人
人 in useful words
Learn the character in complete words, because its pronunciation can change with context. Read each word aloud, connect it with the meaning, and then cover the reading to test yourself.
- 人ひと
- person
- 日本人にほんじん
- Japanese person
- 一人ひとり
- one person; alone
Reading 人 in context
人 alone is ひと, person. 日本人 (にほんじん, Japanese person) uses じん. 一人 (ひとり, one person or alone) is a whole-word counting form to learn separately.
Try it in a sentence
Practice sentence written for this site.
一人で学校に行きます。
ひとりで がっこうに いきます。
I go to school alone.
Watch for this: Do not read 一人 as いちにん when you mean the ordinary count “one person.” Start with 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり) before learning the regular にん counts.
Check yourself: Read 日本人 and 一人. Do both end in じん?
日本人: にほんじん. 一人: ひとり.
Nationality words commonly use じん; 一人 is a special counting form. The written 人 does not choose its own reading.
Choose your next practice
For reading, cover a word’s pronunciation and recall it before checking. For handwriting, hide the stroke diagram and write the character from memory. An isolated reading list is a reference; the word determines which sound you need.