世
世 — Generation
generation, world, society, public
On’yomiセイ (sei)
On’yomiセ (se)
On’yomiソウ (sou)
Kun’yomiよ (yo)
Stroke order (5 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 世
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 世界 | せかい sekai | the world; society; the universe |
| 世代 | せだい sedai | generation |
| 世論 | よろん yoron | public opinion; popular voice; public sentiment |
| 世界的 | せかいてき sekaiteki | worldwide; global; international |
| 世紀 | せいき seiki | century; era; of the century (e.g. fight of the century) |
| 世帯 | せたい setai | household; family |
Study notes
世 is a JLPT N4 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 3), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #135 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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