion. Athletic competition, battlefield resolve, a student pushing through one more hour of study: these are all scenes 奮 belongs to.
奮 is a compound ideograph (会意文字, kaii moji). Three components build the character: 隹 (a short-tailed bird) sits above 田 (a rice paddy), and both rest on 大 — a person with arms spread wide, meaning "great." The visual is of a large, powerful bird launching itself skyward from a field — wings beating furiously, feathers spread wide, breaking free from the earth with explosive force. That image of a creature bursting upward with unstoppable energy is where the kanji gets its meaning: stirring up, rising with vigor, rousing the spirit into action.
Today, 奮 appears primarily in formal, literary, and written Japanese. It rarely surfaces alone in casual speech, but it anchors many compound words relating to effort, excitement, and spirited action. At 16 strokes, it ranks among the more demanding kanji at this level. Classified as a secondary-school Jōyō kanji (常用漢字), it signals the richer vocabulary range N1 demands.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
The standard on'yomi for 奮 is フン (fun). It appears in virtually every compound (熟語, jukugo) that contains this kanji. The reading arrived from Middle Chinese with the character and has stayed consistent ever since. In academic, journalistic, and literary writing, フン is the one you'll meet.
Notable compounds using the on'yomi フン:
- 興奮 (kōfun) — excitement, emotional agitation, arousal; the most common word containing 奮 in everyday Japanese
- 奮闘 (funtō) — hard struggle, strenuous fighting, determined striving against difficulty
- 奮発 (funpatsu) — rousing oneself to make a special effort; colloquially, spending more than usual on something as a treat
- 奮起 (funki) — rousing oneself decisively into action, making a determined push forward
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi is ふる.う (furuu). The dot marks う as okurigana — the hiragana suffix added after the kanji in verb forms. As a standalone verb, 奮う (furuu) means "to wield power, to display vigor, to rouse courage." This reading surfaces in formal prose and a set of fixed compound verb expressions.
Examples using the kun'yomi ふる.う:
- 奮う (furuu) — to rouse oneself, to wield strength, to exert one's full power
- 奮い立つ (furuitatsu) — to be galvanized into action, to rouse oneself with a surge of energy
- 奮い起こす (furuiokosu) — to muster up courage, to stir up enthusiasm or fighting spirit in oneself
Common Words & Compounds
Because 奮 is an N1-level kanji, it appears most frequently in formal, literary, and journalistic contexts. Below they're organized by theme.
Excitement and Emotional Energy
- 興奮 (kōfun) — excitement, agitation, emotional arousal; the most common word containing 奮 in everyday Japanese
- 奮然 (funzen) — resolutely, with a sudden burst of spirit, bravely and decisively
Effort, Struggle, and Determination
- 奮闘 (funtō) — hard fighting, strenuous effort, determined struggle against obstacles
- 奮戦 (funsen) — fierce battle, hard fighting, courageous combat against a formidable opponent
- 奮起 (funki) — rousing oneself into action, making a determined and energetic effort
- 奮励 (funrei) — making great exertions, spurring on, encouraging with vigor
Personal Drive and Spirited Action
- 奮発 (funpatsu) — rousing oneself to make a special effort; spending generously as a treat
- 奮迅 (funjin) — acting with tremendous vigor and speed; most often seen in the four-character compound below
- 獅子奮迅 (shishi funjin) — acting with the ferocious, overwhelming energy of a lion; performing with awe-inspiring force and commitment
Compound Verb Forms (Kun'yomi)
- 奮い立つ (furuitatsu) — to rouse oneself, to be stirred into determined action
- 奮い起こす (furuiokosu) — to muster up courage or enthusiasm, to stir up one's fighting spirit
Example Sentences
試合の前に、選手たちは奮い立った。
Shiai no mae ni, senshu-tachi wa furuitatta.
Before the match, the players roused themselves with fierce determination.
彼は勇気を奮い起こして、上司に意見を述べた。
Kare wa yūki wo furuiokoshite, jōshi ni iken wo nobeta.
He mustered up his courage and expressed his opinion to his boss.
子供たちはサッカーの試合に興奮して叫んだ。
Kodomo-tachi wa sakkā no shiai ni kōfun shite sakenda.
The children screamed with excitement during the soccer match.
彼女は困難に負けず、奮闘し続けた。
Kanojo wa konnan ni makezu, funtō shitsuzuketa.
Without yielding to hardship, she continued to strive with all her strength.
この映画を見て、私は奮い立ち、夢を追うと決意した。
Kono eiga wo mite, watashi wa furuitachi, yume wo ou to ketsui shita.
Watching this film, I felt a surge of spirit and resolved to pursue my dream.
チームは監督の言葉に奮起し、逆転を果たした。
Chīmu wa kantoku no kotoba ni funki shi, gyakuten wo hatashita.
Roused by the coach's words, the team achieved a stunning comeback.
誕生日に奮発して、高級レストランに行った。
Tanjōbi ni funpatsu shite, kōkyū resutoran ni itta.
For my birthday, I splurged and went to a high-end restaurant.
国民は英雄の活躍に興奮し、熱狂した。
Kokumin wa eiyū no katsuyaku ni kōfun shi, nekkyō shita.
The people were consumed with excitement and frenzy over the hero's achievement.
彼は獅子奮迅の勢いで難題を次々と解決した。
Kare wa shishi-funjin no ikioi de nandai wo tsugitsugi to kaiketsu shita.
With the ferocious energy of a lion, he solved one difficult problem after another.
Memory Tip
Picture a powerful bird (隹) perched above a sunlit rice paddy (田), with a great figure (大) standing beneath it, arms spread wide. Then the bird launches — wings beating hard, feathers fanning out, breaking free from the earth in one explosive burst. Think of it as a creature rousing itself from stillness into sudden, committed flight. That's 奮: pull strength from within, rise up with passion, throw yourself fully into it. Every time you write those 16 strokes, remember that launch.