Ningen is a Japanese word for ‘human’, explained

What does “ningen” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers use ningen often to mean a ‘human’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I’m explaining this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’m explaining how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand ningen more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “ningen”
• Ningen in kanji
  • How to say “human beings” in Japanese
  • Another example of “ningen”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “ningen”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of ningen.

• ningen – 人間 (にんげん) : a noun meaning a ‘human’ or sometimes ‘human being’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.

Japanese native speakers use this noun to refer to a human or humans in general. So, the usage is similar to those of the English nouns written above. It’s also worth mentioning here that this noun is more general than hito which normally refers to a person or people in Japanese.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

Ningen in kanji

The kanji expression of ningen consists of the following two kanji characters:

• 人 : a kanji character widely used to mean a ‘person’ in Japanese.
• 間 : a kanji character widely used to refer to a distance between two things. This can also be found in other words like jikan and nakama.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that ningen literally means a ‘distance between people’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meanings, but still understandable, I think. Nobody can live alone. We need to build relationships with others to survive. The Japanese kanji expression for humans focuses more on what we have among us and how we are living in this world.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of ningen through the detailed kanji check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of ningen together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

How to say “human beings” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after boku to make the subject in the sentence.
• no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join ningen and kanousei. The formed phrase literally means ‘the potential of human beings’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to that of the English preposition, of.
• kanousei – 可能性 (かのうせい) : a noun meaning ‘potential’ or ‘possibility’ in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after ningen no kanousei to make the object in the sentence.
• shinjiru – 信じる (しんじる) : a verb meaning ‘to believe’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of ningen. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, ningen no kanousei, which literally means ‘the potential of human beings’ in Japanese.

Another example of “ningen”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kore – これ : a demonstrative pronoun used to refer to something close to the speaker. In the example, this is used to mean ‘this’ in Japanese.
• to – と : a parallel particle used to join two nouns or noun equivalent words to make a parallel expression. This is often translated into English as and. In the example, this is used to join ningen and tenshi to make the parallel expression which means ‘humans and angels’.
• tenshi – 天使 (てんし) : a noun meaning an ‘angel’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• tatakai – 戦い (たたかい) : a noun meaning a ‘fight’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is another example of ningen. In this example, it works as a part of the parallel expression, ningen to tenshi, which means ‘humans and angels’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to humans in general in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a very good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of ningen in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ningen – 人間 (にんげん) : a noun meaning a ‘human’ or sometimes ‘human being’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Native speakers use this noun to refer to a human or humans in general. So, the usage of this noun is very similar to those of the English ones written above. It’s also worth mentioning here that this noun is more general than hito which normally refers to a person or people in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean a ‘distance between people’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meanings, but still understandable, I think. Nobody can live alone. We need to build relationships with others to survive. The Japanese kanji expression for humans focuses more on what we have among us and how we are living in this world.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.