The Kanji |
Readings & Meanings |
山 |
1)
san, 2) yama - mountain
Think of it as a
range of 3 mountains, the tallest being in the
center
|
火山 ka zan - a
volcano [lit. fire mountain]
富士山 fu ji san - Mt. fuji [contrary
to popular belief the 'san' in 'fujisan' is not
'Mr.' 'Fujisan' does not mean, "Mr. Fuji"
:)]
ごみの山 gomi no yama -
a mountain of garbage
山 yama - a
mountain |
|
川 |
1)
sen, 2) kawa - a river,
stream
This is a picture of water
flowing down a stream
|
川 kawa - a
river
石川県 ishi kawa ken - Ishikawa
prefecture (on Honshu)
小川 o gawa - a
stream [lit. small river] |
|
白 |
1)
haku, 2) byaku, 3) shira,
4) shiro(i) - white
Don't confuse this
with (自) which means self:
white has one line and (自) has two lines
|
白い shiroi -
the color white
白あり shiro ari - termite [lit.
white ant]
白鳥 haku chou -
swan [lit. white bird] |
|
天 |
1)
ten, 2) ama, 3) ame
- heaven, the sky
Heaven is BIGGER than
the kanji for big (大), therefore there
is a line above it
|
天井 ten jou -
ceiling
天気 ten ki - weather
天国 ten goku -
heaven, paradise
天才 ten sai -
genius |
|
雨 |
1)
u, 2) ama, 3) ame
- rain
Think of the top part
as the sky opening to release the rain
|
雨 ame - rain
雨水 ama mizu - rain water
大雨 oo ame -
heavy rain |
|
電 |
1)
den - electricity, electric powered
Notice the top part
is rain, so think of electric lightning
|
電車 den sha - (electric)
train
電池 den chi - a battery
電話 den wa - a
telephone
電気 den ki -
electricity, light (from light bulb...) |
|
気 |
1)
ki, 2) ke, 3) iki -
spirit, intention, mind, power, energy [just look
at the examples, this kanji has many meanings]
This is a fun kanji
to draw. Sometimes the best way to learn to read
a kanji is by drawing it many times
|
空気 kuu ki -
air, atmosphere
元気 gen ki - genki, healthy,
full of spirit
電気 den ki -
electricity, light (from light bulb...)
人気 nin ki -
popular |
|
車 |
1)
sha, 2) kuruma - car,
vehicle
Using your
imagination (to the limits of your ability), you
may see a car with 4 wheels
|
電車 den sha -
train
自転車 ji ten sha - bicycle
救急車 kyuu kyuu sha -
ambulance |
|
国 |
1)
koku, 2) kuni -
country, a nation
This is a combination
of kuchi (口) [mouth] & tama
(玉) [ball]. Sometimes
if the parts that make a kanji are strange it
becomes actually easier to remember! So get a ball
stick it in your mouth and
think of your country!
|
韓国 kan koku -
Korea
外国 gai koku - foreign country
中国 chuu goku -
China |
|
円 |
1)
en, 2) maru(i) - a
circle, yen (money
This is often used
instead of the Yen symbol ¥
|
千円 sen en -
1000 yen
円高 en daka - a high yen rate
円をかく en o kaku -
draw a circle |
|
話 |
1)
wa, 2) hanashi, 3) hana(su)
- a talk, a topic, a story
Most kanji are made
of parts. The left side means 'a word' and the
right side means 'tongue'
|
英会話
ei
kai wa - English conversation (class)
昔話 mukashi banashi - an old
tale, legend [note how the 'hanashi' becomes 'banashi'
手話 shu wa -
sign language [lit. hand talk] |
|
聞 |
1)
bun, 2) ki(ku) - to
hear, listen, ask
This is a combination
of gate (門) and ear (耳). People go to the gate to
hear news
|
新聞 shin bun -
newspaper
聞いて下さい kiite kudasai -
please listen
朝日新聞 asa hi shin bun -
the Asahi newspaper |
|
食 |
1)
jiki, 2) shoku, 3) ku(u)
4) ta(beru) - eating, a meal,
food
It looks like a
person reclining under his roof eating something
|
食べ物
tabe
mono - food [lit. eating thing]
食べたい tabetai - (I)
want to eat
食事 shoku ji - a meal |
|
読 |
1)
doku, 2) yo(mu) - to
read
The left part means
'a word' and the right part means 'to sell.' So a
book is a bought word
|
読みやすい
yomi
yasui - easy to read
読書 doku sho - reading
読んで下さい
yonde
kudasai - please read |
|
来 |
1)
rai, 2) ku(ru) - to
come
This is one of the very
few irregular verbs: kuru
becomes 'kimasu' in the -masu form!
|
未来 mi rai -
the future [lit. not yet come]
来月 rai getsu - next month
出来る de ki ru -
able to do something, ready for |
|
書 |
1)
sho, 2) ka(ku) - book,
document
Remember this one as
the one with a lot of horizontal lines. Also
remember there is a sun at the bottom; after all,
you must have light to read!
|
図書館
to
sho kan - library
聖書 sei sho - the Bible [lit.
holy book]
辞書 ji sho -
dictionary |
|
見 |
1)
ken, 2) mi(ru) - to
see, 3) mi(seru) - to show
The top part is me
(eye) and think of the bottom as legs. Therefore
actively using your eyes means to see
|
見せて
misete
- show me!
花見 hana mi - flower viewing,
watching cherry blossoms in April
見える mieru - be
able to see, visible |
|
行 |
1)
gyou, 2) kou, 3) i(ku) -
to go
It looks like a side
view of a dog (with no tail) ready to go
|
行きましょう
ikimashou
- Let's go!
銀行 gin kou - bank
旅行 ryo kou - a
trip, travel |
|
出 |
1)
shutsu, 2) da(su), 3) de(ru)
- to go out, leave
This looks like a
mountain on a mountain [actually it is not] So
think of going out to the
mountains
|
出口 de guchi -
exit
出発 shuppatsu - to go,
departure
思い出す omoi dasu -
to remember, to recollect |
|
入 |
1)
nyuu, 2) i(ru), 3) hai(ru)
- enter, to go in, to insert
It looks very much
like the kanji for a person (人) but with a little hat on.
|
中入り
naka
iri - intermission (of a play)
入口 iri guchi - an entrance
手に入る te ni iru -
to obtain, to get your hands on ... |
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