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Kanji 励: meanings, readings, and example words.

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Kanji 励: encourage, be diligent, inspire

Key takeaways

Kanji 励: encourage, be diligent, inspire. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

N1

Meaning

encouragebe diligentinspire

On reading

レイ

Kun reading

はげ.むはげ.ます

Radical

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 励

encourage, be diligent, inspire

Kanji structure breakdown

Structure breakdown

厂 + 万 + 力

Mnemonic story

Mnemonic story

Imagine exerting the power (力) of ten thousand (万) people to climb a steep cliff (厂). This represents the act of striving toward a goal or encouraging someone to give their best effort.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

レイ
  • 激励げきれい

    encouragement / support / motivation

  • 奨励しょうれい

    encouragement / promotion

Kun reading

はげ.む
  • 励ますはげます

    to encourage / to cheer up / to support

  • 励むはげむ

    to strive / to make an effort / to work hard

Commonly used words

  • 激励
    げきれい

    encouragement / support / motivation

  • 奨励
    しょうれい

    encouragement / promotion

  • 励ます
    はげます

    to encourage / to cheer up / to support

  • 励む
    はげむ

    to strive / to make an effort / to work hard

Example sentences

Example 1

先生は生徒を激した。

Translation

The teacher encouraged the students.

Example 2

の言葉が力になった。

Translation

Words of encouragement gave me strength.

Example 3

先生は学生に勉強を奨した。

Translation

The teacher encouraged the students to study.

Example 4

会社は新しい技術の奨を始めた。

Translation

The company started promoting new technology.

Kanji 励: encourage, be diligent, inspire | Daily Nihongo