拳 — “Fist” in Japanese

Master (高手)けん, げん, こぶし

Radical ⼿ · radical 64 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Fist” in Japanese is 拳, read ken, gen, kobushi (けん, げん, こぶし). 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 拳銃 (handgun).

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What does 拳 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	拳
Meaning	Fist
Readings	けん, げん, こぶし
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	拳銃 (handgun)

How to read 拳

拳 is read ken (けん) or gen (げん) or kobushi (こぶし) depending on the word.

Words with 拳

拳銃

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Kanji read the same way as 拳

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

Updated: 2026-08-28