せい

See also: ぜい

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
為い (rare)

⟨seyo⟩ → ⟨sey⟩ → /sei/

One theory suggests a sound change from せよ (seyo), dropping the last vowel, from original seyo to sey (= sei). Compare 来(こ)い (koi), くれ (kure).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) せー [séꜜè] (Atamadaka – [1])
IPA^(key): [se̞ː]

Verb

せい • (sei)

(Classical Japanese, archaic, or Kansai) Alternative imperative of する (suru, “to do”)
Synonym: せよ (seyo)

面(めん)倒(どう)を見(み)てやるから、安(あん)心(しん)せい。
Mendō o mite yaru kara, anshin sei.
If you are faced with an inconvenience, do not worry.

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of せい – see the following entries.

【所為】	[noun] cause, reason, fault Alternative spelling 故

【聖】6

[adjective] holy, sacred

[noun] a saint; a holy person

[noun] holiness, sacredness

[noun] (euphemistic) alternate name for 清酒 (seishu, “refined sake”)

[affix] (Brazil) short for 聖州 (“São Paulo (a state of Brazil)”) or short for 聖市 (“São Paulo (a municipality, the state capital of São Paulo, Brazil)”)

[prefix] (Catholicism) prefix added to the names of saints

【精】5

[adjective] detailed, conscientious

[adjective] pure, refined

[noun] polishing, refining

[noun] care, conscientiousness

[noun] something polished or refined, particularly polished white rice

[noun] vim and vigor, energy in doing things

[noun] life force, vitality, the energy of living

[noun] one's emotions, mind, or soul

[noun] the soul or spirit of a thing, particularly when appearing on its own; a fairy, a sprite

[noun] semen

【世】3	[counter] generation [suffix] (geology) epoch [proper noun] a female given name

【背】6	[noun] height Alternative spelling 脊

【井】4	[noun] well, well curb [proper noun] (Chinese astronomy) Well (Chinese constellation)

【正】1

[noun] correctness

[pronoun] 生: (humble) I or me, the first person singular (used by males)

[numeral] A number of ten-duodecillion (10⁴⁰) in modern Japanese since 17th century.

[numeral] 5, as tally marks. Similar to four vertical lines followed by a slanted horizontal line crossing through them, this character is used to count to 5 stroke by stroke. Thus this kanji written up to the third stroke represents 3. After the fifth and final stroke, when this character is completed, one starts writing this character again to count to higher numbers.

Alternative spelling
生

【生】1	[noun] a living [noun] life [pronoun] (humble) I or me, the first person singular (used by males) [suffix] a student [suffix] (be) born in

【制】5	[suffix] system

【姓】S	[noun] surname, family name [noun] clan

【性】5	[noun] sex, gender [noun] (grammar) gender [suffix] -ity, -ness, the nature of quality or something

【星】2

[proper noun] (Chinese astronomy) one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions in the Chinese system of constellations

[proper noun] short for シンガポール (Shingapōru): Singapore

[suffix] (loosely, especially fiction) attached to names of planets

[affix] star, celestial body

[affix] passing of time

[affix] star, celebrity

【勢】5	[noun] force [suffix] group of people with a common trait

【製】5	[noun] make [suffix] -made [suffix] made of

【静】4	[affix] quiet [affix] still, unmoving [noun] [from 1648] stillness

【政】5	[noun] a law, rule [noun] a doctrine, precept, way [affix] government, politics, rule [affix] administration (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) [proper noun] a male or female given name

【斉】S	[proper noun] (historical) a state in ancient China during the Zhou dynasty

【靖】J	[proper noun] a surname [proper noun] a female given name

(This term, せい (sei), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as せい, see Category:Japanese kanji read as せい.)

(The following entry does not have a page created for it yet: 成.)