Meet 成 in 成長, 完成 and 成功. Connect each whole word and its reading to a real context.

The idea

成 has 6 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Compare 成長（せいちょう） with 完成（かんせい）. Learn the reading with the whole word, not the character in isolation.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
成長せいちょうThe child is growing every day.
完成かんせいThis picture is finished.
成功せいこうThe plan succeeded.

Examples

  • 子こどもは毎日まいにち成長せいちょうしています。The child is growing every day.
  • 計画けいかくは成功せいこうしました。The plan succeeded.
  • この絵えが完成かんせいしました。This picture is finished.
  • 今学期こんがっき、成績せいせきが上あがりました。My grades improved this term.
  • この町まちは三みっつの村むらから成なり立たっています。This town consists of three villages.
  • 彼かれは来年らいねん成人せいじんになります。He will become an adult next 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

成長 means growth, whereas 成功 means success; neither reading describes every use of 成. In 成り立つ it is read な. Compare 成 with 戊 and notice the different strokes.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 成長 in hiragana.

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    せいちょう

    成長 is read せいちょう. In context: The child is growing every day.

  2. Write the reading of 完成 in hiragana.

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    かんせい

    完成 is read かんせい. In context: This picture is finished.

  3. Write the missing kanji: ＿功（せいこう）.

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    成

    成 completes 成功, read せいこう. In context: The plan succeeded.

Use it today

Write 成 three times using the stroke diagram. Cover the table, read 成長 and 完成 aloud, then check their readings and meanings.