The character 界 relates to world; realm. Learn its readings together with whole words and see them in context.

The idea

Kanji may have native Japanese readings (kun) and readings borrowed through Chinese (on); learn a reading with its word. Learn complete words: 世界 (せかい) means the world, and 業界 (ぎょうかい) means an industry; a professional field. 界 has 9 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
世界せかいthe world
業界ぎょうかいan industry; a professional field
世界中せかいじゅうthroughout the world

Examples

  • 世界せかいにはいろいろな言葉ことばがあります。There are many different languages in the world.
  • 世界せかいの地図ちずを見みました。I looked at a map of the world.
  • 世界中せかいじゅうで日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうする人ひとがいます。There are people studying Japanese all over the world.
  • 彼女かのじょは世界中せかいじゅうを旅たびしました。She traveled around the world.
  • 兄あには映画えいが業界ぎょうかいで働はたらいています。My older brother works in the film industry.
  • この業界ぎょうかいで経験けいけんを積つみたいです。I want to gain experience in this industry.

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

Watch out

界 commonly appears in compounds. Learn 世界 as the whole word せかい; do not use 界 alone as a translation of “world”. Do not guess a word’s reading or meaning from the character alone: compare 世界 and 業界. Also compare the shapes of 界 and 異; they are different characters. Compare the components: 界：田＋介／異：田＋共.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 世界 in hiragana.

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    せかい

    世界 is read せかい and means the world.

  2. Write the reading of 業界 in hiragana.

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    ぎょうかい

    業界 is read ぎょうかい and means an industry; a professional field.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: 世＿中（せかいじゅう）.

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    界

    界 completes 世界中, read せかいじゅう; the word means throughout the world.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 界 from memory, read 世界 and 業界 aloud, and make a sentence with one of them.