人間
Meaning in Englishhuman being, person, humanity
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
What does 人間 mean? It denotes a human being as a living, thinking, social being, used for both individuals and humanity as a whole in philosophy, literature, and everyday speech.
Main meanings
- human being or person, a single member of the species Homo sapiens.
- humankind, humanity as a group, especially in ethical, philosophical, or literary contexts.
- the human condition or human nature in discussions of morality, society, and existential questions.
How to use it
Used as a neutral noun to refer to a human being or humanity; formal and literary contexts prefer 人間, while casual speech may use ひと or 人. In philosophy and ethics, it often denotes the human condition; in fiction, it foregrounds the human perspective and social relations.
Variants and close terms
- humankind — jinrui
- person — hito
- human nature — ningen-sei
Composition
- 人: a person, human; 間: space, interval, between; together they form a concept of a living human being, with on'yomi nin + gen yielding ningen.
Etymology
Chinese loanword formed from the on'yomi readings of 人 and 間, yielding にんげん (ningen) through Sino-Japanese phonology; two kanji combine to express the concept of a human being.
Origin
Introduced to Japanese through Chinese characters; attested in classical Japanese literature and religious/philosophical texts; became common in the Edo period and into modern Japanese.
Word class
noun (名詞)