Entries consist of kanji elements, reading elements, general information and sense elements.
Each entry must have at least one reading element and one sense element. Others are optional. The kanji element, or in its absence, the reading element, is the defining component of each entry. The overwhelming majority of entries will have a single kanji element associated with a word in Japanese. Where there are multiple kanji elements within an entry, they will be orthographical variants of the same word, either using variations in okurigana, or alternative and equivalent kanji.