生 — “life / birth” in Japanese

Grade 1せい, しょう, い, う, は, き, なま

Radical ⽣ · radical 100 The building block this kanji is filed under

“life / birth” in Japanese is 生, read sei, shou, i (せい, しょう, い, う, は, き, なま). It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 先生 (teacher).

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What does 生 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	生
Meaning	life / birth
Readings	せい, しょう, い, う, は, き, なま
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	先生 (teacher)

How to read 生

生 is read sei (せい) or shou (しょう) or i (い) or u (う) or ha (は) or ki (き) or nama (なま) depending on the word.

Words with 生

生産せいさん
生活せいかつ
発生はっせい
生命せいめい
先生せんせい
一生いっしょう
生徒せいと
誕生たんじょう
一年生いちねんせい
再生

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Kanji read the same way as 生

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

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Updated: 2026-08-28