JLPT level N5
Kanji 今 — "Now"
Here is what 今 means, how it is read, what it is built from, and a story that makes "Now" stick.
How it is read
On'yomi
こん, きん
the reading borrowed from Chinese — usually appears in compound words
Kun'yomi
いま
the native Japanese reading — usually appears when the kanji stands alone
What it is made of
How to remember it
Kanji are not random strokes. Learn the parts and the whole becomes easy. Put the parts together into one picture. The stranger it is, the harder it is to forget.
今 Now
今 Now
The story
Easy — Now is now, same as the component!
- 今 Now
It's the shape of a clock with three hands telling the time Now.
Words that use 今
12 of 20 words in the app that contain this kanji — the most common ones first.
- 今 いま now
- 今まで いままで until now, up to now
- 今日 きょう / こんにち today
- 今度 こんど this time, next time, near future, one of these days, near future, one of these days
- 今回 こんかい now, this time, lately
- 今夜 こんや this evening, tonight
- 今年 ことし this year
- 今後 こんご from now on, hereafter
- 今朝 けさ this morning
- 今更 いまさら now, again
- 今でも いまでも even now
- 今月 こんげつ this month
Want 今 to still be there next month?
Reading it once is not remembering it. The app brings each kanji back right before you would have forgotten it.
