源 — “source / origin” in Japanese

Grade 6げん, みなもと

Radical ⽔ · radical 85 The building block this kanji is filed under

“source / origin” in Japanese is 源, read gen, minamoto (げん, みなもと). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 源泉 (fountainhead).

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What does 源 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	源
Meaning	source / origin
Readings	げん, みなもと
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	源泉 (fountainhead)

How to read 源

源 is read gen (げん) or minamoto (みなもと) depending on the word.

Words with 源

資源しげん
水資源みずしげん
源泉

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Kanji read the same way as 源

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28