Onyomi

Onyomi (音読み) is the Japanese approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation of a Kanji character.

When the Japanese language was infused with the Kanji character system it also gained many Chinese words for concepts that either didn't exist or could not be articulated as elegantly.

Along with this character set came the pronunciation for the characters. Onyomi is characterized by its use of a single syllable for each character, and its prevalence in compound words. For instance the Japanese words for east (東) and north (北) are pronounced "higashi" and "kita" respectively (in kunyomi), and when used by themselves are always pronounced as such. However, the word for northeast is pronounced with the onyomi "tō-hoku" (東北), as it is a compound word.

The onyomi reading is used for most compound words, as well as many place names, for example, Tokyo (東京). Most Japanese personal names are read as kunyomi.