然 — “so / -like” in Japanese

Grade 4ぜん, ねん, しか

Radical ⽕ · radical 86 The building block this kanji is filed under

“so / -like” in Japanese is 然, read zen, nen, shika (ぜん, ねん, しか). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 自然 (nature).

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What does 然 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	然
Meaning	so / -like
Readings	ぜん, ねん, しか
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	自然 (nature)

How to read 然

然 is read zen (ぜん) or nen (ねん) or shika (しか) depending on the word.

Words with 然

自然しぜん
自然保護しぜんほご
天然記念物てんねんきねんぶつ
突然
偶然
天然痘

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Kanji read the same way as 然

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Updated: 2026-08-28