What is the Kanji for "Live"?

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

The Japanese Kanji for "Live" is "住".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Su".

Its onyomi reading is "Juu".

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 "亻" means "Person" . And The kanji "主" means "Master" and can be read as "Su", "Shu", "Nushi", and "Aruji".

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

What does the kanji "住" mean in japanese?

"住" means "Live".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Third Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N4 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

住む: "Live". The Japanese verb '住む (すむ)' means 'to live'. This verb is used to describe the act of residing or occupying a particular place or dwelling. It can be used with locations, such as a house, town, or country, to indicate where someone lives. For example: I live in Tokyo - (私は東京に住んでいます). She lives alone - (彼女は一人で住んでいます).

住宅: "Home". The Japanese noun '住宅 (じゅうたく)' means 'home'. This word refers to a building or structure that is used as a residence for one or more families. It can be used to describe various types of dwellings, such as a house, apartment, or condominium. For example: I want to buy a new home - (新しい住宅を買いたい). She lives in a comfortable home - (彼女は快適な住宅に住んでいる).

住民: "Resident". The Japanese noun '住民 (じゅうみん)' means 'resident'. It refers to a person who lives in a particular place, area, or community. This word is commonly used to describe the inhabitants of a town, city, or country. For example: The residents of the town are friendly - (その町の住民は親切です). All the residents were evacuated - (すべての住民が避難しました).

住所: "Address". The Japanese noun '住所 (じゅうしょ)' means 'address'. This word refers to the location where a person, business, or organization is based, including the specific details such as street name, building number, city, and postal code. It is commonly used when providing information about where someone lives or where a certain place is located. For example: What is your address? - (あなたの住所は何ですか?). My address is 123 Main Street. - (私の住所は123メインストリートです。)

現住所: "Current address". The Japanese noun '現住所 (げんじゅうしょ)' means 'current address'. This refers to the address where a person is currently residing or living at the present time. It is commonly used when providing or inquiring about a person's latest address information. For example: I have moved to a new current address - (私は新しい現住所に引っ越しました)

住宅地: "Residential area". The noun '住宅地 (じゅうたくち)' refers to a residential area or neighborhood, typically consisting of houses and apartments where people live. It is a area zoned and developed for residential purposes, as opposed to commercial or industrial areas. For example: We live in a quiet residential area - (私たちは静かな住宅地に住んでいます). The new housing development is located in a nice residential area - (新しい住宅地開発は素敵な住宅地に立地しています).

住居: "Home". The Japanese noun '住居 (じゅうきょ)' means 'home'. It refers to a place where someone lives, such as a house, apartment, or other type of dwelling. This word can be used to describe one's personal living space or a general residential area. For example: My home is a small apartment - (私の住居は小さいアパートです). The houses in this neighborhood are nice homes - (この近所の家は良い住居です).

居住: "Residence". The noun '居住 (きょじゅう)' means 'residence'. It refers to the place where a person lives or stays, usually a home or dwelling. This word can be used to describe one's permanent place of living, or a temporary accommodation. For example: He moved into his new residence yesterday - (彼は昨日新居に居住し始めた). The residence has 3 bedrooms - (その居住地には3つの寝室がある).

衣食住: "Livelihood". The Japanese noun '衣食住 (いしょくじゅう)' refers to the three basic necessities of life - food, clothing, and shelter. It encompasses the fundamental requirements for human survival and well-being. This term is often used to describe the essentials that people need to live comfortably and sustain themselves. For example: Providing food, clothing and shelter is the basis for one's livelihood - (衣食住は人生の基本である).

住まい: "Home". The noun '住まい (すまい)' means 'home'. It refers to the place where someone lives, such as a house, apartment, or other dwelling. This word emphasizes the idea of a permanent place of residence, rather than a temporary or transient living situation. For example: My home is a small apartment - (私の住まいは小さなアパートです). They have a beautiful home in the countryside - (彼らは田舎に素敵な住まいがあります).

移住: "Migration". The noun '移住 (いじゅう)' means 'migration'. This word refers to the act of moving to live in another place, often on a permanent basis. It is commonly used to describe the movement of people from one country or region to another, whether for economic, political, or personal reasons. For example: After the war, many people migrated to the city - (戦争後、多くの人々が都市に移住した). The immigrants settled in a new neighborhood - (移住者たちは新しい地区に落ち着いた).

在住: "Residence". The Japanese noun '在住 (ざいじゅう)' means 'residence'. It refers to the place where someone lives or resides, especially in the context of a foreign country. For example: I'm a resident of Japan - (私は日本に在住している). He is a resident of Tokyo - (彼は東京に在住している).

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". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". And The hiragana "す" is read as "su".

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.