Wanikani only has a single meaning for this kanji:
nature
The meanings on jisho are considerably different:
sort of thing, so, if so, in that case, well
Thoughts on this?
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I think ‘nature’ is used to describe all of those jisho definitions, not in the sense of physical phenomena like plants and animals, but in the sense of describing inherent conditions of occurring phenomena.
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i’d also suggest not overthinking the meaning of a kanji, especially one which most frequently appears in compound words: it’s like a root word in english—not a destiny for the word’s definition, but a useful signpost.
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“sort of thing” corresponds to “nature of thing”, and JMdict (jisho) also lists some historical meanings of 然 (so, if so, in that case, well).
- しかり、そのとおり - approval or affirmation
- しかし and other conjunctions
WK doesn’t teach old spellings of 然り、然し, so picking a more focused image of “nature” that’s easier to work into mnemonics sounds like a productive approach.
Now, as for the English word “nature”, the meaning of 自然（しぜん）, the way all things are, and -然（ぜん）, the way a particular thing is, sound different but if you think about it they are quite related.
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Thank you! This was much more helpful than telling me not to overthink things.
It was mostly academic curiosity, but your answer satisfies that.
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