生物

• Reading: せいぶつ
• Romaji: seibutsu
• Kanji breakdown: 生 (sei) — life, birth, living; 物 (butsu) — thing, object
• Pronunciation: /seː.bɯ.tsɯ/

Meaning

Living thing; organism; creature. Any entity that has life.

A noun with two main readings: せいぶつ (biology/organism in scientific contexts) and いきもの (creature in casual speech). As an N3 term, せいぶつ is the focus. Commonly used in academic settings, with compounds like 生物学 (biology), 微生物 (microorganism), and 生物多様性 (biodiversity).

Examples

1. 海にはまだ知られていない生物がたくさんいる。 There are many organisms in the ocean that are still unknown.
2. 生物の授業で細胞の仕組みを学んだ。 We learned about how cells work in biology class.
3. すべての生物は水なしでは生きられない。 All living things cannot survive without water.

Usage Guide

Context: science, education, nature

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Composed of 生 (life, birth, living) and 物 (thing, object). Together they mean a living thing or organism.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal