事 — Kanji Meaning, Readings & Example Words (JLPT N4)

What it means

事 covers the abstract, intangible side of "thing" — matters, affairs, events, and situations. When you talk about something that happens, a task to take care of, or an important matter, 事 is the kanji behind it (大事なこと "an important thing/matter," 用事 "an errand to deal with").

It plays two roles. On its own, read こと, it means an abstract "thing" or "matter." Inside two-kanji compounds, read ジ, it shows up everywhere in daily life: 仕事 (work), 食事 (a meal), 事故 (an accident), 用事 (an errand). Once you know 事, a whole cluster of everyday words clicks into place.

One contrast to keep in your back pocket: 事 (こと) = abstract thing, while 物 (もの) = concrete, physical thing. You eat a 物 (an actual item of food) but you remember a 事 (an event, a fact, a matter). More on that below.

Readings

Here's the usual rule of thumb, working as expected: the kun'yomi こと appears when 事 stands more or less alone as a word ("大事なこと"), while the on'yomi ジ appears inside two-kanji compounds (仕事, 食事, 事故). A small heads-up: 大事 (だいじ) reads with ジ even though it feels like a standalone word, because it's a compound — so treat だいじ as a set reading to memorize.

One more note: the grammar word こと that turns a verb into a noun (e.g. 食べることが好き, "I like eating") is the same こと, but in that nominalizer role it's almost always written in kana, not as 事. So when you see the kanji 事, it's usually the concrete-noun sense ("a matter"), not the grammar particle.

Stroke order & radical

• Strokes: 8, written top to bottom. Start with the top horizontal stroke and the box-like middle, work your way down, and finish with the long vertical hook that runs through the whole character.
• Radical: the radical is 亅 (hook) — the hooked vertical stroke that spears down through the center and ends the character. It's a small, structural radical rather than a meaning-clue radical, so for 事 the radical is mainly useful for looking the kanji up in a dictionary.

A handy way to lock in the shape: picture a hand holding a brush (the long central hook) writing down a record of events — the "matters" that 事 is all about.

Common words using 事

Notice the reading split in action: the lone word 事 takes こと, while the compounds 仕事, 食事, and 事故 all flip to ジ. The one to watch is 大事 (だいじ) — a compound, so it's ジ, not こと.

Example sentences

Quick recap

• 事 = matter / thing (abstract) / affair; 8 strokes; radical 亅 (hook).
• こと when it stands alone (大事なこと, 事がある); ジ in compounds (仕事, 食事, 事故, 用事).
• 大事 is read だいじ (ジ) — memorize it as a set reading.
• The grammar nominalizer こと (食べることが好き) is the same word but is usually written in kana, not 事.
• Contrast: 事 (こと) = abstract thing/matter vs 物 (もの) = concrete, physical thing.

Your turn

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