Meaning & readings

reality, Buddhist sect

On’yomi シン
Kun’yomi ま、ま-、まこと
Nanori さな、さね、ただ、ただし、なお、のり、まあ、まこ、まさ、まっ、まど、まな、まゆ、みち、も

Origin

This character combines the idea of completeness with the concept of having all necessary parts. The top component suggests "ten" or "complete," while the bottom component represents "tool" or "implement"—something fully equipped with everything it needs. Together, they express the notion of something that is complete, genuine, and lacking nothing, which led to the meaning "reality" or "truth." Over time, the character came to represent authenticity and the genuine nature of things.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

10 strokes

Components

  • radical top
  • meaning part bottom

Common words

  • 写真 しゃしん photograph; photo
  • 真意 しんい real intention; true motive
  • 真価 しんか true value; real worth
  • 真夏 まなつ middle of summer; height of summer
  • 真顔 まがお serious look (on one's face); straight face
  • 真偽 しんぎ truth or falsehood; genuineness
  • 真空 しんくう vacuum
  • 真剣 しんけん serious; earnest

Reference

Strokes
10
Kangxi radical
109
Grade
Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#279 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 3
Unicode
U+0771F