善
善 — Virtuous
virtuous, good, goodness
On’yomiゼン (zen)
Kun’yomiよい (yoi)
Kun’yomiいい (ii)
Kun’yomiよく (yoku)
Kun’yomiよしとする (yoshitosuru)
Stroke order (12 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 善
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 改善 | かいぜん kaizen | betterment; improvement; kaizen (Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement) |
| 善 | ぜん zen | good; goodness; right |
| 親善 | しんぜん shinzen | friendship; goodwill; friendly relations |
| 最善 | さいぜん saizen | the very best; utmost |
| 善意 | ぜんい zeni | virtuous mind; good intentions; good will |
| 慈善 | じぜん jizen | charity; benevolence; philanthropy |
Study notes
善 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #765 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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