兼 — Concurrently / And / Beforehand / In Advance

Master (高手)けん, か, -か

Radical ⼋ · radical 12 The building block this kanji is filed under

兼 (readings: けん, か, -か; Japanese kanji) means “Concurrently / And / Beforehand / In Advance”. It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 兼業 (side business).

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What does 兼 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	兼
Meaning	Concurrently / And / Beforehand / In Advance
Readings	けん, か, -か
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	兼業 (side business)

How to read 兼

兼 is read けん or か or -か depending on the word.

Words with 兼

兼業làm kiêm nghề

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Updated: 2026-07-22