Meaning & readings
row, and, besides, as well as, line up, rank with, rival, equal
On’yomi ヘイ、ホウ
Kun’yomi な.み、なみ、なら.べる、なら.ぶ、なら.びに
Nanori なび
Origin
This character shows two people standing side by side, represented by the two vertical strokes with horizontal arms (like simplified figures). When multiple people or things stand next to each other in this way, they form a row or line. The doubling of the figure emphasizes the idea of things arranged together in order, which is why 並 came to mean "row," "line up," or "rank with." The visual concept of bodies positioned equally next to one another directly expresses the meaning of parallel arrangement and equality.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (並).
Common words
Easily confused with
These look alike but are unrelated in meaning — check the stroke that differs.
Reference
- Strokes
- 8
- Kangxi radical
- 1
- Formation type
- Pictographic or simple
- Grade
- Grade 6 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #599 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+04E26