世 — how to write the kanji for “generation”
世 means “generation”, “world” and “society”; it is a JLPT N4 kanji, taught in third grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 135th most used kanji. It is also where hiragana せ and katakana セ came from. KANJIDIC2 files it under the radical 一 (“one”). On its own it is the word yo, “world; society”. Read se, it forms 世界 (“the world”), 世代 (“generation”) and 世界的 (“worldwide”); the native reading yo gives 世論 (“public opinion”) and 世の中 (“society”). Chinese reads it shì, “world”, at HSK 3.
- Strokes
- 5
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 一 (“one”)
- On
- セ, セイ, ソウ
- Kun
- よ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Vertical ㇑top rightdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Vertical-turn ㇗top leftdownwards → rightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 5 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Kana from 世
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- セ se, セイ sei, ソウ sou (rare)
- Kun (native)
- よ yo
- Meanings
- generation; world; society; public
- Read se
- 世界 世代 世界的 世帯 世話 世間
- Read yo
- 世論 世の中
- Read sei
- 世紀 二世
- School year
- third grade
- Newspaper rank
- 135th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 세 se
- Common words
- 38 in JMdict
Words with 世
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 世界 | せかい sekai | the world; society |
| 世代 | せだい sedai | generation |
| 世論 | よろん yoron | public opinion; popular voice |
| 世紀 | せいき seiki | century; era |
| 世界的 | せかいてき sekaiteki | worldwide; global |
| 世帯 | せたい setai | household; family |
| 世話 | せわ sewa | care; looking after |
| 世間 | せけん seken | world; society |
| 世の中 | よのなか yononaka | society; the world |
| 二世 | にせい nisei | nisei; second-generation Japanese (or Korean, etc.) |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Same parts:
JLPT N4, in list order: