遺伝子（いでんし、idenshi）
- gene

The Japanese word 遺伝子 (遺伝子) means "gene" in English. It refers to the basic unit of heredity in living organisms. 遺伝子 are responsible for passing traits from parents to offspring. They are segments of DNA that contain instructions for building and operating cells, and ultimately, the entire organism. 遺伝子 determine characteristics such as eye color, height, and susceptibility to certain diseases.

⚫︎その病気は遺伝子に起因する可能性があります。 Translation: That disease may be due to genetics. ⚫︎この果物の味は、その遺伝子のおかげです。 Translation: The flavor of this fruit is due to its genes.

You use 遺伝子 (遺伝子) when discussing genetics, heredity, or biological traits. It is commonly used in scientific contexts, medical discussions, and general conversations about inherited characteristics.

遺伝子 (遺伝子) is typically written using the kanji 遺伝 and the hiragana 子. The kanji 遺伝 means "heredity" or "inheritance," and 子 means "child" or "seed." The reading is いでんし. There are no other common ways to write this word, and the okurigana is fixed.

There are no direct synonyms in Japanese that specifically mean "gene." However, depending on the context, words related to heredity or genetics could be used, such as: ⚫︎形質（けいしつ）：trait, characteristic ⚫︎遺伝（いでん）：heredity, inheritance

There aren't specific antonyms for 遺伝子 (遺伝子) as it's a fundamental concept. However, terms that relate to non-genetic factors could be considered as contrasts in some contexts, such as: ⚫︎環境（かんきょう）：environment ⚫︎後天的な（こうてんてきな）：acquired (as opposed to inherited)

人間の遺伝子には、数百万の情報が含まれています。 ・Translation: Human genes contain millions of pieces of information. ・Explanation: This sentence explains that human genes carry a large amount of information, highlighting the complexity and importance of 遺伝子.

遺伝子組み換え食品についてどう思いますか？ ・Translation: What do you think about genetically modified foods? ・Explanation: This sentence brings up the term genetically modified or 遺伝子 (遺伝子)-modified. It shows the use of the word 遺伝子 related to food science.

The word 遺伝子 (遺伝子) is a compound word in Japanese. 遺伝 comes from the Chinese characters that mean "heredity" or "inheritance" and 子 which refers to the seed, or origin of something. It was adopted as a translation for the English word "gene" to describe the basic unit of heredity.