King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “cause”

Romaji: gen'in
cause; origin; source

In Japanese, cause is , read (gen'in).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

  1. n, vi, vs cause; origin; source

Written forms: . Readings: .

Kanji and stroke order

meadow, original, primitive
on: ゲン
kun: はら
10 strokes · JLPT 2
cause, factor, be associated with
on: イン
kun: よ.る、ちな.む
6 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “cause”

WordReadingMeaning
ひきおこす hikiokosuto cause; to induce; to bring about
わけ wakereason; cause; grounds
もと motocause
いん incause; factor
よし yoshireason; significance; cause

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
げんさく gensakuoriginal work
げんそく gensokuprinciple; general rule
げんしりょく genshiryokuatomic energy; nuclear power
げんり genriprinciple; theory; fundamental truth
げんこう genkoumanuscript; copy; draft
よういん youinmain cause; primary factor
しいん shiincause of death
いちいん ichiinone cause; one reason; one factor

See also: Chinese symbol for “cause”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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