漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People
人: person
Oracle bone · Shang Bronze · Western Zhou Small seal · Qin Today
Oracle bone, bronze and small seal: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Three readings, and the words that use each
ジンjin · on'yomi · in compounds
- 人類学じんるいがくanthropology
- 人生じんせい(human) life
- 人口じんこうpopulation
- 日本人にほんじんJapanese person
- 御主人ごしゅじんsomeone's husband
ニンnin · on'yomi
- 人間にんげんhuman
- 人数にんずうa head count
ひとhito · kun'yomi · on its own
- 人ひとperson
- 人柄ひとがらpersonality
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 一人ひとりone person
- 二人ふたりtwo people
- 素人しろうとamateur
Also read -り, -と, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Pictogram (象形)
Side view of a standing man, highlighting an arm and a leg.
Source: Wiktionary, 人 (rev. 94589653), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Two lines leaning on each other for support—that's 人! It shows how humans are not meant to stand alone; we lean on one another for strength and companionship.”
Connections
Also read ニン
7 kanji share this on'yomiEasy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · rén
Same form: 人 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 人 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 人 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin rén most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.