事 — “matter / thing” in Japanese

Grade 3じ, ず, こと

Radical ⼅ · radical 6 The building block this kanji is filed under

“matter / thing” in Japanese is 事, read ji, zu, koto (じ, ず, こと). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 仕事 (work).

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What does 事 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	事
Meaning	matter / thing
Readings	じ, ず, こと
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	仕事 (work)

How to read 事

事 is read ji (じ) or zu (ず) or koto (こと) depending on the word.

Words with 事

見事みごと
無事ぶじ
行事ぎょうじ
食事しょくじ
仕事しごと
事故じこ
年中行事ねんちゅうぎょうじ
交通事故こうつうじこ
返事
事件

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Kanji read the same way as 事

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28