What is the Kanji for "Beginning" and "Preface"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Beginning" and "Preface", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Beginning" and "Preface" is "序".

This kanji has 1 reading:

Its onyomi reading is "Jo".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "广" means "Dotted cliff" . And The kanji "予" means "Beforehand" and can be read as "Yo".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "序" mean in japanese?

"序" means "Beginning" and "Preface".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fifth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N1 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

秩序: "Order". The noun '秩序 (ちつじょ)' means 'order'. This word refers to a state of organization, arrangement, or systematic regularity. It can describe the way things are organized or arranged in a structured, logical manner. For example: The office maintains a strict sense of order - (オフィスは厳格な秩序を保っています). The team worked to restore order after the incident - (チームはその出来事の後、秩序を取り戻すよう尽力しました).

序で: "Chance" or "Opportunity". The noun '序で (ついで)' means 'chance' or 'opportunity'. It refers to a convenient time or occasion that presents itself, often unexpectedly. It can be used to describe a favorable opportunity that arises, such as: I was able to visit the museum during my lunch break - (ランチの時間に博物館に行く機会があった). While shopping, I found a great deal by chance - (買い物中に偶然いい買い物ができた)

順序: "Order". The noun '順序 (じゅんじょ)' refers to the particular arrangement or sequence of things. It implies a logical or predetermined progression, such as the order in which tasks should be completed or the sequence of events. For example: What is the correct order for the steps? - (その手順はどうなっていますか?). He always follows the proper order - (彼はいつも適切な順序に従います).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "じ" is read as "ji"

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.