Nihongo

Kanji Detail of 形

Level:N3 Mid
Strokes:7
Stroke Order
Related Words
AI Explanation
Basic Meaning

The kanji character (pronounced as "katachi" in Japanese) fundamentally represents "shape," "form," or "appearance." It encompasses the idea of how something is structured, its external configuration, or the way it manifests itself. This can refer to both the physical shape of an object and the abstract form of something like an idea or a process.

Readings

・On-yomi (音読み): ケイ (kei) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): かたち (katachi)

Usage Examples

⚫︎形(かたち)がいい Translation: Has a good shape; well-shaped. ⚫︎三角形(さんかくけい) Translation: Triangle. ⚫︎形容詞(けいようし) Translation: Adjective.

Origin and Formation

The kanji is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The left side is a radical called ("san" - three strokes), which depicts a hair-like pattern. The right side is (well). The original meaning was likely related to "pattern" or "model". Over time, it developed to represent "shape" or "form" as a whole, depicting the visual appearance or structure of something. The combination of the two parts contributes both to the meaning (the idea of form and shape) and the pronunciation.

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