Explore 神 in religious and everyday words. Connect each reading to a complete word and its context.

The idea

神 has 9 strokes. It is read かみ in 神, じん in 神社（じんじゃ） and しん in 精神（せいしん）. Learn these readings with the whole words.

Examples

  • この神社じんじゃには神かみがまつられています。A god is enshrined at this shrine.
  • 元日がんじつに神社じんじゃを訪おとずれました。We visited a shrine on New Year’s Day.
  • 神社じんじゃは木きに囲かこまれています。The shrine is surrounded by trees.
  • 彼女かのじょは精神せいしんが強つよいです。Her spirit is strong.
  • 仕事しごとに精神せいしんを集中しゅうちゅうしてください。Please concentrate on the task.
  • 彼かれは神々かみがみの話はなしをしてくれました。He told us a story about the gods.

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

Watch out

神社 means a Shinto shrine, while 精神 refers to the mind or spirit; it does not necessarily refer to a god. 神 and 申 look similar, but 神 has the 示 component on the left.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 神 in hiragana.

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    かみ

    神 is read かみ when used as the word for a god. The first sentence speaks of a god enshrined at a shrine.

  2. Write the reading of 神社 in hiragana.

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    じんじゃ

    神社 is read じんじゃ and means a Shinto shrine. The second sentence describes a New Year visit.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 精＿（せいしん）［神／申］.

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    神

    神 completes 精神（せいしん）, meaning mind or spirit. The fourth sentence describes a strong spirit.

Use it today

Write 神 in stroke order using the linked diagram. Cover the examples, read 神社 and 精神, then make a sentence with one of them.