音読み: ケツ
訓読み: きめる・きまる
画数: 7
部首: さんずい（氵）
Meaning
Decide / Determine / Settle
Conjugation
Tap for 決める (decide)
Tap for 決まる (be decided)
- 決定 — decision
- 決勝 — championship
- 解決 — resolution, settlement
- 決心 — determination
- 決意 — resolve
- 決議 — resolution (formal decision)
More examples - tap to expand
- 決裂 — breakdown, rupture (in negotiations, talks)
- 対決 — confrontation, showdown
- 判決 — judicial decision, verdict
- 評決 — verdict, judgment (often by jury)
Compound Verbs - tap to expand
- 取り決める — to decide; to settle; to agree upon
- 決め付ける — to jump to a conclusion; to label arbitrarily
- 決め込む — to decide firmly; to assume deliberately
- 決めかねる — to be unable to decide; to hesitate over a decision
- 決めそびれる — to miss the chance to decide; to fail to decide in time
決 combines the water radical (氵) with the phonetic element "夬" (ケツ), which implies forceful action or separation. The character originally referred to water breaking through a barrier — and by extension, to decisive or determined action. It now broadly expresses decisions, resolutions, and finality.