Editing Kanji (section)

===Spelling words===
Conversely, specifying a given kanji, or spelling out a kanji word—whether the pronunciation is known or not—can be complicated, due to the fact that there is not a commonly used standard way to refer to individual kanji (one does not refer to "kanji #237"), and that a given reading does not map to a single kanji—indeed there are many homophonous ''words'', not simply individual characters, particularly for {{translit|ja|kango}} (with {{translit|ja|on'yomi}}). It is easiest to write the word out—either on paper or tracing it in the air—or look it up (given the pronunciation) in a dictionary, particularly an electronic dictionary; when this is not possible, such as when speaking over the phone or writing implements are not available (and tracing in air is too complicated), various techniques can be used. These include giving {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}} for characters—these are often unique—using a well-known word with the same character (and preferably the same pronunciation and meaning), and describing the character via its components. For example, one may explain how to spell the word {{Nihongo||香辛料|kōshinryō|spice}} via the words {{Nihongo||香り|kao-ri|fragrance}}, {{Nihongo||辛い|kara-i|spicy}}, and {{Nihongo||飲料|in-ryō|beverage}}—the first two use the {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}}, the third is a well-known compound—saying "{{translit|ja|kaori}}, {{translit|ja|karai}}, {{translit|ja|ryō}} as in {{translit|ja|inryō}}."