生 — life / birth

Grade 1せい, しょう, い, う, は, き, なま

Radical ⽣ · radical 100 The building block this kanji is filed under

生 (readings: せい, しょう, い, う, は, き, なま; Japanese kanji) means “life / birth”. It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 先生 (teacher).

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What does 生 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	生
Meaning	life / birth
Readings	せい, しょう, い, う, は, き, なま
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	先生 (teacher)

How to read 生

生 is read せい or しょう or い or う or は or き or なま depending on the word.

Words with 生

生産せいさんsản xuất
生活せいかつđời sống
発生はっせいphát sinh
生命せいめいsinh mệnh
先生せんせいthầy cô
一生いっしょうcả đời
生徒せいとhọc sinh
誕生たんじょうra đời
一年生いちねんせいhọc sinh lớp một
再生tái sinh

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Updated: 2026-08-09