Meaning
The kanji 類 means kind, type, category, or genus. Japanese uses it whenever things share a defining trait and belong together — animals in a biological class, forms filed in the same folder, words with overlapping meanings. When something fits a 類, it holds the same essential quality as every other member of that group. Mammals share warm blood and nurse their young; documents share the quality of being written records.
Etymologically, 類 breaks into three visual parts: 米 (rice, grains) upper-left, 大 (large) beneath it, and 頁 (head, page) on the right — which also serves as the radical. 頁 originally depicted a human head; within this character it carries the idea of resemblance, since members of the same family share similar features. The 米 and 大 elements suggest abundance and variety gathered in one place. From physical likeness, the meaning broadened into any kind of categorical belonging.
At 18 strokes, 類 is among the more demanding N3 kanji. Japanese schools introduce it in Grade 4, where students first meet it in science lessons on animal classification and in social studies when handling official forms. It appears in biology, paperwork, and everyday conversation about types and similarities.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
The primary on'yomi is ルイ (rui). Compound words almost always use this reading — biology textbooks, office paperwork, and formal writing all rely on it.
- 種類 (shurui) — kind, type, variety; the everyday word for "what type?" as in どんな種類ですか
- 人類 (jinrui) — humanity, humankind; the entire human species treated as one category
- 書類 (shorui) — documents, paperwork; official written materials grouped together
- 分類 (bunrui) — classification, categorization; the act of sorting things into groups
- 類似 (ruiji) — similarity, resemblance; when two things are alike but not identical
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi is たぐい (tagui). This reading rarely appears in everyday speech. It surfaces mainly in literary texts and set expressions, carrying the sense of "the likes of" or "things of that kind."
- 類まれ (tagui mare) — rare, extraordinary; literally "rare among its kind" — a common phrase praising exceptional ability
- 類ない (tagui nai) — unparalleled, without equal; nothing else in its category comes close
Common Words & Compounds
類 appears across biology, administration, and everyday speech. The sections below cover the words you are most likely to encounter.
General Classification
- 種類 (shurui) — kind, type, variety; the most common everyday word for "type of"
- 分類 (bunrui) — classification, categorization; systematic sorting of items into groups
- 同類 (dōrui) — the same kind; things or people belonging to one category
- 無類 (murui) — unrivalled, matchless; having no equal within its category
- 類推 (ruisui) — analogy, inference by analogy; reasoning from one category to another
Biological & Scientific Categories
- 人類 (jinrui) — humankind, the human race
- 哺乳類 (honyūrui) — mammals; animals that nurse their young
- 爬虫類 (hachūrui) — reptiles; cold-blooded scaly vertebrates
- 鳥類 (chōrui) — birds; avian creatures as a biological class
- 魚類 (gyorui) — fish; aquatic animals as a class
- 穀類 (kokurui) — cereals, grains; grain crops as a food category
Administrative & Linguistic
- 書類 (shorui) — documents, papers; official written materials
- 衣類 (irui) — clothing, garments; articles of clothing as a category
- 類語 (ruigo) — synonyms; words of the same or similar meaning
- 類似 (ruiji) — similarity, resemblance; being alike in nature
Example Sentences
この博物館には、さまざまな種類の昆虫が展示されている。
Kono hakubutsukan ni wa, samazama na shurui no konchū ga tenji sarete iru.
This museum has various kinds of insects on display.
人類は何千年もの間、戦争を繰り返してきた。
Jinrui wa nanzennen mo no aida, sensō wo kurikaeshite kita.
Humankind has repeated wars over thousands of years.
この仕事には、たくさんの書類が必要です。
Kono shigoto ni wa, takusan no shorui ga hitsuyō desu.
This job requires a lot of documents.
図書館では、本がジャンル別に分類されている。
Toshokan de wa, hon ga janru betsu ni bunrui sarete iru.
In the library, books are classified by genre.
クジラは魚のように見えるが、実は哺乳類だ。
Kujira wa sakana no yō ni mieru ga, jitsu wa honyūrui da.
Whales look like fish, but they are actually mammals.
この二つの作品はとても類似している。
Kono futatsu no sakuhin wa totemo ruiji shite iru.
These two works are very similar to each other.
この地域では類まれな才能を持つ選手が生まれた。
Kono chīki de wa taguimare na sainō wo motsu senshu ga umareta.
A player of rare talent was born in this region.
同類の動物は群れを作って生活する傾向がある。
Dōrui no dōbutsu wa mure wo tsukutte seikatsu suru keikō ga aru.
Animals of the same kind tend to live together in groups.
辞書で類語を調べると、表現が豊かになる。
Jisho de ruigo wo shiraberu to, hyōgen ga yutaka ni naru.
Looking up synonyms in a dictionary enriches your expression.
爬虫類は体温を自分で調節できない。
Hachūrui wa taion wo jibun de chōsetsu dekinai.
Reptiles cannot regulate their own body temperature.
Memory Tip
Picture a large head (頁) bent over piles of rice grains (米), sorting them by type — long-grain here, short-grain there. Every grain gets placed with its own kind. That is 類. The 頁 element adds a second layer: classification is both a mental act and a written one. We sort with our heads, then record the results on pages. Whenever you see 類, think: sorting by similarity.
For Vietnamese learners, the Hán-Việt reading LOẠI maps directly onto the Vietnamese word for "type" (loại hàng = type of goods) — an instant anchor for this kanji's meaning.