言 — to say / word

Grade 2げん, ごん, い, こと

言 (readings: げん, ごん, い, こと; Japanese kanji) means “to say / word”. It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 言葉 (language/word).

What does 言 mean?

Kanji	言
Meaning	to say / word
Readings	げん, ごん, い, こと
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school

How to read 言

言 is read げん or ごん or い or こと depending on the word.

Example words with 言

Example	言葉 (language/word)

Practice writing 言 — free

See 言's stroke order, take a quiz, and add it to your spaced-repetition review. KanjiSchool teaches all 1,026 Kyōiku kanji through real stories and news.

Start free — no credit card →

Updated: 2026-07-14