万 — Kanji Reference

万 (ten thousand): 3 strokes, JLPT N5. On: マン、バン. Kun: よろず.

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万

Property Value
Meaning ten thousand
Strokes 3
JLPT Level N5
On-reading (音読み) マン、バン
Kun-reading (訓読み) よろず
Radical 一 (ichi - one) [U+4E00]

Stroke Order

The kanji 万 is written in 3 strokes following the standard top-to-bottom, left-to-right rule:

  1. Stroke 1: A horizontal line starting from the left, slightly curved upwards.
  2. Stroke 2: A vertical line starting from the center of the first stroke, curving down and to the left.
  3. Stroke 3: A small hook/dot starting from the end of the second stroke, sweeping upwards to the right.

Radical Analysis

The radical for 万 is 一 (the "one" radical). Historically, this character is a simplified form of 萬 (a scorpion). The top part represented the head and pincers, while the bottom represented the body. Over time, it evolved into its current simple shape to represent the concept of "ten thousand" (a very large, uncountable number).

Mnemonic

Imagine a scorpion (the original shape) that has grown so large it has ten thousand legs. You are looking at the scorpion from above: the top line is its back, the long stroke is its tail, and the little hook is its stinger.

On-readings (音読み) with Examples

マン (Man)

Word Reading Romaji English
万年筆 まんねんひつ mannenhitsu fountain pen
万歳 ばんざい banzai hurrah / long live
万一 まんいち man'ichi by any chance / if by any chance

バン (Ban)

Word Reading Romaji English
万全 ばんぜん banzen perfection / flawless
万国 ばんこく bankoku all nations / international
万能 ばんのう bannou all-purpose / almighty

Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples

よろず (Yorozu)

Word Reading Romaji English
万屋 よろずや yorozuya general store / jack-of-all-trades
万の よろずの yorozu no myriad / all kinds of

JLPT N5 Words Using 万

Word Reading Romaji English JLPT
一万 いちまん ichiman 10,000 N5
十万 じゅうまん juuman 100,000 N5
百万 ひゃくまん hyakuman 1,000,000 N5
万年筆 まんねんひつ mannenhitsu fountain pen N4
万歳 ばんざい banzai banzai / hurrah N4
万能 ばんのう bannou all-purpose N3
万一 まんいち man'ichi by any chance N3
万全 ばんぜん banzen perfection N2

Example Sentences

Japanese Reading Romaji English
この時計は一万円です。 このとけいはいちまんえんです。 Kono tokei wa ichiman-en desu. This watch is 10,000 yen.
万一雨が降ったら、中止です。 まんいちあめがふったら、ちゅうしです。 Man'ichi ame ga futtara, chuushi desu. If by any chance it rains, it will be cancelled.
彼は万能な選手です。 かれはばんのうなせんしゅです。 Kare wa bannou na senshu desu. He is an all-around athlete.
万事順調です。 ばんじじゅんちょうです。 Banji junchou desu. Everything is going well.
彼は万年筆を使います。 かれはまんねんひつをつかいます。 Kare wa mannenhitsu o tsukaimasu. He uses a fountain pen.
万国共通のルールです。 ばんこくきょうつうのるーるです。 Bankoku kyoutsuu no ruuru desu. It is a rule common to all nations.

Common Confusion Pairs

Kanji Reading Meaning How to distinguish
万 マン 10,000 Has a hook at the end of the second stroke.
方 ホウ Direction Has a dot at the top; the second stroke is horizontal.
力 リョク Power The second stroke is a sharp, angular hook.

Usage Frequency Note

万 is an extremely high-frequency kanji. Because the Japanese counting system groups numbers by units of 10,000 (unlike the English system which groups by thousands), 万 is used daily in all financial, mathematical, and general counting contexts. It is essential for basic literacy.