Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Time & Sequence

世: generation, world

Also: society, public

JLPT N45 strokesGrade 3Your ink: 白 Not met
  • 廿(form)
5 strokes

Three readings, and the words that use each

セイsei · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 世紀せいきcentury
  • 三世さんせい3rd generation
  • 中世ちゅうせいMiddle Ages

セse · on'yomi

  • 世界せかいworld
  • 世間せけんworld, society
  • 世代せだいgeneration
  • 世話せわassistance
  • 出世するしゅっせするget promoted

よyo · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 世の中よのなかworld, society
  • あの世あのよworld of the dead

Also read ソウ, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Origin · sourced

Other

Variant form of 枼 (the original form of 葉 (“leaf”)) with the tree removed.

Source: Wiktionary, 世 (rev. 94589030), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Everything begins with one. This radical is the first strike of the brush that defines the horizon, the first step of a long journey, and the very foundation of the mathematical world.”
More in the 一 one story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
廿

Also built on 廿

Also read セイ

43 kanji share this on'yomiAll 43

Also read セ

1 kanji shares this on'yomi

Also read ソウ

56 kanji share this on'yomiAll 56

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
世 generation
vs甘 sweet
Same parts, arranged differently.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · shì

Same form: 世 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
世 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
世 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin shì most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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