誠
誠 — Sincerity
sincerity, admonish, warn, prohibit, truth, fidelity
On’yomiセイ (sei)
Kun’yomiまこと (makoto)
Stroke order (13 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 誠
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 誠に | まことに makotoni | really; truly; very |
| 誠意 | せいい seii | sincerity; good faith |
| 誠実 | せいじつ seijitsu | sincere; honest; faithful |
| 忠誠 | ちゅうせい chuusei | loyalty; sincerity; allegiance |
| 丹誠 | たんせい tansei | working earnestly; sincerity; diligence |
| 誠 | まこと makoto | truth; reality; fact |
Study notes
誠 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 13 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #1128 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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