Jisho

×

4 strokes
Radical:
legs
Parts:
beginning, former time, origin
Kun:
もと
On:
ゲンガン
Jōyō kanji, taught in grade 2
JLPT level N4
192 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Speed

Stroke order

On reading compounds

  • 元 【ゲン】 unknown (e.g. in an equation), element (of a set), yuan (monetary unit of China), New Taiwan dollar, Yuan dynasty (of China; 1271-1368), Yüan dynasty, Mongol dynasty
  • 原価 【ゲンカ】 cost price
  • 中元 【チュウゲン】 15th day of the 7th lunar month, (last day of) Bon lantern festival, mid-year gift, summer gift, Bon Festival gifts
  • 抗原 【コウゲン】 antigen
  • 元祖 【ガンソ】 originator, pioneer, inventor, founder, progenitor, primogenitor, founder of a family line
  • 元日 【ガンジツ】 New Year's Day

Kun reading compounds

  • 元 【もと】 origin, source, beginning, basis, base, foundation, root, cause, (raw) material, ingredient, base, mix (e.g. for a cake), (soup) stock, (one's) side, capital, principal, cost price, root (of a plant), (tree) trunk, part (of a brush, chopsticks, etc.) one holds (with the hand), first three lines of a waka, counter for plants or trees, counter for falcons (in falconry)
  • 元 【もと】 former, ex-, past, one-time, earlier times, the past, previous state, formerly, previously, originally, before
  • 家元 【いえもと】 head of a school (of music, dance), head family of a school
  • 胸元 【むなもと】 breast, chest, pit of the stomach, solar plexus, epigastrium

Readings

Japanese names:
ちか、 はじめ、 はる、 ゆき、 よし
Mandarin Chinese (pinyin):
yuan2
Korean:
weon

Spanish

  • comienzo
  • principio
  • origen
  • jefe

Portuguese

  • começo
  • tempo anterior
  • origem

French

  • commencement
  • origine
  • ancien temps
68 A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese (Florence Sakade)
117 A Guide To Reading and Writing Japanese 3rd edition (Henshall, Seeley and De Groot)
106 A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall)
328 A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage
275 Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson)
106 Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill)
121 Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki)
60 Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill)
2.10 Japanese for Busy People
137 Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
137 Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
245 Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono)
141 Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide
2428 Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
1226 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
1690 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern)
59 Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette)
1340 Morohashi
1929 New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
343 New Nelson (John Haig)
59 Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig)
63 Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig)
408 The Kanji Way to Japanese Language Power (Dale Crowley)
89 Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask)
3057 2001 Kanji
0a4.5 The Kanji Dictionary
2-1-3 SKIP code
1021.1 Four corner code
1-24-21 JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code
5143 Unicode hex code

8 strokes
Radical:
woman, female
Parts:
surname
On:
セイショウ
Jōyō kanji, taught in junior high
JLPT level N2
1628 of 2500 most used kanji in newspapers

Speed

Stroke order

On reading compounds

  • 姓 【セイ】 surname, family name, hereditary title (used in ancient Japan to denote rank and political standing)
  • 姓名 【セイメイ】 (full) name, family name and given name
  • 旧姓 【キュウセイ】 one's original family name, maiden name
  • 同姓 【ドウセイ】 same surname
  • 姓 【セイ】 surname, family name, hereditary title (used in ancient Japan to denote rank and political standing)
  • 俗姓 【ゾクショウ】 secular surname (of a priest)
  • 小百姓 【コビャクショウ】 peasant, small farmer

Readings

Mandarin Chinese (pinyin):
xing4
Korean:
seong

Spanish

  • apellido

Portuguese

  • sobrenome

French

  • nom de famille
1471 A Guide To Remembering Japanese Characters (Kenneth G. Henshall)
1766 A New Dictionary of Kanji Usage
1203 Classic Nelson (Andrew Nelson)
1150 Essential Kanji (P.G. O’Neill)
450 Japanese Kanji Flashcards (Max Hodges and Tomoko Okazaki)
846 Japanese Names (P.G. O’Neill)
1746 Kanji and Kana (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
1869 Kanji and Kana, 2nd Edition (Spahn and Hadamitzky)
598 Kanji in Context (Nishiguchi and Kono)
440 Kodansha Compact Kanji Guide
334 Kodansha Kanji Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
209 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
251 Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Jack Halpern)
1571 Les Kanjis dans la tete (Yves Maniette)
6178 Morohashi
279 New Japanese English Character Dictionary (Jack Halpern)
1196 New Nelson (John Haig)
1557 Remembering The Kanji (James Heisig)
1678 Remembering The Kanji, 6th edition (James Heisig)
1163 Tuttle Kanji Cards (Alexander Kask)
1772 2001 Kanji
3e5.3 The Kanji Dictionary
1-3-5 SKIP code
4541.0 Four corner code
1-32-11 JIS X 0208-1997 kuten code
59d3 Unicode hex code