人
HUMAN BEING
Mnemonic
When you see this character, recall the rudimentary stick figures we all drew as children. For some reason, this stick figure is missing its arms, but it still means a HUMAN BEING in kanji.
Note: The grapheme for "man" that we learned earlier, 亻, came from this kanji.
Example Vocabulary
- 人間（にんげん） – human being
- 日本人（にほんじん） – Japanese person
- 三人（さんにん） – three people
- 人形（にんぎょう） – doll, puppet
- 人口（じんこう） – population
No need to memorize all these words or worry about the other kanji yet! Just glance at the English meanings and notice how they’re all connected to HUMAN BEING. The other characters will make sense as you go.
Example Sentences
- わたしは日本人のともだちがいます。– I have a Japanese friend.
- クラスに三人のせんせいがいます。– There are three teachers in the class.