# 判 judgement

半 (half) Same-ON + 刀 (sword)
★★★☆☆
7 strokes
This used to mean "Official seal or stamp which stamps a document, making that document official." I guess a lot of those documents were the judgements of the ruler, because nowadays the kanji just means "to judge".

## Onyomi

HAN |

## Mnemonic

| HAN Solo judged the quality of his sword by cutting a Wookie in half.

## Kunyomi

わか＊る | A lot of dictionaries still say 判る is a synonym of 分かる. Not really. Don't bother learning 判る. ☆☆☆☆☆

## Jukugo

批判(ひはん) する | criticism ★★★☆☆ 批 (call bullshit on) + 判 (judgement) = 批判 (criticism) criticism, like "I call bullshit on the government!" or "I call bullshit on your opinion of an athlete!"
判断(はんだん) する | judge ★★★☆☆ 判 (judgement) + 断 (decision/judgement/refuse) = 判断 (judge) to judge, to deliver a verdict - but also judge like 'I wouldn't wear that skirt if I was her.'
判子(はんこ) | seal ★★★☆☆ KUN ON 判 (judgement) + 子 (child) = 判子 (seal) The little stamps that people here use instead of signatures on official documents.
評判(ひょうばん) | reputation ★★☆☆☆ 評 (art or literary criticism) + 判 (judgement) = 評判 (reputation)

## Lookalikes

| Meaning | Hint | Radical
--- | --- | --- | ---
伴 | accompany | PERSON | 人
判 | judgement | SWORD | 刀

The PERSON accompanies you because he's your buddy.
I say you owe me fi' dollas, and my SWORD makes it official.

## Synonyms

criticize 批判 非難(批難)
judge someone 偏見 判断 先入観 判決 裁く 審査