生 — how to write the kanji for “life”
生 means “life”, “genuine” and “birth”; it is a JLPT N5 kanji, taught in first grade in Japan. In newspapers it is one of the hundred most used kanji (29th). Its Japanese stroke 3, a vertical, is the 4th stroke in the Chinese order. On its own it is the word nama, “raw; uncooked”. You will meet it in 学生 (“student”), 生活 (“life”) and 生産 (“production”). Chinese reads it shēng, “to grow”, at HSK 1.
- Strokes
- 5
- JLPT
- N5
- Radical
- 生 (“life”)
- On
- セイ, ショウ
- Kun
- い·きる, う·まれる, は·やす
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdown and left
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
Two stroke orders
Japan and China order its strokes differently: 2 strokes sit in another place. Japanese 3 = Chinese 4; Japanese 4 = Chinese 3.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- セイ sei, ショウ shou
- Kun (native)
- い·きる i-kiru, う·まれる u-mareru, は·やす ha-yasu, き ki, なま- nama-, な·る na-ru, お·う o-u, な·す na-su, い·かす i-kasu (rare), い·ける i-keru (rare), うま·れる uma-reru (rare), う·まれ u-mare (rare), うまれ umare (rare), う·む u-mu (rare), は·える ha-eru (rare), なま nama (rare), む·す mu-su (rare), -う -u (rare)
- Meanings
- life; genuine; birth
- School year
- first grade
- Newspaper rank
- 29th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 생 saeng
- Common words
- 145 in JMdict
Words with 生
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 学生 | がくせい gakusei | student |
| 生活 | せいかつ seikatsu | life; living |
| 生産 | せいさん seisan | production; manufacture |
| 人生 | じんせい jinsei | (one's) life |
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher; instructor |
| 年生 | ねんせい nensei | nth-year student; nth-year pupil |
| 新生 | しんせい shinsei | rebirth; new birth |
| 生徒 | せいと seito | pupil; student |
| 厚生省 | こうせいしょう kouseishou | (former) Ministry of Health and Welfare |
| 生命 | せいめい seimei | life; existence |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
JLPT N5, in list order: