scribe, account, narrative
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.
仕事では、いつも二十四時間表記を使う。
Shigoto dewa, itsumo nijuuyo-jikan hyouki o tsukau.
At work, we always use the 24-hour clock.
二週間後、記念日がやってきました。
Nishuukango, kinenbi ga yattekimashita.
Two weeks later, the anniversary arrived.
結婚記念日、二週間後だね。
Kekkon kinenbi, nishuukango da ne.
Our wedding anniversary is in two weeks.
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