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Kotomora

原

meadow, original, primitive, field, plain, prairie, tundra, wilderness

JLPTN3StatusJōyō · grade 2FrequencyTop 200Strokes10

Readings

On'yomi

  • ゲン

Kun'yomi

  • はら

Nanori

  • た
  • ばる
  • ら
  • わた
  • わら

Meaning

原 centers on an open, flat expanse of land: a meadow, field, plain, prairie, or tundra. The abstract sense of 'original' or 'primitive' extends naturally from the idea of untouched, wild ground.

Most common words using 原

24 of 632
  • 原因げんいん
    N4

    cause; origin; source

  • 原作げんさく
    N1

    original work

  • 原はら
    N3

    field; plain; prairie; tundra; moor; wilderness

  • 原発げんぱつ

    nuclear power plant; nuclear power generation

  • 原則げんそく
    N1

    principle; general rule

  • 原子力げんしりょく
    N1

    atomic energy; nuclear power

  • 原理げんり
    N2

    principle; theory; fundamental truth

  • 原稿げんこう
    N2

    manuscript; copy; draft; notes; contribution

  • 原子げんし
    N1

    atom

  • 原爆げんばく
    N1

    atomic bomb; A-bomb

  • 原料げんりょう
    N3

    raw materials; ingredient

  • 原点げんてん
    N1

    starting point; origin; beginning

  • 原画げんが

    original picture

  • 原始げんし
    N2

    origin; beginning; genesis

  • 原型げんけい

    model; prototype; archetype

  • 原告げんこく
    N1

    plaintiff; accuser; prosecutor

  • 高原こうげん
    N1

    tableland; plateau

  • 原油げんゆ
    N1

    crude oil

  • 草原そうげん
    N1

    grassy field; grassland; meadow

  • 中原ちゅうげん

    middle of a field; middle of a country; field of contest

  • 桑原くわばら

    mulberry field

  • 野原のはら
    N1

    field; plain; prairie; moor

  • 原文げんぶん
    N1

    original text

  • 原価げんか

    cost price

Explore all words using 原 →

Study

Etymology

原 combines 厂 (cliff) with 泉 (spring), suggesting a spring emerging at the base of a cliff, which came to mean an open plain or source. The modern form simplifies the inner 泉 to 白 and 小.

Meaning mnemonic

Under a cliff (厂), a small white (白) spring (小) bubbles up, feeding a wide, untouched meadow. That pristine field is the original, primitive landscape.

Reading mnemonic

For ゲン, imagine a genie rising from the spring in the meadow: genie -> ゲン, and the genie's magic keeps the field wild and original.