# 善 — virtuous; goodness

善 means “virtuous; goodness”. It is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 12 strokes. On'yomi: ゼン (zen). It has no common kun'yomi. You'll see it in words such as 善 (zen, “good; goodness”).

- Meaning: virtuous; goodness
- On'yomi: ゼン (zen)
- Kun'yomi: —
- Strokes: 12
- Level: JLPT N2 · set Qualities 2

## How to remember 善

Parts: 羊 sheep · 口 mouth; box

## Words with 善

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 善 | ぜん (zen) | good; goodness |

## Don't confuse it with

[洋](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/western/) · [美](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/beauty/) · [養](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/nourish/) · [詳](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/in-detail/)

## More in the “Qualities 2” set

[圧](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/pressure/) · [固](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/solid/) · [精](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/refined/) · [普](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/universal/) · [豊](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/abundant/) · [静](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/quiet/) · [善](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/virtuous/) · [絶](https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/sever/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n2-kanji/virtuous/. Last updated 2026-11-01.