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Evidence-led referenceJapanese names, readings and kanji
littleden.blogJapanese name reference
Canonical reference record
JMnedict-backedKANJIDIC2 character context
Japanese surname

Han

Surname-classified records in JMnedict.

はんハンHan
Compare spellings
Reference coverage

Extended source depth

This reading group has a comparatively broad dictionary footprint across source-recorded spellings or records. The counts describe corpus coverage, not real-world popularity.

Distinct recorded spellings14

group-level written forms

Source spelling/reading rows14

records contributing to this reading group

Coverage levelExtended

based only on the imported source footprint

Pronunciation & romanization

How to read Han

The kana reading is source-recorded. Romanization and mora segmentation are deterministic reading aids generated from that kana; pitch accent is not inferred.

Source readingはん

Normalized to hiragana for comparison.

Katakana formハン

The same reading converted to katakana.

RomanizationHan

Macron-style display. Vowel-sequence form: Han. Personal spelling and true vowel boundaries can differ.

Mora segmentationは · ん

2 morae in this reading. Small ゃ/ゅ/ょ-type kana join the preceding mora.

Audio note: the play button uses Japanese text-to-speech provided by the visitor’s browser/device. It is a convenience preview, not a recorded native-speaker pronunciation or pitch-accent authority.

Reading profile

How Han is represented

These counts describe records in the imported name corpus. They are not a ranking of how popular a spelling is among people in Japan.

Recorded kana readings1

はん

Kanji-based spellings14

among the forms analyzed on this page

Kana characters2

in the primary dictionary reading

Morae2

small ゃ/ゅ/ょ-type kana combine with the preceding mora

1-kanji forms14

recorded spellings

JMnedict classification evidence

How this reading is classified in the source corpus

This separates dictionary classification from popularity. The same exact kana reading can be recorded as a given name, a surname, or both, and given-name records can carry male, female or unspecified source labels.

Primary reading recorded asGiven name

はん in the imported JMnedict corpus

Given-name written forms8

10 source spelling/reading rows

Surname written forms0

0 source spelling/reading rows

Given-name labelsfemale 3 · unspecified 7

row counts carrying each JMnedict source label

Exact readingGiven-name evidenceGiven-name labelsSurname evidence
はんHan810 source rowsfemale 3 · unspecified 7source rows · distinct forms: female 3 · unspecified 600 source rows
ばんBan00 source rowssource rows · distinct forms: —3239 source rows

Classification boundary: male/female/unspecified are labels attached to imported JMnedict name records. They are not population shares, probabilities, identity claims, or evidence that a spelling is currently common in Japan. A source row can also be repeated across different written forms, so row counts and distinct-writing counts are shown separately.

Spelling anatomy

Corpus structure behind Han

This section summarizes the exact source-recorded forms loaded for this reading group. Stroke and character-position statistics are descriptive corpus properties, not popularity or style scores.

Kanji forms with complete stroke data14

5–18 strokes observed span

Median total strokes11

among forms with complete KANJIDIC2 stroke data

All-kanji name-classified forms10

all component kanji loaded as jōyō/jinmeiyō classes

Other/unclassified kanji forms4

contains at least one character outside that loaded classification

Reading ambiguity

Can the same writing be read another way?

11 of 14 displayed written forms have more than one surname reading somewhere in the active JMnedict corpus. This is dictionary-record ambiguity, not a prediction of how a particular person reads the name.

Written forms checked14

distinct spellings displayed on this page

Multiple recorded readings11

exact written forms with 2+ source readings

Single recorded reading3

within this active surname corpus

Largest reading set18

distinct kana readings for one displayed writing

A reading shown without a link is still source-recorded, but its destination group does not currently meet the canonical publication standard. Strong reference pages do not promote limited records merely to create extra internal links.

Kanji role reference

How recurring characters function across Han spellings

Position counts are calculated only from the distinct written forms analyzed for this page. KANJIDIC2 nanori are character-level name-reading references; they are not used here to decompose or assert the reading of a specific multi-kanji name.

KanjiCharacter glossesFormsFirstFinalInternalSoloStrokesKANJIDIC2 nanoriLoaded class
consort, accompany, bring with100017ともJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
half, middle, odd number100015Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 2
slope, incline, hill100017か, ざJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
impersonate, dress up, disguise100017Unclassified in the loaded KANJIDIC grade field
cage, fence, pen1000115Unclassified in the loaded KANJIDIC grade field
water in which rice has been washed1000115Unclassified in the loaded KANJIDIC grade field
edge, origin, end1000114ただし, みずJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
pattern, example, model1000115のりJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
bee, law, casting mould100018Unclassified in the loaded KANJIDIC grade field
clan, enclosure1000118Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
heights, slope100017Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
exhibit, state, relate1000111のぶJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8

Counts describe this source-recorded spelling set, not population use. A repeated kanji can contribute to more than one position role across different spellings.

Exact writing research map

Move from a spelling to its readings, characters and literal sequence context

These relationships are exact and source-backed. Whole-name readings shown in each card come from JMnedict within the current name class; exact-writing search can surface records from other name classes. Character links open KANJIDIC2-backed kanji pages. Sequence context means the same kanji string occurs contiguously in another recorded written form—it does not prove shared origin or meaning.

Showing research maps for the first 10 distinct written forms out of 14. Every detailed spelling card below still links to exact-writing search and its component kanji.

For VPS safety, contiguous-sequence lookups are limited to six 2–4 kanji forms per canonical page and cached for 12 hours per active JMnedict generation.

Same reading, different writing

Explore written forms of Han

14 source-recorded forms use the primary source reading はん. Other source readings can appear in this romanized group when the imported records converge on the same index form. Use Compare to inspect exact spellings side by side.

はん · Han

Katakana ハンMorae 2Strokes 18
Same writing, other recorded readings

Exact written-form relationship inside the imported surname corpus.

Spelling comparator

Compare Han forms side by side

Each exact written spelling appears once in this table even when JMnedict records more than one reading for that writing. Stroke totals and character glosses come from KANJIDIC2 when all component kanji are available.

SpellingOne source readingCharacter-level glossesTotal strokesLoaded character class
はん伴 — consort, accompany7All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん半 — half, middle5All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん坂 — slope, incline7All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん扮 — impersonate, dress up7Includes unclassified/outside loaded jōyō-jinmeiyō class
はん樊 — cage, fence15Includes unclassified/outside loaded jōyō-jinmeiyō class
はん潘 — water in which rice has been washed15Includes unclassified/outside loaded jōyō-jinmeiyō class
はん端 — edge, origin14All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん範 — pattern, example15All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん范 — bee, law8Includes unclassified/outside loaded jōyō-jinmeiyō class
はん藩 — clan, enclosure18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん阪 — heights, slope7All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん陳 — exhibit, state11All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん韓 — Korea18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
はん黄 — yellow11All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified

What does Han mean?

There is not necessarily one fixed English meaning. The reading identifies the spoken name; different written forms can use different kanji. Character glosses describe individual kanji and should not be treated as proof of the intention behind a particular person’s name.

Related readings

More surnames beginning with はん

Related by the opening kana of the dictionary reading. This is a deterministic browsing relationship, not a claim that the names share the same meaning.

Continue research

Where to go next from Han

Use literal reading, character and corpus relationships to continue without treating nearby records as automatically related.

Evidence on this page

What each source establishes

JMnedict establishes recorded written forms, readings and name classifications; where safely associated, this page can also show JMnedict-supplied trans_det source text without treating it as a whole-name meaning. KANJIDIC2 supplies character readings, nanori, stroke counts, grade classes and English character glosses. The Ministry of Justice remains the official reference for Japanese child-name character rules. The Agency for Cultural Affairs romanization guidance is the reference for generated Latin-script reading aids.

JMnedictChecked 17 Sep 2026Active data built 16 Sep 2026Stored status: downloaded
KANJIDIC2Checked 17 Sep 2026Active data built 17 Sep 2026
Japan Ministry of Justice — characters usable in children’s namesChecked 17 Sep 2026
Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs — Romanization Rules (2025)Checked 17 Sep 2026
Source boundary

The spelling-frequency and structural counts on this page are calculated from imported JMnedict records. They are corpus counts, not population-frequency claims. KANJIDIC2 supplies the kanji metadata used in character and stroke comparisons.

Review sources →