済

音読おんよみ: サイ・セイ

訓読くんよみ: すむ・すます

画数かくすう: 11 strokes

部首ぶしゅ: 氵(さんずい)

Meaning

To finish, settle, relieve, or save. Often used in economic or religious contexts.


  • む — to be settled, to end
  • ます — to finish, to get through
  • 救済きゅうさい — relief, aid
  • 経済けいざい — economy
  • 返済へんさい — repayment
  • 弁済べんさい — indemnification

済 is closely related to resolving matters, whether financial, religious, or social. It appears in words like 経済 (economy) and 済度 (spiritual salvation), showing how "completion" or "helping through" is central to the character’s meaning.

仕事しごと無事ぶじみました。
The work finished safely.

返済へんさい来週らいしゅうまでに おねがいします。
Please repay it by next week.

This kanji has both on-yomi (サイ / セイ) and kun-yomi (すむ / すます). It appears frequently in daily life and economics. The kunyomi are often used in everyday conversations, while onyomi appear in compound nouns.

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