短 Kanji – short
The Japanese kanji 短 can mean short, brevity, fault, defect, weak point.
Meaning and Readings
How is 短 read?
短 has the onyomi reading タン and the kunyomi reading みじかい.
In romaji, these readings can be written as tan, mijikai.
Common Japanese Words Using 短
These common Japanese words contain 短. Select linked kanji to explore their meanings and readings.
- 最短（さいたん） — shortest
- 短い（みじかい） — short
- 短歌（たんか） — tanka, 31-mora Japanese poem
- 短期（たんき） — short-term
- 短期大学（たんきだいがく） — junior college, community college, vocationally oriented two or three year post-secondary education institution
- 短気（たんき） — short temper, quick temper, hot temper, impatience, irritability
- 短距離（たんきょり） — short distance, short range, short-haul
- 短冊（たんざく） — tanzaku, long, narrow strip of paper on which Japanese poems are written (vertically)
- 短時間（たんじかん） — short time
- 短銃（たんじゅう） — pistol