原 — “plain / original” in Japanese

Grade 2げん, はら

Radical ⼚ · radical 27 The building block this kanji is filed under

“plain / original” in Japanese is 原, read gen, hara (げん, はら). It is a Grade 2 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 2 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 原因 (cause).

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What does 原 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	原
Meaning	plain / original
Readings	げん, はら
Grade	Grade 2 (Easy)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	原因 (cause)

How to read 原

原 is read gen (げん) or hara (はら) depending on the word.

Words with 原

原因げんいん
草原
原稿
原子炉

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Kanji read the same way as 原

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28