【子】(shi, su, ko/ child, children) Japanese Kanji | JLPT N5

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In this time, I will introduce the Kanji character 子.

How to read

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are
・し　shi
・す　su

For example,
・子孫　しそん　shi-son
It means descendants

・男子　だんし　dan-shi
It means boy

・女子　じょし　jo-shi
It means girl

・帽子　ぼうし　bou-shi
It means hat, cap

and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next, the kun-reading is
・こ　ko

For example,
・子　こ　ko
It means child, children
It's a formal way of saying.

・子供　こども　ko-domo
It means child, children
This is a casual way of saying

・息子　むすこ　musuko
It means son

・玉子焼き　たまごやき　tama-go ya-ki
It means fried eggs

and so on.

③ Special reading

Next is a special reading.
・ね　ne
・ねずみ　nezumi

For example,
・子年　ねずみどし　nezumi-doshi
It means the Year of the Rat (the Chinese Zodiac)

Meanings

Next is the meaning of the kanji for 子.
This kanji is used in the next meanings
・child, children

Radical

And the radical of this character is 子　kodomo
This character itself is a radical, a basic character.

Family name

Next, I will introduce family names. Here are some family names that are particularly common in Japan.
・金子　かねこ　Kaneko
・蛭子　えびす　Ebisu

Personal name

These are the most common personal names using the Kanji for 子

・京子　きょうこ　Kyōko
・優子　ゆうこ　Yūko
・洋子　ようこ　Yōko
・玲子　れいこ　Reiko
・智子　ともこ　Tomoko

There are too many to write about.
Many female names have 子 at the end of their names.

Every woman in the Japanese Imperial Family has a character 子 attached to her name.

Famous person

Next, I will introduce Japanese celebrities who use the Kanji 子

・宮村 優子　みやむらゆうこ　Miyamura Yūko
She is a voice actress. She plays Asuka in Evangelion.

・美智子さま　みちこさま　Michiko sama
She is the Empress Emerita

・雅子さま　まさこさま　Masako sama
She is the Empress

Look-alikes

Here are some kanji that are similar to 子

・干　かん、ほ-す　kan, ho-su
It means dry

kanji that contain character 子 in their composition

Here are some kanji that contain character 子 in their composition

・孔　こう、あな　kou, ana
It means hole

・字　じ　ji
It means letter, character

・学　がく、まな-ぶ　gaku, mana-bu
It means to learn, to study

・好　こう、す-き　kou, su-ki
It means to like, to love

・存　そん、ぞん　son, zon
It means exist

・孝　こう　kou
It means filial piety

・李　り　ri
It means Prunus salicina

・季　き、とき　ki, toki
It means season

・孫　そん、まご　son, mago
It means grandchild

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

Tags

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