Same Reading, Different Kanji: 会う and 合う, 計る, 測る and 量る
Hiroki Obara · Developer
On February 21, 2014, a subcommittee of Japan’s Council for Cultural Affairs issued a report on how to choose between kanji that share a kun reading (in Japanese). It covers 133 sets, each with a short explanation and example phrases. The word for this is 異字同訓 (iji dōkun), different characters with the same kun reading.
Type はかる on a phone and you get a list: 計る, 測る, 量る, 図る and more. All are hakaru, and the sound won’t help you choose. This post goes through the common sets, using the report’s own explanations and examples, and then looks at the same problem in on’yomi words. If on and kun are new to you, start with On’yomi and Kun’yomi.
会う, 合う and 遭う (au)
| Kanji | Used for | From the report |
|---|---|---|
| 会う | People coming face to face | 人に会いに行く (go to see someone) |
| 合う | Matching, fitting, doing something mutually | 答えが合う (the answer is right), 話し合う (talk together) |
| 遭う | Running into something unexpected or unwelcome | 災難に遭う (meet with disaster), にわか雨に遭う (get caught in a shower) |
Bumping into a friend at the station is unexpected, so you might reach for 遭. The report says 遭 does occur, but 会 is the usual choice: 駅でばったり友人と会った.
計る, 測る and 量る (hakaru)
| Kanji | Used for | From the report |
|---|---|---|
| 計る | Time and counts | 時間を計る (time something) |
| 測る | Length, height, depth, area, degree | 距離を測る (distance), 身長を測る (height), 温度を測る (temperature) |
| 量る | Weight and volume | 重さを量る (weight), 立体の体積を量る (volume of a solid) |
Area goes with 測る and volume with 量る. Weight alone is 体重を量る, but the report notes that for 身長と体重をはかる, height and weight together, 測る is more common, because the phrase can be restated as 測定する (to measure).
The same entry also lists 図る (to plan or try to bring about, as in 解決を図る, to seek a solution), 謀る (to scheme, as in 悪事を謀る) and 諮る (to consult a body, as in 議案を委員会に諮る).
More sets from the report
| Reading | Kanji | Used for | From the report |
|---|---|---|---|
| atsui | 暑い | Air temperature, uncomfortably high | 今年の夏は暑い (this summer is hot) |
| 熱い | Things that feel very hot, strong feeling | 熱い湯 (hot water), 熱い声援 (passionate cheering) | |
| atatakai | 温かい | Not cold, also warmth of heart | 温かい料理 (warm food), 温かい心 (a warm heart) |
| 暖かい | Not cold, mainly weather and air | 暖かい日差し (warm sunlight) | |
| hayai | 早い | Early in time, short in time | 早く起きる (get up early) |
| 速い | Fast, having speed | 流れが速い (the current is fast) | |
| naosu | 直す | Putting something right | 誤りを直す (correct a mistake) |
| 治す | Recovering from illness or injury | 風邪を治す (cure a cold) | |
| noboru | 上る | Going upward, opposite of 下る | 階段を上る (go up the stairs) |
| 登る | Climbing by your own effort | 山に登る (climb a mountain) | |
| 昇る | Rising all at once, opposite of 降りる or 沈む | エレベーターで昇る (go up in an elevator) | |
| kiku | 聞く | Sound reaching the ear, asking | 駅までの道を聞く (ask the way to the station) |
| 聴く | Listening with attention | 音楽を聴く (listen to music) |
When both are fine
The report’s preface says its choices are offered as a reference, and that it does not reject other choices. It also says writing the word in kana remains an option.
Some examples show two kanji, with the second in brackets, meaning either can be used: 魚を取（捕）る (catch fish), 日が昇（上）る (the sun rises), 机の脚（足） (the legs of a desk). So a learner who sees a different kanji in a book hasn’t necessarily found a mistake.
The same problem in on’yomi words
Words read in on’yomi often share a sound too. These are dōon igigo (同音異義語), words that sound the same and mean different things. Meanings here come from デジタル大辞泉, a Japanese dictionary.
| Reading | Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| igai | 以外 | Other than, outside a range | 関係者以外入室禁止 (authorized persons only) |
| 意外 | Unexpected | 意外な展開 (an unexpected turn) | |
| kanshin | 関心 | Interest | 政治に関心がある (interested in politics) |
| 感心 | Being impressed | 感心する (be impressed) | |
| taishō | 対象 | Target, object | 調査の対象 (the subject of a survey) |
| 対照 | Comparison, contrast | 原文と対照する (compare with the original) | |
| 対称 | Symmetry | 左右対称 (left-right symmetry) | |
| kaitō | 回答 | A reply to a question or request | 調査に回答する (answer a survey) |
| 解答 | The solution to a problem | 数学の問題に解答する (solve a math problem) |
The difference is often in one kanji you may already know. 解 in 解答 is “solve,” and 照 in 対照 is “hold up against,” as in comparing two texts.
Clues for choosing
Turn it into an on’yomi word. If you know a compound with the kanji, its meaning often settles the matter.
| Kun word | Compound |
|---|---|
| 測る | 測定 (sokutei, measurement) |
| 量る | 重量 (jūryō, weight) |
| 計る | 計算 (keisan, calculation) |
| 遭う | 遭難 (sōnan, meeting with a disaster) |
| 登る | 登山 (tozan, mountain climbing) |
| 速い | 速度 (sokudo, speed) |
| 早い | 早朝 (sōchō, early morning) |
| 暖かい | 暖房 (danbō, heating) |
| 治す | 治療 (chiryō, medical treatment) |
| 熱い | 熱湯 (nettō, boiling water) |
Think of the opposite. The report marks opposites where they help. 上る pairs with 下る, and 昇る with 降りる or 沈む.
Keep the phrase. Every example in the report is a short phrase such as 距離を測る or 重さを量る. One approach is to learn the kanji inside the phrase, so that the phrase brings back the right kanji, rather than learning a list of meanings.
When you get one wrong, a simple fix is to write the correct phrase, then write one phrase for each of the other kanji in the set: 重さを量る, then 時間を計る and 距離を測る. Kanji that look alike are a different problem, covered in Similar-Looking Kanji Learners Mix Up.
Practising these in KanjiN
KanjiN is a kanji app for iPhone and iPad where you answer by handwriting. Instead of tapping a choice, you write on the screen with a finger or stylus.
Sets like these are easy to practise with My Data. You make a folder and add your own questions with an example sentence, the answer kanji and the reading in hiragana. For example, the sentence 距離を測る, the answer 測 and the reading はか. The question shows the sentence with the reading in place of the answer kanji. Add 時間を計る and 重さを量る to the same folder, and you pick the kanji from the sentence each time. You can choose that folder in the drill settings.
Besides school grades 1 to 6 and Kanken levels 10 to 5, you can practise JLPT N5 to N3 kanji. Today’s Drill, Today’s Challenge and the 10-question Skill Check are free. A one-time purchase, Unlock Everything, opens every drill, with no ads and no subscription. The first time you use it, the app downloads what it needs to read handwriting, so you need an internet connection then.
How to start is in Getting Started with KanjiN.
