人
person
Details
Stroke Order
Cultural Context
Etymology
Pictograph of a person standing, seen from the side.
Symbolism
Human, people, character. Represents dignity of human existence.
Words & Expressions
Four-Character Compounds
佳人薄命
かじんはくめい
beauties die young; beauty and luck seldom go together
桂冠詩人
けいかんしじん
poet laureate
月下氷人
げっかひょうじん
go-between; matchmaker; Cupid
衆人環視
しゅうじんかんし
all eyes (of the public); (in) full view of the public; (with) everyone looking on
十人十色
じゅうにんといろ
several men, several minds; everyone has his own (ideas, tastes, interests, etc.); different strokes for different folks
人為淘汰
じんいとうた
artificial selection
人海戦術
じんかいせんじゅつ
human wave attack; human wave tactics; throwing people at a problem
人権蹂躙
じんけんじゅうりん
human rights violation; trampling on human rights
人事不省
じんじふせい
unconsciousness
人身攻撃
じんしんこうげき
personal attack; ad hominem attack
人生哲学
じんせいてつがく
philosophy of life
人道主義
じんどうしゅぎ
humanism; humanitarianism
他人行儀
たにんぎょうぎ
standing on formality; in a reserved manner; treating a friend as a stranger
二人三脚
ににんさんきゃく
three-legged race; cooperation with singleness of purpose (e.g. between companies); operating in tandem
八方美人
はっぽうびじん
everybody's friend; people pleaser; person who is affable to everybody
傍若無人
ぼうじゃくぶじん
behaving outrageously as though there were no one around; acting without consideration for others; arrogance
人面獣心
じんめんじゅうしん
beast in human form
人跡未到
じんせきみとう
unexplored
前人未到
ぜんじんみとう
untrodden (region, field of study, etc.); unprecedented (discovery, achievement, etc.)
人畜無害
じんちくむがい
harmless to humans and animals; having no influence; unimportant
田夫野人
でんぷやじん
rustic; boor; hick
各人各様
かくじんかくよう
different strokes for different folks; people doing something in their own way
女人禁制
にょにんきんせい
prohibition on women entering (usu. for religious reasons); no female admission
文人墨客
ぶんじんぼっかく
writers and artists; persons who take delight in such refined pursuits as poetry, literature, painting and calligraphy
盗人根性
ぬすっとこんじょう
thievish nature (character); thieving heart; cunning and greedy character
才子佳人
さいしかじん
talented man and a beautiful woman; well-matched pair; wit and beauty
小人閑居
しょうじんかんきょ
a small-minded person being idle (tends to do evil)
人心一新
じんしんいっしん
complete change in public sentiment; leading the thought of the people to an entirely different channel
人心収攬
じんしんしゅうらん
winning the hearts of the people; capturing public sentiment
人生行路
じんせいこうろ
journey of life
人品骨柄
じんぴんこつがら
personal appearance and physique; person's appearance and physique giving a feeling of respectable character
美人薄命
びじんはくめい
beauty and fortune seldom go together; the beautiful die young
百人百様
ひゃくにんひゃくよう
so many men, so many ways; to each one's own; it takes all sorts to make a world
人心恟々
じんしんきょうきょう
panic-stricken (people); frightened (masses); alarmed
人相風体
にんそうふうてい
someone's looks and personal appearance
悪人正機
あくにんしょうき
The evil persons are the right object of Amida's salvation; The evil persons have the unique opportunity to go to heaven
一人当千
いちにんとうせん
being a match for a thousand
義理人情
ぎりにんじょう
duty and humanity; (a sense of) moral obligation and humane feelings
敬天愛人
けいてんあいじん
revere heaven, love people
人事考課
じんじこうか
merit (ability, efficiency) rating; employee performance evaluation
人生朝露
じんせいちょうろ
man's life vanishes like a dew; a person's life is as fleeting as a morning dew
人物月旦
じんぶつげったん
character sketch; comments on personalities
聖人君子
せいじんくんし
person of lofty virtue; man of noble character; perfect person
世態人情
せたいにんじょう
(contemporary) customs and behavior; the picture of people's life in the contemporary world
世道人心
せどうじんしん
(public) morals and sentiments
天理人情
てんりにんじょう
the laws of nature and humanity
人気稼業
にんきかぎょう
popular occupation; occupation largely dependent on public favor
盗人上戸
ぬすびとじょうご
person who likes alcohol and sweets equally well; person who can drink much alcohol without becoming tipsy
月下老人
げっかろうじん
go-between; matchmaker
Proverbs & Idioms
人の噂も七十五日
ひとのうわさもしちじゅうごにち
People's gossip lasts only 75 days
Rumors are soon forgotten
人を見たら泥棒と思え
ひとをみたらどろぼうとおもえ
When you see a stranger, think of him as a thief
Don't trust strangers too easily
人は見かけによらぬもの
ひとはみかけによらぬもの
You cannot judge a person by appearance
Don't judge a book by its cover
Poetry
わが庵は 都のたつみ しかぞすむ 世をうぢ山と 人はいふなり
My hut lies southeast of the capital and here I live content, yet people call it Mount Uji, the hill of gloom.
わたの原 八十島かけて 漕ぎ出でぬと 人には告げよ あまのつり舟
Tell them for me, fishing boats: that I have rowed out across the wide sea, past the eighty islands.
住の江の 岸による波 よるさへや 夢の通ひ路 人めよくらむ
Waves draw to the shore at Suminoe. Must you too, even by night, avoid others' eyes on the path of dreams?
名にしおはば 逢坂山の さねかづら 人に知られで くるよしもがな
If it lives up to its name — the vine of Mount Osaka, the hill of meeting — let it bring you to me unseen.
山里は 冬ぞさびしさ まさりける 人めも草も かれぬと思へば
A mountain village is loneliest in winter, when I think how both the visitors and the grasses have gone.
誰をかも 知る人にせむ 高砂の 松も昔の 友ならなくに
Whom shall I take now as a friend? Even the ancient pine of Takasago is no friend from the old days.
人はいさ 心も知らず ふるさとは 花ぞ昔の 香に匂ひける
As for people, I cannot know their hearts — but in my old village the blossoms are fragrant as they always were.
忘らるる 身をば思はず 誓ひてし 人のいのちの 惜しくもあるかな
It is not myself, forgotten, that I grieve for, but the life of the one who swore to me and broke the oath.
浅茅生の 小野の篠原 しのぶれど あまりてなどか 人の恋しき
Like bamboo grass on the sparse-reeded moor I hide it, and still — why does my longing for her overflow?
しのぶれど 色に出でにけり わが恋は 物や思ふと 人の問ふまで
I hid it, and yet it has shown in my face; my love, until people ask me what is on my mind.
恋すてふ わが名はまだき 立ちにけり 人知れずこそ 思ひ初めしか
Rumour that I am in love has gone around already, and I had only just begun to feel it, in secret.
あふことの たえてしなくは なかなかに 人をも身をも 恨みざらまし
If we had never met at all, I would not now resent her — nor resent myself.
あはれとも いふべき人は 思ほえで 身のいたづらに なりぬべきかな
I can think of no one who would say they pity me, and so it seems I must simply waste away.
由良のとを 渡る舟人 かぢを絶え ゆくへも知らぬ 恋の道かな
Like a boatman crossing the Strait of Yura who has lost his oar — this path of love, with no knowing where it leads.
八重むぐら しげれる宿の さびしきに 人こそ見えね 秋は来にけり
To this lonely house, overgrown with layered weeds, no one comes. Yet autumn has come.
ありま山 ゐなの笹原 風吹けば いでそよ人を 忘れやはする
When the wind blows through the bamboo grass of Ina, below Mount Arima — well then, could I ever forget you?
今はただ 思ひ絶えなむ とばかりを 人づてならで 言ふよしもがな
Now there is only this to say — that I give you up — and I wish I could say it myself, not through another.
もろともに あはれと思へ 山桜 花よりほかに 知る人もなし
Mountain cherry, feel for me as I feel for you. Here there is no one who knows me but your blossoms.
憂かりける 人を初瀬の 山おろしよ はげしかれとは 祈らぬものを
Wind off the mountains of Hatsuse, I prayed that she might soften toward me, not that you should blow so fiercely.
わが袖は 潮干に見えぬ 沖の石の 人こそ知らね 乾くまもなし
My sleeves are the offshore rock that never shows even at low tide: unknown to anyone, never dry for a moment.
こぬ人を まつほの浦の 夕なぎに 焼くやもしほの 身もこがれつつ
Waiting for one who does not come, in the evening calm at Matsuho Bay — like seaweed burned for salt, I am scorched through.
人もをし 人も恨めし あぢきなく 世を思ふゆゑに 物思ふ身は
I find people dear, and I resent them, because I think this world a bitter, pointless place and brood on it.
Anime & Manga
亜人
Ajin: Demi-Human
Suspense action themed on 'demi-humans' who cannot die.
進撃の巨人
Attack on Titan
A well-known work with 人 in its Japanese title.
その着せ替え人形は恋をする
My Dress-Up Darling
A well-known work with 人 in its Japanese title.
僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE 〜2人の英雄〜
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
A well-known work with 人 in its Japanese title.
山田くんと7人の魔女
Yamada and the Seven Witches
A well-known work with 人 in its Japanese title.
Games
ペルソナ
Persona(1996)
Developer: Atlus
RPG fighting by summoning Personas from within 'human' hearts.
View on Amazon →Related Figures & Stories
柿本人麻呂
Name contains 人
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro çi̥.to.ma.ɾo], c. 653–655 – c.
Wikipedia山部赤人
Name contains 人
Yamabe no Akahito was a poet of the Nara period in Japan.
Wikipedia大伴旅人
Name contains 人
Ōtomo no Tabito was a Japanese court noble, military leader and poet.
WikipediaOther kanji with the same meaning
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 人 mean in Japanese?
人 means person.
How do you read 人?
On'yomi: ジン、ニン (JIN, NIN). Kun'yomi: ひと、-り、-と (hito, ri, to).
How many strokes does 人 have?
人 has 2 strokes. Its radical is 人 (person).
Is 人 a good kanji for a tattoo?
人 is one of the kanji most often chosen for tattoos. It means person. Read the full meaning and cultural background on this page first — some popular choices are deliberately dark.
Explore by meaning:person