Several parts combine into one character.

神 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 示 (the "altar / ritual" radical, depicting an ancestral altar with offerings) + 申 (shēn, originally a pictograph of lightning forks). The composite reads as "the being who reveals itself from the heavens with lightning, worshipped at the altar" = god, divine spirit. The etymology preserves the cosmological understanding of ancient East Asia: divinity is what flashes down from above and is honored below at the altar. The 示 radical anchors the entire CJK religious vocabulary: 神 (god), 祈 (pray), 祝 (bless), 禮 (rite), 福 (fortune), 祭 (festival).

Korean reading "sin." 神話 (sinhwa, mythology — Korean foundational myths like 단군 신화), 神社 (sinsa, Shinto shrine — used for Japanese shrines), 精神 (jeongsin, "essence-spirit" = mind / spirit / mentality — central Korean psychological vocabulary), 神經 (singyeong, "spirit-thread" = nerve — biological term), 鬼神 (gwisin, "ghost-spirit" = ghost / supernatural being). The character spans religion, psychology, and folklore in Korean usage.

Mandarin shén, 2nd tone. 神 (shén, god / spirit), 神话 (shénhuà, mythology), 精神 (jīngshén, spirit / mental energy), 神奇 (shénqí, magical / wondrous), 神色 (shénsè, "spirit-color" = facial expression / countenance). The Chinese conception of 神 spans folk religion, Buddhism, Daoism, and modern psychology.

Japanese has multiple readings reflecting religious context. シン (shin) for academic / philosophical: 神話 (shinwa, mythology), 精神 (seishin, spirit / mind). ジン (jin) for Shinto religious vocabulary: 神社 (jinja, "god-shrine" = Shinto shrine — Japan has over 80,000 jinja, from tiny neighborhood shrines to grand sites like 伊勢神宮 Ise Jingū). Kun-reading かみ (kami) is foundational to Japanese spirituality: 神 (kami, god / spirit / divine being), 神様 (kamisama, polite "god"), 神道 (Shintō, "way of the gods" = Japan's indigenous polytheistic religion). The Shinto worldview holds that 八百万の神 (yaoyorozu no kami, "eight million gods") inhabit every natural feature — mountains, rivers, ancient trees, even tools and crafts. This animistic richness is uniquely Japanese among CJK religious traditions.

Memory aid: an altar (示) where lightning (申) reveals itself = the divine. The 示 radical marks all religious vocabulary in CJK.