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Kanji Detail for 本 - "book, root, origin"

本

  • Meaning

    本 means "book, root, origin."

    1. Root - The base; the foundation; the roots of plants.

    2. Origin - The beginning; the source.

    3. Essence - The important part; the main point.

    4. Agriculture - Farming (as opposed to commerce and industry).

    5. Original - The original; also, true or genuine.

    6. This - This one; that one; also, one's own.

    7. Book - A written work; also, a counter for books.

    8. Counter for trees - A word for counting plants.

    9. Counter for films - A word for counting movies, programs, or matches.

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    book; present; main; origin; true; real; counter for long cylindrical things

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    root, origin, source; basis

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    (bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this; (bound form) this; the current (year etc); (bound form) original; (bound form) inherent; originally; initially; capital; principal; classifier for books, periodicals, files etc

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    root, origin, source; basis

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

    The base of a tree is called 本. The roots of all plants are called 本. Hence one plant is called 一本. | The origin of any matter is called 本. Such as 捨本逐末 (abandoning the root to chase the tip). | Beginning. Such as original intention is called 本意. | A grammatical particle. Meaning "originally." Such as 本該如此 (should have been so). | Self-reference is called 本. Such as one's own country is 本國. One's own province is 本省. Also one's position is 本位. One's ability is 本領, meaning not dependent on external sources. | Principal capital is called 本. Meaning original funds. Such as 小本營生 (small capital business), 一本萬利 (small investment, big profit). | In the old system, memorials to the throne were called 本. Such as 題本, 票本. | Books, paintings, and rubbings are all called 本. Such as 刻本 (printed edition), 臨本 (copy), 拓本 (rubbing). One volume is also called 一本.
  • Onyomitip

    hon(ほん) ほん

  • Kunyomitip

    moto(もと) もと

  • Strokestip

    5 strokes

  • Radicaltip

    木 (ki・kihen)

  • Related Keywords
    book root origin base foundation main true genuine real original source core essence fundamental primary basic principal central authentic standard

Sentences including 本

  • It is a book.

  • What he says is true.

  • Can the rumor be true?

  • Does anyone here speak japanese?

  • I found the book easy.

  • You should read as many books as you can.

  • How long have you lived in japan?

  • This book is too difficult to understand.

  • My boss says one thing and means another.

  • Put the book back on the shelf.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

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