性 — “nature / quality” in Japanese

Grade 5せい, しょう

Radical ⼼ · radical 61 The building block this kanji is filed under

“nature / quality” in Japanese is 性, read sei, shou (せい, しょう). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 性格 (personality).

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What does 性 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	性
Meaning	nature / quality
Readings	せい, しょう
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	性格 (personality)

How to read 性

性 is read sei (せい) or shou (しょう) depending on the word.

Words with 性

性質せいしつ
女性じょせい
男性だんせい
脆弱性ぜいじゃくせい
重要性じゅうようせい
安全性あんぜんせい
可能性かのうせい
規則性きそくせい
性格
悟性

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Kanji read the same way as 性

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

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28