JLPT N1 · Adverb

元来 (ganrai)

元来 (がんらい, ganrai) is a Japanese adverb meaning “originally; essentially”. It appears in JLPT N1 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: がんらい
Romaji: ganrai
Word class: Adverb
Level: JLPT N1 (unofficial)

Meaning

originally; essentially; naturally; by nature; really · adverb
in the first place; to begin with · adverb

Example sentences

元来フットボールとは、ポロのように馬に乗って行われる競技とは違って、足で、ボールを使って行われる競技のことでした。

Football originally meant "a game played with a ball on foot" - unlike a game played on horseback, such as polo.

Tatoeba #175018

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Kanji in 元来

元

beginning, former time, originゲン・ガン・もと · 4 strokes

来

come, due, nextライ・タイ・く.る・きた.る · 7 strokes

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 元来.

元気げんきlively元もとorigin足元あしもとat one's feet元日がんじつNew Year's Day元々もともとoriginally元首げんしゅsovereign元素げんそelement還元かんげんrestoration元年がんねんfirst year (of an imperial era)手元てもとat hand地元じもとhome area来るくるto come (spatially or temporally)来月らいげつnext month来週らいしゅうnext week

Source: JMdict entry 1261080 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.