life, genuine, birth
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.
あ、よかった、優しそうな先生だ…たぶん。
A, yokatta, yasashisou na sensei da... tabun.
Oh good, a nice doctor... I think.
分かりました。睡眠と食生活はどう?
Wakarimashita. Suimin to shokuseikatsu wa dou?
I see. And how's your sleep and your diet?
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.
紺はグレーより暖かいよ。生地が厚いの。
Kon wa guree yori atatakai yo. Kiji ga atsui no.
The navy one is warmer than the gray one. Thicker fabric.
こうして、ケンタの学校の運動会に、新しい伝説が生まれました。
Koushite, Kenta no gakkou no undoukai ni, atarashii densetsu ga umaremashita.
And so, Kenta's school sports day gained a new legend.
Readings and meanings: KANJIDIC2 · Decomposition: KRADFILE · Both from Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0 · data from 2026-10-22 · Strokes: KanjiVG, Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0