Kanji 菌: germ, fungus, bacteria

Key takeaways

Kanji 菌: germ, fungus, bacteria. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

菌

Meaning

germfungusbacteria

On reading

キン

Radical

艸

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 菌

germ, fungus, bacteria

Kanji structure breakdown

菌

Structure breakdown

艹 + 囗 + 禾

Mnemonic story

Imagine fungi or bacteria growing like grain (禾) inside a damp enclosure (囗) beneath the grass (艹). It depicts how germs and mold spread rapidly like plants in a confined organic environment.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

キン

細菌さいきん
bacteria / germ
黴菌ばいきん
bacteria / germs

Commonly used words

細菌
さいきん
bacteria / germ
黴菌
ばいきん
bacteria / germs

Example sentences

Example 1

細菌が増えると病気になる。

Translation

When bacteria increase, you can get sick.

Example 2

細菌を殺すために消毒が必要だ。

Translation

Disinfection is necessary to kill bacteria.

Example 3

手を洗わないと黴菌がつく。

Translation

If you don't wash your hands, bacteria will stick.

Example 4

この水は黴菌が多いから飲まないで。

Translation

Don't drink this water because it has a lot of germs.

Kanji 菌: germ, fungus, bacteria

Kanji at a glance

Core meaning / core image

Kanji structure breakdown

Mnemonic story

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

Commonly used words

Example sentences

細菌 (さいきん): meaning and examples

黴菌 (ばいきん): meaning and examples