世 — “world / generation” in Japanese

Grade 3せい, せ, よ

Radical ⼀ · radical 1 The building block this kanji is filed under

“world / generation” in Japanese is 世, read sei, se, yo (せい, せ, よ). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 世界 (world).

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What does 世 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	世
Meaning	world / generation
Readings	せい, せ, よ
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	世界 (world)

How to read 世

世 is read sei (せい) or se (せ) or yo (よ) depending on the word.

Words with 世

世帯せたい
世界せかい
世代せだい
世界中せかいじゅう
世界一せかいいち
世界会議せかいかいぎ
世界各国せかいかっこく
世界大会せかいたいかい

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Kanji read the same way as 世

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28