原 — plain / original

Grade 2げん, はら

Radical ⼚ · radical 27 The building block this kanji is filed under

原 (readings: げん, はら; Japanese kanji) means “plain / original”. It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 原因 (cause).

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What does 原 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	原
Meaning	plain / original
Readings	げん, はら
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	原因 (cause)

How to read 原

原 is read げん or はら depending on the word.

Words with 原

原因げんいんnguyên nhân
草原thảo nguyên
原稿bản thảo
原子炉lò phản ứng hạt nhân

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Updated: 2026-08-09