Editing Kanji (section)

===When to use which reading===
Although there are general rules for when to use {{translit|ja|on'yomi}} and when to use {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}}, many kanji have multiple on- or kun-readings, and the language is littered with exceptions; how a character was meant to be read is sometimes ambiguous even to native speakers (this is especially true for names, both of people and places). 

A single kanji followed by {{translit|ja|okurigana}} ({{translit|ja|hiragana}} forming part of a word)—such as the inflectable suffixes forming native verbs and adjectives like 赤い (''akai''; red) and 見る (''miru''; to see)—''always'' indicates {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}}. {{translit|ja|Okurigana}} can indicate which {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}} to use, as in {{Nihongo2|食べる}} ({{translit|ja|ta-beru}}) versus {{Nihongo2|食う}} ({{translit|ja|ku-u}}), both meaning "(to) eat", but this is not always sufficient, as in {{Nihongo2|開く}}, which may be read as {{translit|ja|a-ku}} or {{translit|ja|hira-ku}}, both meaning "(to) open".

{{anchor|jukugo|multi-kanji compound words}}
Kanji compounds ({{translit|ja|jukuji}}), especially [[yojijukugo]], usually, but not always, use {{translit|ja|on'yomi}}, usually (but not always) {{translit|ja|kan-on}}. In {{Nihongo||解毒|ge-doku|detoxification, anti-poison}}, 解 is read with its ''kan-on'' reading instead of its more common ''go-on'' reading, {{translit|ja|kai}}. Exceptions are common—{{Nihongo2|情報}} ({{translit|ja|jōhō}}; information), for example, is ''go-kan''. {{Nihongo2|牛肉}} ({{translit|ja|gyū-niku}}; beef) and {{Nihongo2|羊肉}} ({{translit|ja|yō-niku}}; mutton) have {{translit|ja|on-on}} readings, but {{Nihongo2|豚肉}} ({{translit|ja|buta-niku}}; pork) and {{Nihongo2|鶏肉}} ({{translit|ja|tori-niku}}; poultry) have {{translit|ja|kun-on}} readings. Examples of fully ''kun'yomi'' compounds include {{Nihongo2|手紙}} ({{translit|ja|tegami}}; letter), {{Nihongo2|日傘}} ({{translit|ja|higasa}}; parasol), and the infamous {{Nihongo2|神風}} ({{translit|ja|[[kamikaze]]}}; divine wind). Some ''kun'yomi'' compounds have non-inflective {{translit|ja|okurigana}}, such as {{Nihongo2|唐揚げ}} ({{translit|ja|karaage}}; Chinese-style fried chicken) and {{Nihongo2|折り紙}} ({{translit|ja|[[origami]]}}); many can also be written with the {{translit|ja|okurigana}} omitted. 

Kanji in isolation are typically read using their {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}}; exceptions include the ''on'yomi'' {{Nihongo2|愛}} ({{translit|ja|ai}}; love), {{Nihongo2|禅}} ({{translit|ja|[[Zen]]}}), and {{Nihongo2|点}} ({{translit|ja|ten}}; mark, dot). Most of these ''on'yomi'' cases involve kanji that have no {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}}. For kanji with multiple common isolated readings, such as {{Nihongo2|金}}, which may be read as {{translit|ja|kin}} (gold) or {{translit|ja|kane}} (money, metal), only context can determine the intended reading. 

The isolated kanji versus compound distinction gives words for similar concepts completely different pronunciations. Alone, {{Nihongo2|北}} (north) and {{Nihongo2|東}} (east) use the {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}} {{translit|ja|kita}} and {{translit|ja|higashi}}, but {{Nihongo2|北東}} (northeast), uses the {{translit|ja|on'yomi}} {{translit|ja|hokutō}}. Inconsistencies also occur between compounds; {{Nihongo2|生}} is read as {{translit|ja|sei}} in {{Nihongo2|先生}} ({{translit|ja|sensei}}; teacher) but as {{translit|ja|shō}} in {{Nihongo2|一生}} ({{translit|ja|isshō}}; one's whole life) (both ''on'yomi''). 

Multiple readings have given rise to a number of [[homograph]]s, in some cases having different meanings depending on how they are read. One example is {{Nihongo2|上手}}, which can be read in three different ways: {{translit|ja|jōzu}} (skilled), {{translit|ja|uwate}} (upper part), or {{translit|ja|kamite}} ([[Blocking (stage)#Stage directions|stage left/house right]]). In addition, {{Nihongo2|上手い}} has the reading {{translit|ja|umai}} (skilled). More subtly, {{Nihongo2|明日}} has three different readings, all meaning "tomorrow": {{translit|ja|ashita}} (casual), {{translit|ja|asu}} (polite), and {{translit|ja|myōnichi}} (formal).

Conversely, some terms are homophonous but not homographic, and thus ambiguous in speech but not in writing. To remedy this, alternate readings may be used for confusable words. For example, {{Nihongo2|私立}} (privately established, esp. school) and {{Nihongo2|市立}} (municipal) are both normally pronounced {{translit|ja|shi-ritsu}}; in speech these may be distinguished by the alternative pronunciations {{translit|ja|watakushi-ritsu}} and {{translit|ja|ichi-ritsu}}. More informally, in legal jargon {{Nihongo2|前文}} (preamble) and {{Nihongo2|全文}} (full text) are both pronounced {{translit|ja|zen-bun}}, so {{Nihongo2|前文}} may be pronounced {{translit|ja|mae-bun}} for clarity, as in "Have you memorized the preamble [not 'whole text'] of the constitution?". As in these examples, this is primarily done using a {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}} for one character in a normally {{translit|ja|on'yomi}} term.

====Legalese====
Certain words take different readings depending on whether the context concerns legal matters or not. For example:
{| class="wikitable"
!scope="col"| Word
!scope="col"| Common reading
!scope="col"| Legalese reading
|-
|{{lang|ja|懈怠}} ("negligence")<ref name="DJR">{{translit|ja|[[Daijirin]]}}</ref>
|{{translit|ja|ketai}}
|{{translit|ja|kaitai}}
|-
|{{lang|ja|競売}} ("auction")<ref name="DJR"/>
|{{translit|ja|kyōbai}}
|{{translit|ja|keibai}}
|-
|{{lang|ja|兄弟姉妹}} ("siblings")
|{{translit|ja|kyōdai shimai}}
|{{translit|ja|keitei shimai}}
|-
|{{lang|ja|境界}} ("metes and bounds")
|{{translit|ja|kyōkai}}
|{{translit|ja|keikai}}
|-
|{{lang|ja|競落}} ("acquisition at an auction")<ref name="DJR"/>
|{{translit|ja|kyōraku}}
|{{translit|ja|keiraku}}
|-
|{{lang|ja|遺言}} ("will")<ref name="DJR"/>
|{{translit|ja|yuigon}}
|{{translit|ja|igon}}
|-
|{{lang|ja|図画}} ("imagery")<ref>''[[Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary]]''</ref>
|{{translit|ja|zuga}}
|{{translit|ja|toga}}{{efn|Particularly in {{nihongo|"obscene imagery"|猥褻図画|waisetsu toga}}.}}
|}