元 — “origin / source” in Japanese

Grade 2げん, がん, もと

Radical ⼉ · radical 10 The building block this kanji is filed under

“origin / source” in Japanese is 元, read gen, gan, moto (げん, がん, もと). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 元気 (healthy).

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What does 元 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	元
Meaning	origin / source
Readings	げん, がん, もと
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	元気 (healthy)

How to read 元

元 is read gen (げん) or gan (がん) or moto (もと) depending on the word.

Words with 元

元気げんき
地元じもと
元帥
元旦

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Kanji read the same way as 元

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28