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Kanji Detail for 勢 - "force, vigor, situation"

勢

  • Meaning

    勢 means "force, vigor, situation."

    1. Force - Power and energy; momentum.

    2. Vigor - Active strength; vitality.

    3. Situation - The state of affairs; circumstances.

    4. Army - A group of soldiers; military force.

  • Words using 勢

    • 勢力 せいりょく Listen influence; power; might
    • 姿勢 しせい Listen posture; pose; position
    • 態勢 たいせい Listen attitude; posture; preparedness
    • 大勢 おおぜい Listen crowd of people; great number of people; in great numbers
    • 攻勢 こうせい Listen offensive (movement); aggression
    • 優勢 ゆうせい Listen superiority; superior power; predominance
    • 実勢 じっせい Listen actual; real; true
    • 総勢 そうぜい Listen all members; whole army

  • Four-character idioms with 勢

    • 勢力伯仲 せいりょくはくちゅう Listen (two sides) being evenly matched in influence or power

  • Origin of 勢

    埶, planting with both hands, over 力, strength: the force of things set growing — momentum. Power not as a possession but as a motion already underway.

    How to remember it: Seedlings driven in 埶 with full strength 力 — the surge of something already growing: momentum.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 勢

    • Verified meaning: force, vigor, situation
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read きおい, せい, せいじ)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 勢

    Given names 勢(せい)Listen

    Surnames 勢(きおい)Listen 勢(せいじ)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    forces; energy; military strength

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    power, force; tendency

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    power; influence; potential; momentum; tendency; trend; situation; conditions; outward appearance; sign; gesture; male genitals

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    power, force; tendency, attitude

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    The power of action. When force is vigorously exerted, it's called 勢. Such as 火勢 (fire's intensity), 水勢 (water's force), 其勢洶洶 (its momentum is fierce), 勢如破竹 (like splitting bamboo). The state of action is also called 勢. Such as 陣勢 (battle formation), 姿勢 (posture), meaning the condition of one's movements. | Power. Having something to pressure others with is called 勢. Such as 威勢 (authority), 聲勢 (momentum), 勢均力敵 (evenly matched), 仗勢欺人 (bully others relying on power). | Strategic advantage. Having a commanding view from high ground. Such as 山勢崢嶸 (rugged mountain terrain), 地勢平坦 (flat terrain). | The external genitals are called 勢. In ancient times, there was castration punishment, meaning cutting off a man's genitals.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    sei(セイ) セイ

    zei(ゼイ) ゼイ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    hazumi(はずみ) はずみ

    ikio.i(いきお-い) いきお-い

  • Strokes

    tip

    13 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    力 (chikara)

  • Related Keywords

    force vigor situation vitality army appearance group number power energy authority dominance drive dynamic impetus influence intensity might momentum potency robust strength surge thrust

Sentences including 勢

  • Many old people these days cannot keep up with the times.

  • Why do so many people visit kyoto?

  • There was a crowd of students waiting in front of the library.

  • Do you have many friends here in japan?

  • There were a lot of people waiting for the bus.

  • There were a lot of people in the park.

  • A great many students were absent from school.

  • She used to live in luxury.

  • My family is a large one.

  • There are many americans who can speak japanese.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 力 (chikara)

See all kanji with this radical →

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