漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements
神: gods, mind
Also: soul
礻 carries the meaning · 申 gives the sound
Four readings, and the words that use each
シンshin · on'yomi · in compounds
- 神道しんとうShinto
- 神話しんわmyth
- 神経しんけいnerve, sensitivity
- 神聖なしんせいなsacred
- 精神せいしんmind, spirit
- 失神するしっしんするfaint [v.i.]
ジンjin · on'yomi
- 神社じんじゃShinto shrine
かみkami · kun'yomi · on its own
- 神かみgod
- 神業かみわざmiracle
かん-kan- · kun'yomi
- 神主かんぬしShinto priest
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 神戸こうべKobe
- 神輿みこしportable shrine
Also read こう-, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Phono-semantic compound (形聲)示 god; deity (meaning) + 申 lightning (sound)
Source: Wiktionary, 神 (rev. 92676416), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Altar/gods (礻) + expand/lightning (申). Represents the "expanding" power of the "spirits" or a "god" revealing themselves like a bolt of lightning.”
Connections
Also built on have the honor to (申)
神 takes the 申 family's reading, シン (shin).
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · shén
Same form: 神 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 神 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 神 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin shén most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.