肩 — Shoulder

Master (高手)けん, かた

Radical ⾁ · radical 130 The building block this kanji is filed under

肩 (readings: けん, かた; Japanese kanji) means “Shoulder”. 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 肩 (shoulder).

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What does 肩 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	肩
Meaning	Shoulder
Readings	けん, かた
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	肩 (shoulder)

How to read 肩

肩 is read けん or かた depending on the word.

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Updated: 2026-07-22