Meaning & readings

again, twice, second time

On’yomi サイ、サ
Kun’yomi ふたた.び
Nanori ふた

Origin

This character appears to combine two elements to show the idea of repetition. The top part, a horizontal line, represents "one" or acts as a marker. Below it sits a component that suggests movement or continuation, like something happening again after the first time. By stacking these parts, the character visually communicates the concept of doing something a second time or returning to an earlier state. The native reading "futatabi" (twice) directly reflects this meaning of recurrence.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

6 strokes

Components

  • radical
  • meaning part

Common words

  • 再び ふたたび again; once more
  • 再演 さいえん another showing (of a play)
  • 再会 さいかい meeting again; reunion
  • 再開 さいかい reopening; resumption
  • 再起 さいき comeback; recovery
  • 再建 さいけん rebuilding; reconstruction
  • 再現 さいげん reappearance; reemergence
  • 再考 さいこう reconsideration

Reference

Strokes
6
Kangxi radical
13
Grade
Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#275 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 2
Unicode
U+0518D