音読み: カイ
訓読み: みな
画数: 9
部首: しろ（白）
Meaning
All / everyone / everything.
- 皆 — everyone; all
- 皆さん — everyone (polite)
- 皆無 — none at all; complete absence
- 皆目 — entirely; at all (usually with a negative)
- 皆伝 — full initiation; master’s transmission
The top element relates to 白 (“clear, plain”), and the lower part echoes the idea of 比 (“side-by-side”). Put together, it pictures people standing together and speaking in the same way — extending to the meaning “all, everyone.”
比 — side by side → compare
Start with 比 — two shapes side by side, the feel of “lining up / comparing.” Blend in 白 — “clear, plain.” Now picture everyone lined up, saying the same clear thing → the meaning becomes “all / everyone.”
Creates
皆無 — complete absence; none at all.