Recognize 皆 in 皆さん, 皆 and 皆勤; learn each complete word in context.

The idea

皆さん (みなさん) means everyone (polite address); 皆 (みんな) means everyone; everybody; 皆勤 (かいきん) means perfect attendance. 皆 has 9 strokes; follow the linked KanjiVG diagram to write them in order. Learn each reading with its word. Sino-Japanese reading: カイ（皆勤）; Japanese-origin reading: みな（皆さん）.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
皆さんみなさんeveryone (polite address)
皆みんなeveryone; everybody
皆勤かいきんperfect attendance

Examples

  • 皆みなさん、こちらに集あつまってください。Everyone, please gather here.
  • 皆みなさんのご意見いけんを聞きかせてください。Please let me hear everyone’s opinions.
  • 皆みんなで公園こうえんに行いきました。We all went to the park together.
  • 皆みんながその話はなしを知しっています。Everyone knows that story.
  • 今年ことしは学校がっこうで皆勤かいきんでした。I had perfect attendance at school this year.
  • 一いち年間ねんかんの皆勤かいきんを目指めざします。I aim for perfect attendance for one year.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

みんな is a familiar form and is often written in kana; 皆さん is a polite way to address a group. 皆勤 uses the Sino-Japanese reading かい and means attending without absences, not that everyone attends. Compare 皆 and 旨; their components differ: 皆＝比＋白；旨＝匕＋日.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 皆さん in hiragana.

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    みなさん

    皆さん is read みなさん and means everyone (polite address).

  2. Write the reading of 皆 in hiragana.

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    みんな

    皆 is read みんな and means everyone; everybody.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿勤（かいきん）.

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    皆

    皆 completes 皆勤, read かいきん; the word means perfect attendance.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 皆 from memory, then read 皆さん and 皆 aloud and make a sentence with one of them.