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The kanji for the word "kanji"

Kanji (漢字) is one of the three forms of Japanese writing. A kanji is an ideogram: that is, a type of simple picture. These are made to show a word's meaning. It is a symbol of an idea such as an object, thing or quality.

Kanji ideograms (or “characters”) were taken from Chinese characters, and many changed over time. The word “kanji” means “Han characters” (i.e. “Chinese characters”).