検 — “examine / inspect” in Japanese

Grade 5けん

Radical ⽊ · radical 75 The building block this kanji is filed under

“examine / inspect” in Japanese is 検, read ken (けん). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 検査 (inspection).

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What does 検 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	検
Meaning	examine / inspect
Readings	けん
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	検査 (inspection)

How to read 検

検 is read ken (けん) depending on the word.

Words with 検

検討けんとう
検査
検索
検閲

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Kanji read the same way as 検

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Updated: 2026-08-28