what
Came from Chinese. It usually shows up when the kanji is joined to another, forming a compound word.
It is Japanese. It usually shows up when the kanji stands alone or is followed by hiragana.
The order matters: it is what makes handwriting come out legible, and it is how dictionaries index the character.
Visual decomposition, for recognising and comparing — not always the character's origin.
Where it appears is highlighted — the translation doesn't always make that visible.
何年も前、日本での生活が始まったばかりの頃、ラファエルは終電を逃しました。
Nan-nen mo mae, Nihon de no seikatsu ga hajimatta bakari no koro, Rafaeru wa shuuden o nogashimashita.
Years ago, back when he'd just started his life in Japan, Rafael missed the last train.
ここから何分かかりますか？
Koko kara nanpun kakarimasu ka?
About how many minutes from here?
桜餅？！何日も買おうとしてたんです！
Sakuramochi?! Nannichi mo kaou to shitetan desu!
Sakura mochi?! I spent days trying to buy one of those!
何十年も前、店主にラーメンの作り方を教えた師匠から受け継いだものでした。
Nanjuunen mo mae, tenshu ni raamen no tsukurikata o oshieta shishou kara uketsuida mono deshita.
It came from the master who taught the owner how to make ramen, decades ago.
何回もあるよ！ちょっと分かりにくい場所だけど、行く価値あるよ。
Nankai mo aru yo! Chotto wakarinikui basho da kedo, iku kachi aru yo.
Lots of times! It's a bit hidden, but it's worth it.
Readings and meanings: KANJIDIC2 · Decomposition: KRADFILE · Both from Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0 · data from 2026-09-07 · Strokes: KanjiVG, Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0