What is the Kanji for "Restrain" and "Suppress"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Restrain" and "Suppress", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Restrain" and "Suppress" is "抑".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Osa".

Its onyomi reading is "Yoku".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "扌" means "Hand" . And The component "卬" .

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "抑" mean in japanese?

"抑" means "Restrain" and "Suppress".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Junior Highschool, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N1 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

抑: "Originally" or "Fundamentally". The Japanese noun '抑 (そもそも)' can mean 'originally' or 'fundamentally'. It is used to indicate the basic or underlying reason or premise for something. It is often used at the beginning of a statement to introduce the fundamental basis or starting point of a discussion. For example: Originally, I planned to go to the park - (そもそも、公園に行く予定でした). Fundamentally, that's not the issue we need to focus on - (そもそもそれは問題ではありません).

抑える: "Control" or "Restrain". The Japanese verb '抑える (おさえる)' means 'to control' or 'to restrain'. This verb is used to describe the action of limiting, suppressing, or keeping something under control. It can be applied to physical actions, emotions, or other phenomena. For example: I need to control my temper - (私は怒りをおさえる必要がある). She restrained her tears - (彼女は涙をおさえた).

抑制: "Control". The Japanese noun '抑制 (よくせい)' means 'control'. This word refers to the act of restraining, curbing or suppressing something, whether it be emotions, impulses, or behaviors. It implies the ability to exercise restraint and moderation. For example: He was able to maintain control of his anger - (彼は怒りをよく制することができた). The government imposed strict control measures - (政府は厳しい抑制措置を講じた).

抑圧: "Oppression". The noun '抑圧 (よくあつ)' means 'oppression'. It refers to the act of subduing or restraining someone or something through the use of power or authority. This word is often used to describe situations where an individual or group is subjected to unfair, forceful, or unjust treatment by those in positions of power. For example: The people suffered under the oppression of the regime - (国民は政権の抑圧の下で苦しんだ). The protesters spoke out against the oppression of their rights - (抗議者らは自らの権利を抑圧されていると訴えた).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "よ" is read as "yo". The hiragana "く" is read as "ku". The hiragana "お" is read as "o". And The hiragana "さ" is read as "sa".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.