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原生 (げんせい, gensei) Japanese meaning: primeval | Kotomora

原げん生せい

げ

ん

せ

い

Common word›Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun

primeval; primordial; primitive; pristine

Describes something in its original, untouched, or earliest natural state, often used for landscapes, forests, or ecosystems.

この島しまには原げん生せい林りんが広

ひろ

がっ

て

いる

。

A primeval forest spreads across this island.

原げん生せいの自し然ぜんを守まもることは大たい切せつだ。

It is important to protect pristine nature.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉が原げん生せいのまま残のこるfor a place to remain in its pristine, untouched state
この島しまには原げん生せいのままの自し然ぜんが残のこっている。
This island still has nature in its pristine, untouched state.

Kanji

原meadow, original, primitive
生life, genuine, birth

Related words

原げん始しN2
原始 highlights the earliest stage of development or history (as in 原始時代), while 原生 focuses on an untouched, original natural state (as in 原生林).
原げん初しょ
原初 refers abstractly to the very beginning or origin of something, whereas 原生 describes a still-existing thing (like a forest) that has remained untouched since that beginning.

Opposites

人じん工こうN2
人工 describes something man-made or artificial, the direct opposite of 原生, which describes something in its untouched, natural state.

Word family

原げん生せい地ち
wilderness; virgin land; wild land · habitat; native land
原げん生せい林りん
primeval forest; virgin forest
原げん生せい保ほ護ご
wilderness preservation
原げん生せい動どう物ぶつ
protozoan

Etymology

Compound of 原 (gen, 'original') and 生 (sei, 'life' or 'raw'), literally meaning 'original life' or 'primitive state'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with untouched natural environments.

原げん生せい生せい物ぶつ

protist; protistan