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Kanji Detail for 世 - "world, generation, life"

世

  • Meaning

    世 means "world, generation, life."

    1. World - The society; the age.

    2. Generation - A period of time; an era.

    3. Life - One's lifetime.

  • Words using 世

    • 世界 せかい Listen the world; society; the universe
    • 世代 せだい Listen generation
    • 世紀 せいき Listen century; era; of the century (e.g. fight of the century)
    • 世界的 せかいてき Listen worldwide; global; international
    • 世帯 せたい Listen household; family
    • 世話 せわ Listen care; looking after; help
    • 世間 せけん Listen world; society; people
    • 世の中 よのなか Listen society; the world; the times

  • Four-character idioms with 世

    • 立身出世 りっしんしゅっせ Listen success in life
    • 一世一代 いっせいちだい Listen once in a lifetime; the first and last occurrence (event, experience) of one's lifetime
    • 一世一元 いっせいいちげん Listen the practice of assigning one era name to one emperor
    • 一世風靡 いっせいふうび Listen ruling the times; holding sway over the minds of the people
    • 万世一系 ばんせいいっけい Listen unbroken imperial line
    • 万世不易 ばんせいふえき Listen eternity; perpetuity

  • Tattoo check: 世

    • Verified meaning: world, generation, life
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read せあ, せい, せしめ, せぜ)

    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 世

    Given names 世(せい)Listen

    Surnames 世(せあ)Listen 世(せしめ)Listen 世(せぜ)Listen 世(とき)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

    generation; world; society; public

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    generation; world; era

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    surname Shi

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    generation, era, age; world

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

    Generation. Thirty years constitute one generation. Father and son succeeding each other is also called one generation. Such as a family having a 世系, meaning the family lineage continues unbroken. | When a ruler changes dynasty and receives the mandate, it is one 世. Such as "in the age of Xia," "the last age of Yin." Hence broadly referring to the current situation as 世. Such as 盛世 (prosperous age), 季世 (declining age). | Abbreviation of 世界 (world). See "界." Also refers to ordinary society as 世. Such as social interaction being called 世故. | One who continues the lineage is called 世. Such as calling an uncle 世父. The legitimate eldest son of a feudal lord is called 世子. All meaning one who continues the lineage. | A term for old acquaintances. Such as 世交 (family friendship), 世誼 (generational friendship). All those who had friendships with predecessors are called 世.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    se(セ) セ

    sei(セイ) セイ

    soh(ソウ) ソウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    yo(よ) よ

  • Strokes

    tip

    5 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    一 (ichi)

  • Related Keywords

    world generation life society succession age civilization community contemporary cosmos culture earth global humanity modern people period time tradition universe

Sentences including 世

  • I must look after the rabbits.

  • When will the world come to an end?

  • Who is going to look after our dog?

  • We all wish for permanent world peace.

  • He launched his son in the world.

  • It is the longest in the world.

  • He had friends all over the world.

  • He was in the world.

  • His death was broadcast all over the world.

  • He is bound to pass the entrance examination.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 一 (ichi)

See all kanji with this radical →

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