Onyomi: ゼン, ネン · Kunyomi: さ, しか, しか.し, しか.り · Meanings: if so, in that case, so, sort of thing, well
Kanji for if so, in that case, so, sort of thing, well
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然 is made from 灬, meaning “fire,” and 肰, which originally relates to flesh or something being processed. Fire changes things into their natural state, just the way they are. From this idea of something becoming so by nature, 然 came to mean so, like that, or naturally.
Things become a certain way by nature. That natural state is 然.
Fire makes things turn into what they truly are. That natural “so” state is 然.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 然 | しか | like that, as such | |
| 然 | さ | so, like that, in that way | Adverb (fukushi) |
| 然 | ぜん | -like | Suffix |
| 然し | しかし | however, but | common JLPT-N1 JLPT-N5 Conjunction |
| 然しながら | しかしながら | however, nevertheless | JLPT-N1 Adverb (fukushi), Conjunction |
| 而して | そして | and, and then, thus, and now, and finally | common JLPT-N3 JLPT-N1 JLPT-N5 Conjunction |
| 然うして | そうして | and, like that | common JLPT-N2 JLPT-N1 JLPT-N5 Conjunction |
| 然も | しかも | moreover, furthermore | common JLPT-N3 JLPT-N1 Conjunction |
| 左様なら | さようなら | farewell, adieu, goodbye, so long | common JLPT-N2 JLPT-N1 |
| 然も | さも | really (seem, appear, etc.), truly, evidently | JLPT-N1 Adverb (fukushi) |