Meaning & readings
inherit, succeed, continue, patch, graft (tree)
Origin
The character 継 combines the thread radical on the left, which represents continuous fibers, with a phonetic component on the right that signals the pronunciation. The thread component visually captures the core meaning of continuity—just as threads connect and extend in an unbroken line, the character refers to inheriting, continuing, or succeeding something from one person or generation to the next. Over time, the meaning expanded to include grafting trees, which is another way of joining or continuing growth. The thread imagery makes intuitive sense: to inherit or continue is to keep the thread unbroken, linking past to present and future.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (継).
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 13
- Kangxi radical
- 120
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- #743 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+07D99