Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Structures & Home

内: inside, within

Also: between, among, house, home

JLPT N34 strokesGrade 2Your ink: 白 Not met

冂 carries the meaning · 人 is drawn in

4 strokes

Two readings, and the words that use each

ナイnai · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 内容ないようcontent
  • 内部ないぶinterior
  • 内科ないかinternal medicine
  • 内面ないめんinternal (e.g. personality)
  • 家内かないmy wife
  • 国内こくないdomestic (vs. international)
  • 以内いないwithin
  • 案内するあんないするguide

うちuchi · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 内側うちがわinside
  • 内気なうちきなshy

Also read ダイ, 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

Ideogrammic compound (會意)入 to enter (meaning) + 冂 house (meaning)

Simplified from 內. Ideogrammic compound (會意): semantic 入 (“to enter”) + semantic 冂 (“house”).

Source: Wiktionary, 内 (rev. 93601853), CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Entering (入) + borders (冂). To step directly "inside" the defined "borders" of a space—the literal definition of being within.”
From the 冂 borders story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
冂

Also built on borders (冂)

All 12
人

Also built on person (人)

All 21

内 gives its sound to

Sound parts: KanjiVG.

Also read ナイ

3 kanji share this on'yomi

Also read ダイ

11 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
内 inside · 冂
vs介 jammed in · 丿 + 丨
内 has 冂 where 介 has 丿 + 丨.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · nèi

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

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

Pinyin nèi 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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