We all know about on and kun readings in Japanese. But there are a few different types of on reading, reflecting the period in which the kanji was borrowed from Chinese. Most kanji only have a kanon reading, but some also have a goon reading (which can be quite different). The kanji which have goon readings tend to be those which describe very basic concepts, or which are connected with Buddhism. A small few kanji only have goon readings (for example, the numerals).
| goon 呉音 |
Wu sound | Southern and Northern Dynasties during the 5th and 6th centuries. Especially common in Buddhist borrowings. |
| kanon 漢音 |
Han sound | Tang Dynasty in the 7th to 9th centuries. The most common reading. |
| tooon 唐音 |
Tang sound | Later dynasties, such as the Song (宋) and Ming (明). They cover all readings adopted from the Heian era (平安) to the Edo period (江戸). This is also known as Tōsō-on (唐宋音). |
| kanyooon 慣用音 |
Idiomatic sound | Mistaken or changed readings of the kanji that have become accepted into the language. |
| Kanji | Meaning | Go-on | Kan-on | Tō-on | Kan’yō-on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 明 | bright | myō | mei | (min) | — |
| 行 | go | gyō gō |
kō kō |
(an) | — |
| 極 | extreme | goku | kyoku | — | — |
| 珠 | pearl | shu | shu | ju | (zu) |
| 度 | degree | do | (to) | — | — |
| 輸 | transport | (shu) | (shu) | — | yu |
| 雄 | masculine | — | — | — | yū |
| 熊 | bear | — | — | — | yū |
| 子 | child | shi | shi | su | — |
| 清 | clear | shō | sei | (shin) | — |
| 京 | capital | kyō | kei | (kin) | — |
| 兵 | soldier | hyō | hei | — | — |
| 強 | strong | gō | kyō | — | — |
| 日 | sun, day | nichi | jitsu | — | — |
Linguo... dead. Linguo IS dead 