敏

音読おんよみ: ビン

訓読くんよみ: と-し・さと-い

画数かくすう: 10

部首ぶしゅ: のぶん

Meaning

quick / sharp / sensitive / agile

  • 敏ビン感かん — sensitive / responsive / quick to notice
  • 機敏きびん — agile / quick-moving / nimble
  • 過敏かびん — overly sensitive / hypersensitive
  • 鈍感どんかん vs. 敏感びんかん — dull / insensitive vs. sharp / sensitive
  • 敏びん速そく — quick / prompt / rapid response

敏 describes speed of mind and body. Someone who is 敏い (としい / さとい in older forms) reacts quickly, notices details fast, and moves without delay.

In modern Japanese you mostly see 敏 in compounds like 敏感 or 機敏. Think “fast to feel it” or “fast to act.”

速

敏 shows quick reaction. 速 shows raw speed.

Put them together — 敏速 — and you get “fast to notice, fast to respond.” Not just speed, but alert speed. That's the core feeling of 敏: sharp, awake, instantly ready.

敏感
Creates

敏感びんかん — sensitive, responsive.

Someone 敏感 reacts fast to light, sound, mood, or emotion. Their “sensors” are dialed up.

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