Spirit & society
Tap an example word to hear it pronounced.
On'yomi & Kun'yomi
On'yomi (音読み) is the reading borrowed from Chinese, usually used in compound words, e.g. 三月 (さんがつ, March).
Kun'yomi (訓読み) is the native Japanese reading, used when the kanji stands alone or takes kana endings, e.g. 三つ (みっつ, three items).
By convention the readings list writes on'yomi in katakana (シュ) and kun'yomi in hiragana (さけ). Example words show furigana in hiragana, so the same on'yomi can look like シュ in the list but しゅ in a word.
What the component colors mean
Blue - the main radical the kanji is filed under in dictionaries.
Green - a component that hints at the meaning.
Orange - a component that hints at the reading (sound).
Grey - another building block, with no clear meaning or sound role.
Shinto shrine
god (honorific)
dead center, right in the middle
photograph
truth, reality
deep
late at night, midnight
water depth
to say (humble)
to apply, to sign up
offer, proposal
Meaning
festival; to worship
Components
On'yomi
サイ
Kun'yomi
まつ（り） | まつ（る）
festival
national holiday, feast day
cultural festival
Meaning
courtesy, manners; thanks, a bow
Components
On'yomi
レイ | ライ
rudeness; excuse me
thanks, token of gratitude
the world
care, looking after
first generation
society, the world
all, the whole
safety
the whole country
all, everything
family
ethnic group, people
aquarium
the rest, others
other people, stranger
foreign country
Practice
Test yourself on this lesson's kanji.