原
原 — Meadow
meadow, original, primitive, field, plain, prairie
On’yomiゲン (gen)
Kun’yomiはら (hara)
Stroke order (10 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 原
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 原因 | げんいん genin | cause; origin; source |
| 原則 | げんそく gensoku | principle; general rule; as a rule |
| 原子力 | げんしりょく genshiryoku | atomic energy; nuclear power |
| 原告 | げんこく genkoku | plaintiff; accuser; prosecutor |
| 原発 | げんぱつ genpatsu | nuclear power plant; nuclear power generation; primary (e.g. primary immunodeficiency syndrome) |
| 原油 | げんゆ genyu | crude oil |
Study notes
原 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #172 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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