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Kanji for Manifest

The kanji most commonly used for "Manifest" are 顕、顯.

Kanji that mean Manifest

  • manifest, to reveal

    Also associated with prominent.

    Onyomi: ken Kunyomi: aki.raka, arawa.reru 18 strokes Jōyō

  • manifest, obvious

    Also associated with prominent.

    Onyomi: ken Kunyomi: aki.raka, arawa.reru 23 strokes Jinmeiyō

顕 and 顯 are one character in two forms: 顯 is the traditional shape, 顕 the form used in modern Japanese. Choose 顕 unless you specifically want the older look.

Its meaning is to become visible — for something hidden or latent to show itself. The clearest pair is 顕在 (manifest, out in the open) against 潜在 (latent, below the surface). 顕著 means marked or conspicuous, and 顕微鏡, a microscope, is an instrument for making the small visible. The commoner character for something simply appearing is 現 (現れる, to appear); 顕 is the more formal and more emphatic of the two.

What 顕 does not mean is manifest in the recent English sense of willing something into existence. No Japanese character carries that. 顕 is descriptive — about what has come into view, not about causing it to.

Before you use Manifest kanji

顕 is accurate for manifest in the sense of made visible or evident. It does not carry the modern English sense of manifesting something you want into being — a Japanese reader will see 'conspicuous'. Use 顕 rather than 顯 unless you want the pre-war form deliberately.

Other meanings to explore

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