Meaning

Primary

Artificial

Alternatives

Man Made, Human Made

Word Type

noun, の adjective

Explanation

A person of industry makes a lot of things by hand, so everything they make is artificial, and also means it's man made.

Reading

じんこう
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. Since has two on'yomi readings, here's a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:

Remember this by thinking about how jeans (じん) are artificial. You've never seen jeans growing on trees, right? Nope, jeans are 100% man made.

Context

Pattern of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 人工の川

    man-made river

    人工のダム

    man-made dam

    人工の山

    artificial mountain

Context Sentences

これ、ほんとうに人工コアラ?

Is this really an artificial koala?

この川は、人工の川です。

This river is man-made.

このクオリティ、人工のバラだとはおもえない!

With this quality it's unbelievable that these are artificial roses!

Kanji Composition