管 – Kanji World

音読おんよみ: カン

訓読くんよみ: くだ

画数かくすう: 14 strokes

部首ぶしゅ: ⺮（たけかんむり）

Meaning

pipe, tube, control, manage — Originally a bamboo instrument, this kanji now also relates to structures that control flow or systems of oversight.

Vocabulary Tap to expand

管楽器かんがっき — wind instrument
水道管すいどうかん — water pipe
管理かんり — management / control
血管けっかん — blood vessel
保管ほかん — storage / safekeeping

Insight Tap to expand

管 is a compound of ⺮ (bamboo) and 官 (official). Bamboo was once used to make flutes or tubes, and over time, this kanji came to represent anything that channels or controls, including systems or authority.

Sentences Tap to expand

彼かれは会社かいしゃの資産しさんを管理かんりしている。
He manages the company's assets.

水道管すいどうかんが凍こおって破裂はれつした。
The water pipe froze and burst.

Pronunciation Tap to expand

🎧 The on-yomi カン is used for most compound words (like 管理 and 管理者). The kun-yomi くだ appears more literally to mean "pipe" or "tube" as a physical object.

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