元 — origin, former, beginning

もと元 origin

U+5143 Unicode hex codepoint — a unique identifier for this character in the Unicode standard. JLPT 4 Japanese-Language Proficiency Test level. N5 is beginner, N1 is the most advanced. This kanji appears at the 4 level. Grade 2 Japanese school grade level in which this kanji is taught. Grade 1 is first year of elementary school. 4 strokes Freq #192 Frequency rank among the ~2,500 most common kanji in Japanese newspapers. Lower number = more common. Heisig #59 Index in James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji" — a popular textbook that teaches kanji through mnemonics and stories.

Meanings

origin
former
beginning
foundation

word

もと moto Kun'yomi Kun'yomi (訓読み) — the native Japanese reading of this kanji. Used when the kanji appears alone or with okurigana (trailing hiragana).

元(もと) moto origin 地(じ) 元(もと) jimoto local 手(て) 元(もと) temoto at hand 元々(もと) motomoto originally 足(あし) 元(もと) ashimoto at one's feet 火(ひ) 元(もと) himoto origin of a fire 耳(みみ) 元(もと) mimimoto close to one's ear

げん gen On'yomi On'yomi (音読み) — the Sino-Japanese reading, derived from Chinese pronunciation. Most commonly used in compound words (jukugo).

元(げん) 気(き) genki healthy 次(じ) 元(げん) jigen dimension 還(かん) 元(げん) kangen reduction

Stroke order

Stroke data from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0)