元 — origin

Kanji

〈 1 of 1 〉

Meaning

origin

Onyomi

ゲン、ガン

Kunyomi

もと

Radical

ひとあし
ひとあし
human legs
2
Radical position: ashi

Strokes

4

Grade

2

Kodansha

1226

Classic Nelson

275

Hint

Where every person 一 and thing 一 comes 儿 (orig. “legs”) from.
Kanji alive

Examples

元気な（げんきな）
energetic
紀元前（きげんぜん）
B.C.E.
三次元（さんじげん）
3 dimensions
元祖（がんそ）
founder, inventor
元年（がんねん）
first year (of a specific reign)
製造元（せいぞうもと）
manufacturer
地元（じもと）
local
身元（みもと）
person's identity
Stroke 1 Stroke 2 Stroke 3 Stroke 4

Quick Reference

Please see our User Guide for detailed explanations of all of Kanji alive's features or watch our short demonstration videos. If you are having technical difficulties, please refer to our Troubleshooting page.

詳細は、メーニューの「日本語」内にある使用説明とトラブルシューティングをご参照ください。

Navigation

Next/Previous kanji Use the ← and → keys or click on the left and right single pointed brackets in the top navigation bar
Toggle kanji animation/typeface Use the ↑ or ↓ keys or click on the large image of the kanji.
Next/Previous typeface Use the Shift + ← and Shift + → keys or click on the left and right single pointed brackets next to the name of the typeface
Return to Search Click on the text of the current search term on the far left of the navigation bar

Note: The order in which kanji appear in the detail view when selecting the next or previous kanji is dependant on the sort mode previously chosen in the search view.

Other Interactive Elements

Play/Pause kanji animation Use the spacebar or click on the play/pause icon in the center of the kanji animation controls.
Next/Previous stroke Use the Shift + ← or Shift + → keys, click the previous and next stroke icons on each side of the play/pause icon or move your mouse cursor over the stroke breakdown images.
Radical animation Use the Shift + r keys or click on the image on the far right of the radical field to view an animation illustrating the radical's historical derivation.
Examples Move your mouse cursor over a Japanese word in the Examples field to reveal its English meaning. Click on the play icon to the right of each example to hear its pronunciation.

v2.1