善 means “good, virtue”
ぜん · zen
Also: virtuous, goodness
- Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)
- よい, いい, よく, よしとする
- On'yomi (Chinese reading)
- ゼン
JLPT N1 · Taught in grade 6 · 12 strokes
The story
A sheep (羊), sign of good fortune, over a mouth (口): picture words of praise for a fine animal. 善 is good: 善悪 is good and evil, 最善 the very best, and 改善 is improvement, the kaizen of Toyota's factory floors.
Used in 改善 (kaizen, improvement), 善悪 (zen'aku, good and evil), and 最善 (saizen, the very best)
More from Loyalty & Duty
- 孝 filial piety
- 徳 virtue
- 忠 loyalty
- 誠 sincerity
- 倫 ethics
- 仁 benevolence
- 貞 chastity
- 慈 mercy
- 衷 innermost feelings
- 義 righteousness
Learn 善 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji
Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.