元 — kanji meaning “beginning”
元
beginning, former time, origin
- Meanings
- beginning, former time, origin
- On'yomi
- ゲン (gen)、ガン (gan)
- Kun'yomi
- もと
- Name readings
- ちか、はじめ、はる、ゆき、よし
- Strokes
- 4
- School grade
- 2
- JLPT (old scale)
- Level 3
- Newspaper frequency
- #192 of 2,500
- Classical radical
- 10
- Chinese reading
- yuán — Chinese character page
Words with 元
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 元気 | げんき genki | lively; full of spirit; energetic |
| 地元 | じもと jimoto | home area; home town |
| 次元 | じげん jigen | dimension |
| 足元 | あしもと ashimoto | at one's feet; underfoot; one's step (as in "watch your step") |
| 還元 | かんげん kangen | restoration; return |
| 手元 | てもと temoto | at hand; on hand; nearby |
| 元々 | もともと motomoto | originally; from the start; from the beginning |
| 身元 | みもと mimoto | (one's) identity; background; upbringing |
| 元首 | げんしゅ genshu | sovereign; ruler; head of state |
| 元日 | がんじつ ganjitsu | New Year's Day |
| 元素 | げんそ genso | element; chemical element |
| 元来 | がんらい ganrai | originally; essentially; naturally |
Data: KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.