near, early, akin, tantamount
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.
ルーカスがドアの近くまで来た時、変な音が聞こえました。
Rūkasu ga doa no chikaku made kita toki, hen na oto ga kikoemashita.
Lucas was almost at the door when he heard a strange noise.
日本では、小さな子供が近所を一人で歩くのは珍しくありません。
Nihon dewa, chiisana kodomo ga kinjo o hitori de aruku no wa mezurashiku arimasen.
In Japan, it's not unusual for young children to walk around the neighborhood alone.
数日後、ルーカスさんは病院の近くのファストフード店の前を通りました。
Suujitsugo, Rūkasu-san wa byouin no chikaku no fasutofūdo-ten no mae o toorimashita.
A few days later, Lucas walked past a fast food place near the hospital.
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