Kanji: 元

Try our free kanji games and free kana games!

JLPT Level:	JLPT N4 (upper beginner level)
Kanken Level:	Kanken Level 9 (completion of 2nd grade)
Grade:	Taught during the 2nd grade in Japan
Radical:	儿 Radical name: ひとあし
Meaning:	Beginning, former time, origin
Usage:	Appears very frequently in Japanese newspapers; only about 200 kanji are used more often.

JLPT Level	Word	Meaning
N5	元気(げんき)	health, vitality
N3	元(もと)	(1) origin, original, (2) former
N2	お元気(げんき)で	(greeting when friend is departing) "Take care!"
N2	元々(もともと)	originally, by nature, from the start
N1	還元(かんげん)	resolution, reduction, return to origins
N1	元年(がんねん)	first year (of a specific reign)
N1	元来(がんらい)	originally, primarily, essentially, logically, naturally
N1	元首(げんしゅ)	ruler, sovereign
N1	元素(げんそ)	chemical element
N1	地元(じもと)	local
N1	手元(てもと)	on hand, at hand, at home