永
永 — Eternity
eternity, long, lengthy
On’yomiエイ (ei)
Kun’yomiながい (nagai)
Stroke order (5 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 永
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 永遠 | えいえん eien | eternity; perpetuity; permanence |
| 永住 | えいじゅう eijuu | permanent residence |
| 永久 | えいきゅう eikyuu | eternity; permanence; perpetuity |
| 永続 | えいぞく eizoku | permanence; continuation |
| 永代 | えいたい eitai | permanence; eternity |
| 永世 | えいせい eisei | eternity; perpetuity; immortality |
Study notes
永 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #846 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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