六感(ろっかん)

六感(ろっかん) refers to perception beyond the five physical senses — intuition, gut feeling, or a mysterious ability to sense things.

Full expression

More commonly said as 第(だい)六感(ろっかん) (the sixth sense). Both forms are used.

THE FIVE SENSES (五感(ごかん)):

• 視覚(しかく): sight
• 聴覚(ちょうかく): hearing
• 嗅覚(きゅうかく): smell
• 味覚(みかく): taste
• 触覚(しょっかく): touch

Common collocations

• 第(だい)六感(ろっかん)が働(はたら)く: sixth sense kicks in
• 六感(ろっかん)が鋭(するど)い: to have a sharp sixth sense
• 六感(ろっかん)を信(しん)じる: to trust one's intuition

Similar words

• 直感(ちょっかん): intuition (more common in everyday speech)
• 勘(かん): hunch, gut feeling (casual)