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.
お昼頃かしらね。あ、でも…最近携帯の調子が悪くて。
Ohiru goro kashira ne. A, demo... saikin keitai no choushi ga warukute.
Around noon, maybe. Oh, but... my phone's been acting up lately.
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