Word
Kana: かん Romaji: kan Level: N3

Meaning in English

intuition, hunch, sixth sense

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Dictionary

Word context

What it means

勘 means an instinctive sense or intuitive judgment about people or situations, often guiding choices without deliberate reasoning.

Main meanings

  • Instinctive perception or intuition about people, events, or situations
  • A sense or feel for something without explicit evidence
  • A hunch used in decision-making

How to use it

Used as a noun to express intuition or gut feeling in both everyday conversation and formal writing; it appears in contexts of assessing people, risks, or outcomes, and is often paired with verbs or phrases that indicate applying one's sense.

Variants and close terms

  • 直感 (chokkan) - intuition
  • 直観 (chokkan) - insight, intuition
  • 疑念 (ginen) - doubt
  • 推測 (suisoku) - guess, speculation

Composition

  • 勘 is a single-kanji word whose core meaning is perception and discernment; its use in compounds centers on intuitive judgment and detection.

Word class

noun (名詞)

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