Meaning & readings
cause, factor, be associated with, depend on, be limited to
On’yomi イン
Kun’yomi よ.る、ちな.む
Nanori て
Origin
This character shows a large person (大) enclosed or surrounded by a square frame (囗). The square represents a boundary or container, while the large figure inside suggests something that is caught, held, or limited within it. The meaning of "cause" or "factor" comes from the idea of something being bound or constrained — a cause is what holds an effect in place or what something depends on. Over time, this visual image of containment evolved to represent the abstract notion of causation and dependency.
Components
- 囗
- 大
- 囗
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 6
- Kangxi radical
- 31
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #636 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+056E0