生
生 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.
- 学生がくせい
- student
- 生きるいきる
- to live
- 生まれるうまれる
- to be born
Reading 生 in context
生 uses せい in 学生 (がくせい, student), い in 生きる (いきる, to live), and う in 生まれる (うまれる, to be born). Match the reading to the whole word and its ending.
Try it in a sentence
Practice sentence written for this site.
日本で生まれました。
にほんで うまれました。
I was born in Japan.
Watch for this: 生きる and 生まれる are different verbs, not interchangeable forms of the same word. Their hiragana endings help you identify them.
Check yourself: Read 生まれました in the example. Does 生 use せい here?
うまれました. 生 uses う here.
The sentence uses the past polite form of 生まれる, to be born. The reading せい belongs to other words, such as 学生.
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.