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原
origin · field · plain · meadow
N3On: げんKun: はら
Memory Aid
The top part (厂) looks like a cliff or a shelter, and the bottom (like 小 with two dots) depicts a small spring or source. This evokes the image of water originating from a cliff and flowing into a vast 'plain' or 'field'.
'Gen' — like 'GENesis' or 'GENerator' of something, directly relating to the meaning 'origin'.
Vocabulary
原っぱはらっぱopen field, plain
原子げんしatom
原稿げんこうmanuscript, draft
原油げんゆcrude oil
原点げんてんorigin (of coordinates), starting point
Example Sentences
子供たちは原っぱで遊んでいます。
The children are playing in the open field.
この話の原点は何ですか？
What is the origin of this story?
彼女は原稿を書くのに忙しい。
She is busy writing a manuscript.
このあたりは昔は広い原でした。
This area used to be a wide plain long ago.