Recognise 在 in words such as 存在 and 不在. Learn the whole word together with its reading and meaning.

The idea

Read 存在 as そんざい and 不在 as ふざい. 在 has 6 strokes; use the linked KanjiVG diagram to follow their order. Many kanji have Japanese-origin readings (kun) and readings borrowed through Chinese (on); learn each with its word. N3 is an approximate learning level, not an official JLPT kanji list.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
存在そんざいexistence; being
不在ふざいabsence; being away
現在げんざいnow; the present

Examples

  • この町まちには古ふるい橋はしが存在そんざいします。There is an old bridge in this town.
  • 違ちがう考かんがえも世よの中なかには存在そんざいします。Different ideas also exist in the world.
  • 担当者たんとうしゃは今いま不在ふざいです。The person in charge is away at the moment.
  • 不在ふざいの間あいだに荷物にもつが届とどきました。A package arrived while I was away.
  • 現在げんざい、駅えきの前まえで待まっています。I am currently waiting in front of the station.
  • 現在げんざいの住所じゅうしょを書かいてください。Please write your current address.

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

Watch out

現在 refers to the present time; 不在 means a person is absent. Do not treat them as interchangeable. Compare the shapes of 在 and 左; they are different characters.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 存在 in hiragana.

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    そんざい

    存在 is read そんざい; it means existence; being.

  2. Write the reading of 不在 in hiragana.

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    ふざい

    不在 is read ふざい; it means absence; being away.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: 現＿（げんざい）.

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    在

    在 completes 現在, read げんざい; it means now; the present.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 在 from memory, and read 存在 and 不在 aloud. Then use one in a sentence.