Kanji quizzes for the joy of reading

Tricky readingsPublished 2026-10-23

How do you read 所謂 in Japanese?
What people commonly call it.

Make the words you meet in books your own, one quiz at a time. Discover Japanese kanji readings, meanings and usage with DuraRing.

QUESTION 38Difficulty ★★★

How do you read this in Japanese?

所謂

Read 所謂 in 所謂ブックカフェ.

HINTShow hint

A word placed before a noun to mean “what people commonly call” or “so-called.”

More on radicals and this quiz’s stroke counts

Describe the shapes you see

You do not need to know the radical’s name. Try these searches for this quiz’s characters.

speech radical beside 胃
所 followed by 言 and 胃 reading
kanji with 言 beside 田 above 月

These searches describe visual similarities, not formal radicals or character components.

所 has 8 strokes and the radical 戸 (door). 謂 has 16 strokes and the radical 言 (speech). Radicals are dictionary classifications. The shape-based search phrases below provide other lookup clues.

所8 strokes / radical: 戸 (door)

謂16 strokes / radical: 言 (speech)

Stroke counts and radicals follow the Japanese dictionary Kanjipedia; other dictionaries may differ.

Kanjipedia「所」／ Kanjipedia「謂」

ANSWERShow answerHide answer

The answer is

いわゆる

iwayuru

所謂

Understand the meaning

English translationSo-called / what is commonly called

Used to introduce something by a name or description commonly applied to it.

A café with bookshelves and people reading over coffee. — **A place for books and coffee.**AI-generated illustration

See it in a sentence

ここは、本を読みながら過ごせる所謂ブックカフェだ。

This is what people call a book café, a place to spend time reading.

A way to remember

Here it is iwayuru. Learn the whole expression rather than reading each character separately.

Sources：Kanjipedia: 所謂

The explanation draws on the sources below. Examples were written for this page.

The answer and explanation stay hidden until you open them.

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shinnyo radical 11 stroke kanji

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11 stroke kanji list

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Describe what you see

kanji with two 火 stacked vertically

Try describing the parts, their number and position: ‘fire on the left, … on the right’. A component search such as ‘火火’ can also help.

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Windows · Microsoft Japanese IME

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Microsoft guide: using IME Pad ↗

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夕暮れの部屋で、蝋燭の小さな明かりが揺れていた。机の上に本を開くと、昼間には気づかなかった一節が目に留まった。そのことばを、声に出さずゆっくりと読んだ。

窓の外では、雨が静かに降り始めていた。一ページずつ読み進めるたびに、物語の景色が少しずつ近づいてくる。私は読みかけの場所に指を置き、しばらく思いを巡らせた。

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ろうそく蝋燭

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How do you read this in Japanese?

Describe the shapes you see

Understand the meaning

See it in a sentence

A way to remember

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Do you look up kanji like this?

By radical

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Describe what you see

Use IME Pad (handwriting)

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Read and learn with .

Capture and look up kanji

Save words. Connect them to books.