官 — “official / officer” in Japanese

Grade 4かん

Radical ⼧ · radical 40 The building block this kanji is filed under

“official / officer” in Japanese is 官, read kan (かん). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 警察官 (police officer).

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What does 官 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	官
Meaning	official / officer
Readings	かん
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	警察官 (police officer)

How to read 官

官 is read kan (かん) depending on the word.

Words with 官

警察官けいさつかん
官庁
官吏

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Kanji read the same way as 官

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

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Updated: 2026-08-28