Usage of 腱 vs 筋


What is the difference between the following characters: 腱 vs 筋 （すじ）

Both translate to tendon (as in the connective tissue between muscles and
bones)




腱 would generally be read けん and is the word (generally and medically
speaking) that means tendon.

The kanji 筋 itself has numerous meanings and uses, so I'll limit this answer
to biology.  
筋 is much more general, applying to **any fibrous tissue** , muscle being the
most common, not tendon. Also, it is not limited to animals as it includes
plant fiber as well
「[ふきの筋をとる](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPaaQ5ljThA)」(this is a video of
someone removing the fibrous outer layer of the fuki plant). Other common
usages include the string of snap pea pods and the digestive tract in the back
of shrimp.

So 腱（けん） is a specific subset of 筋（すじ）。 筋（すじ）pretty much only means tendon in
layman's terms. Just like when we say "I pulled a muscle" even though we may
not really know at the time if it was a muscle, tendon, or ligament that we
injured, in Japanese people say 「筋を違えた」.




腱 would generally be read けん and is the word (generally and medically
speaking) that means tendon.

The kanji 筋 itself has numerous meanings and uses, so I'll limit this answer
to biology.  
筋 is much more general, applying to **any fibrous tissue** , muscle being the
most common, not tendon. Also, it is not limited to animals as it includes
plant fiber as well
「[ふきの筋をとる](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPaaQ5ljThA)」(this is a video of
someone removing the fibrous outer layer of the fuki plant). Other common
usages include the string of snap pea pods and the digestive tract in the back
of shrimp.

So 腱（けん） is a specific subset of 筋（すじ）。 筋（すじ）pretty much only means tendon in
layman's terms. Just like when we say "I pulled a muscle" even though we may
not really know at the time if it was a muscle, tendon, or ligament that we
injured, in Japanese people say 「筋を違えた」.

