Meet 然 in 自然, 突然 and 全然. Connect each whole word and its reading to a real context.

The idea

然 has 12 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Compare 自然（しぜん） with 突然（とつぜん）. Learn the reading with the whole word, not the character in isolation.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
自然しぜんIt is a town rich in nature.
突然とつぜんIt suddenly started to rain.
全然ぜんぜんI could not sleep at all yesterday.

Examples

  • 自然しぜんが豊ゆたかな町まちです。It is a town rich in nature.
  • 雨あめが突然とつぜん降ふり出だしました。It suddenly started to rain.
  • 道みちで友達ともだちに偶然ぐうぜん会あいました。I ran into a friend on the street by chance.
  • 昨日きのうは全然ぜんぜん眠ねむれませんでした。I could not sleep at all yesterday.
  • 毎日まいにち練習れんしゅうしているので、上手じょうずになって当然とうぜんです。Since you practise every day, it is natural that you have improved.
  • 二人ふたりは自然しぜんに笑わらいました。The two smiled naturally.

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

Watch out

自然 can mean nature or describe something natural. In careful speech 全然 is commonly paired with a negative, as in the example; positive uses also occur in informal speech. Compare 然 and 照: both end in four dots, but their upper parts differ.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 自然 in hiragana.

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    しぜん

    自然 is read しぜん. In context: It is a town rich in nature.

  2. Write the reading of 突然 in hiragana.

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    とつぜん

    突然 is read とつぜん. In context: It suddenly started to rain.

  3. Write the missing kanji: 全＿（ぜんぜん）.

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    然

    然 completes 全然, read ぜんぜん. In context: I could not sleep at all yesterday.

Use it today

Write 然 three times using the stroke diagram. Cover the table, read 自然 and 突然 aloud, then check their readings and meanings.