| The Kanji |
Readings & Meanings
The
pronunciations in italics are the ''Chinese''
pronunciations and the boldface are the
native Japanese readings. The pronunciations in red are
recommended to learn as they are the most useful |
| 意 |
1)
i - mind, heart, attention
When you stand [立] you are at attention; When it is
day [日] you are awake and
attentive; and your heart [心] is mindful
|
意味 i mi - meaning
注意 chuu i - warning, caution, be careful
用意 you i - preparation, prepare
意見 i ken - opinion, view |
|
| 以 |
1)
i - more, with, through, on account of
This one doesn't seem
to have a concrete meaning, but is used with
other kanjis
|
以下 i ka - below, less than, under
以上 i jou - more than, over, this is all
以心伝心 i shin den shin - telepathy, mind reading |
|
| 言 |
1)
gen, 2) gon - speech, statement
3) iu - to say 4) koto -
word, expression
Sound waves coming from a
mouth.
A lot of 'word'
related kanji have this character as part of the
kanji - 日記 nikki (diary); 詩 shi (poem);
話 hanashi
(a story)
|
言葉 koto ba - word, language
独り言 hitori goto - soliloquy, talking to yourself
方言 hou gen - dialect |
|
| 家 |
1)
ka, 2) ke, 3) ya,
4) ie - house
Think of the top part
as a roof
|
家族 ka zoku - family
作家 sakka - writer, novelist, author
愛猫家 ai byou ka - lover of cats |
|
| 急 |
1)
kyuu, 2) isogu
- to hurry
When you hurry your heart
beats faster
|
救急車
kyuu
kyuu sha -
ambulance
特急 tokkyuu - limited express train
オリエント急行 oriento kyuu kou
- Orient
Express |
|
| 犬 |
1)
ken, 2) inu
- dog
A dog is man's [人] big, [大] best friend
|
小犬 ko inu - puppy
番犬 ban ken - watch dog
愛犬家 ai ken ka - lover of dogs |
|
| 妹 |
1)
mai, 2) imouto
- younger sister
Japanese makes a
distinction between younger and older [姉 ane]
sisters and brothers
|
姉妹 shi mai - sisters (elder & younger)
従姉妹 itoko - cousin (female)
姉妹都市 shi mai to shi - sister cities |
|
| 色 |
1)
shiki, 2) shoku, 3) iro
- color
Some color names have this kanji with
it (see examples)
|
青色 ao iro - blue
黄色 ki iro - yellow
十人十色 juu nin to iro - 10 people 10 colors, different
strokes for different folks |
|
| 音 |
1)
on, 2) in, 3) ne,
4) oto - sound
Sound is standing [立] on the sun [日] - don't confuse it with [意] i (heart, attention)
|
音楽 on gaku - music
発音 hatsu on - pronunciation
福音 fuku in - the Gospel, good news |
|
| 員 |
1)
in - member, official
An official is just a
shell [貝] with a mouth [口]
|
委員 i in - committee member
会員 kai in - member, membership
社員 sha in - company employee |
|
| 院 |
1)
in - institution, academy
This one is used for
buildings and institutions (see examples)
|
病院 byou in - hospital
医院 i in - (doctor's) clinic
大学院 dai gaku in - graduate school |
|
| 飲 |
1)
in, 2) nomu
- to drink
'To drink' is similar
to 'to eat' [食] -
looks like a man on the right leaning on a bar having a drink [By
Dean]
|
飲み物
nomi
mono -
something to drink, a drink
飲み水 nomi mizu - drinking water
飲み放題 nomi hou dai - all you can drink |
|
| 魚 |
1)
gyo, 2) uo,
3) sakana - fish
Think of the bottom
lines as being water
|
人魚 nin gyo - mermaid
金魚 kin gyo - goldfish
飛魚 tobi uo - flying fish |
|
| 動 |
1)
dou, 2) ugoku
- to move
Heavy [重] + power [力] = to move
|
運動 un dou - exercise, movement
動物 dou butsu - animals
感動 kan dou - deeply impressed, moved,
touched |
|
| 牛 |
1)
gyuu, 2) ushi
- cow, bull
Don't confuse this
with [午] go (noon)
|
牛乳 gyuu nyuu - milk
牛肉 gyuu niku - beef, cow meat
牛 ushi - cow |
|
| 歌 |
1)
ka, 2) uta
- a song 3) utau - to sing
This has a
distinctive shape. Think of several mouths
singing songs
|
国歌 kokka - national anthem
歌詞 ka shi - lyrics, words to music
歌舞伎 ka bu ki - Kabuki, Japanese play
短歌 tan ka - Tanka,
31 syllable Japanese poem |
|
| 写 |
1)
sha, 2) utsusu
- to copy, take (a photo)
It looks like a 5 but
it is only a copy of a photograph
|
写真 sha shin - photograph
写真家 sha shin ka - photographer
写生 sha sei - sketching, drawing from life |
|
| 映 |
1)
ei, 2) utsuru
- to be reflected, 3) utsusu
- to project on a screen, reflect
Reflected light comes
from the center [央] of the sun [日]
|
映画 ei ga - movie
映画館 eiga kan - the movies, cinema
放映 hou ei - televising |
|
| 海 |
1)
kai, 2) umi
- sea, ocean
The 3 little marks to
the left mean water and [毎] is 'every.' So every
water comes from the ocean.
|
日本海
nihon
kai - Japan Sea
北海道 hokkaidou - Hokkaido, the most northern big
island of Japan
海岸 kai gan - beach, coast |
|
| 売 |
1)
bai, 2) uri -
sale 3) uru - to sell
It is interesting in
that 'to buy' also has the reading 'bai'
|
発売 hatsu bai - new product for sale, sale
売り物 uri mono - something for sell
売買 bai bai - selling & buying |
|
All the Kanji on
the Level 3 Test: #2 
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