音読み (おんよみ)
Definition
音読み refers to the Chinese reading of kanji characters. It is a pronunciation that was borrowed from Chinese and is used in compound words or when the kanji appears alone.
Analogy
Think of 音読み as borrowing a cool gadget from your friend. You use it when you need it, but you still have your own way of doing things most of the time.
Related terms
訓読み (くんよみ): This term refers to the native Japanese reading of kanji characters.
漢字 (かんじ): Kanji are Chinese characters that are used in Japanese writing.
送り仮名 (おくりがな): These are small kana characters added to the end of a word to indicate its grammatical function or inflection.
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