漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements
本: book, present
Also: main, origin, true, real, counter for long cylindrical things
Bronze · Zhou Small seal · Qin Today
Bronze and small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Two readings, and the words that use each
ホンhon · on'yomi · in compounds
- 本ほんbook
- 本日ほんじつtoday
- 本店ほんてんhead office
- 本当にほんとうにreally
- 基本きほんbasis
- 絵本えほんpicture book
- 三本さんぼん3 (long cylindrical objects)
- 六本ろっぽん6 (long cylindrical objects)
- 十本じゅっぽん10 (long cylindrical objects)
もとmoto · kun'yomi · on its own
- 山本やまもとYamamoto (surname)
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 日本にほんJapan
- 日本語にほんごJapanese language
Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogram (指事)
A tree (木) with its bottom highlighted with an extra stroke, accentuating the roots; contrast 末, 朱.
Source: Wiktionary, 本 (rev. 93803440), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“A tree with a single mark at its base (the roots) = the source, root, or origin of all things.”
Connections
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · běn
Same form: 本 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 本 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 本 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin běn most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.