限 — “limit” in Japanese

Grade 5げん, かぎ

Radical ⾩ · radical 170 The building block this kanji is filed under

“limit” in Japanese is 限, read gen, kagi (げん, かぎ). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 限界 (limit).

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What does 限 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	限
Meaning	limit
Readings	げん, かぎ
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	限界 (limit)

How to read 限

限 is read gen (げん) or kagi (かぎ) depending on the word.

Words with 限

限界げんかい

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Kanji read the same way as 限

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28