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JLPT N35画 · 5 strokesradical 木grade 2freq #365

talent, years old

On'yomi (音読み)

  • サイ
  • ザイ

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

  • とし

Mnemonic

A talented person (人) climbs a tree (木) of experience, where every branch represents a year (才) of skill gained.

About this kanji

The kanji 才, pronounced as "sai" in on'yomi and "toshiyori" in kun'yomi, primarily means talent or age. It is often used to express someone's abilities or skills. For example, 才能 (sainou) means "talent," referring to a person's natural skill in a particular area. When talking about age, you might use 歳 (sai), which simply means "years old." Another common usage is 年齢 (nenrei), meaning "age"—the number of years someone has lived. An interesting phrase is 才色兼備 (saishokukenbi), describing a person who is both talented and beautiful. Note that while 才 refers to age, it is more common to use 歳 for counting years in conversation.

Built from

Example sentences

  • 彼は若いのに才能がある。

    He is young, yet he has talent.

Meanings across languages

English
talent, years old
Tiếng Việt
tài năng, tuổi
日本語
才能, 歳
한국어
재능, 나이
中文
才能, 岁数
id
bakat, tahun
th
ความสามารถ, อายุ
es
talento, años
fr
talent, années
de
Talent, Alter
pt
talento, anos

Common compounds

  • 才能さいのうtalent, ability
  • 年齢ねんれいage, years
  • さいyears old
  • 才色兼備さいしょくけんびtalented and beautiful

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