The Kanji |
Readings & Meanings |
上 |
1) jou,
2) ue - top, above, on 3)
a(geru) - to raise a(garu)
- to rise 4) nobo(ru) - to go up
Don't be shocked at
the number of pronunciations (actually there are
more!), the best one to remember is ue.
That is the most commonly used.
|
机の上
tsukue
no ue - on (the)
desk [lit. desk's above]
上手 jou zu - to be good at something [lit upper
hand]
年上 toshi ue - older, old (in years) |
|
下 |
1) ka,
2) ge, 3) shita - bottom, under,
down
This one also has
several more readings, but shita
is the most useful for now
|
靴下 kutsu shita - socks [lit. shoes under]
地下 chi ka - underground, basement
年下 toshi shita - junior, younger, young |
|
左 |
1) sa,
2) hidari - left
Both left (左) and right (右) are very similar.
Left has a capital I and right has a mouth
|
左手 hidari te - left hand
左足 hidari ashi - left leg
机の左 tsukue no hidari
- to the left of
the desk |
|
右 |
1) yuu,
2) u, 3) migi - right
Both left (左) and right (右) are very similar.
Left has a capital I and right has a mouth
|
右目 migi me - right eye
右ページ migi pe-ji - right page (of a book)
右手 migi te - right hand |
|
東 |
1) tou,
2) higashi - east
In order to look at the sun from
behind a tree, you must be facing east: A sun [日] character behind a tree [木]
|
中東 chuu tou - the Middle East
東アジア higashi ajia - East Asia
東京 tou kyou - Tokyo |
|
西 |
1) sei,
2) sai, 3) nishi - west
"Go west!",
said the mouth with legs
dangling inside
|
西口 nishi guchi - west entrance
関西 kan sai - Osaka and surrounding area, Kansai
西ドイツ nishi doitsu - West Germany
大西洋 tai sei you - the Atlantic |
|
南 |
1) nan,
2) minami - south
Remember: there is money
(¥ yen) in the south
|
東南アジア
tou
nan ajia -
Southeast Asia
南極 nan kyoku - the South Pole, Antarctic
南米 nan bei - South America |
|
北 |
1) hoku,
2) kita - north
It looks like 2
people sitting with their backs against the north
pole
|
北海道
hokkai
dou - Hokkaido (most
northern part of Japan)
北アメリカ kita amerika - North America
北京 pekin - Bei jin (In China)
南北戦争 nan boku sen sou
- the (US) Civil
War |
|
外 |
1) gai,
2) ge - outside, foreign 3) hoka
- other, 4) soto - outside
This is a useful
kanji if you are a foreigner
|
外国人
gai
koku jin -
foreigner [often abbreviated to gaijin
but can be considered an insult]
外国語 gai koku go - foreign language
外で遊ぼう soto de asobou - Let's play outside! |
|
名 |
1) mei
- name, fame, famous, 2) myou, 3) na - name
By word of mouth
(口) fame
and name spread
|
名前 na mae - name
私の名前は。。。です。
watashi
no namae wa ... desu. - My name is ...
有名 yuu mei - famous
平仮名 hiragana - Hiragana [a Japanese writing
system] |
|
高 |
1) kou,
2) taka(i) - high, costly, tall
Think of this as a
picture of a tall and costly
Japanese building
|
最高 sai kou - the highest, the best, supreme [not
to be confused with 'Psycho'
高校生 kou kou sei - a high school student
高いビル takai biru - a tall building [note: 'biru' is
taken from the English, 'buiding'] |
|
小 |
1) shou,
2) ko, 3) o, 4)
chii(sai) - small, little
Only 3 small
strokes make this kanji
|
小学校
shou
gakkou -
elementary school
小さい家 chiisai ie - a small house
小説 shou setsu - a novel, a story (fiction) |
|
中 |
1) chuu,
2) naka - middle, center, within, inside
It's a line inside
a box!
|
一日中
ichi
nichi juu - all
day long
家の中 ie no naka - inside the house
勉強中 ben kyou chuu - while studying, in the midst of
studying |
|
大 |
1) dai,
2) tai, 3) ou(kii) - big, large,
great
This is a big
person (人) with his great
arms spread wide
|
大学 dai gaku - university, college
大きい心 ookii kokoro - a big heart
大会 tai kai - big meet, convention, rally |
|
長 |
1) chou
- head of an organization, leader, 2) naga(i) - long
There are several long
strokes to make nagai
|
校長先生
kou
chou sensei -
principal (of school)
社長 sha chou - a company president
長い道 nagai michi - a long road |
|
半 |
1) han - half
The two top half
lines were cut in half
|
半ヶ月
han
ka getsu - half a
month
半月 han getsu - a half moon
半島 han tou - peninsula [lit. half island] |
|
分 |
1) fun,
2) bun - a part, share, 3) wa(keru)
- to divide, separate 4) waka(ru)
- to understand
The bottom part is a
sword (刀) and think of the sword dividing
the top part into two parts
|
半分 han bun - half
部分 bu bun - a part
気分 ki bun - feeling, mood
分かりました
wakarimashita
- I understand |
|
学 |
1) gaku
- learning, science, 2) mana(bu) -
to learn
The bottom is a child
(子)
and think of the top as his brain waves learning
|
科学 ka gaku - science
中学校 chuu gakkou - middle school, JHS
数学 suu gaku - math, arithmetic |
|
校 |
1) kou
- school
Remember: many
schools buildings are made of trees (木)
|
学校 gakkou - school
高校 kou kou - senior high school
校内 kou nai - within the school, on school
grounds |
|
生 |
1) sei,
2) shou - birth, life, 3) u(mu) -
to give birth, 4) i(kiru) - to live
|
学生 kaku sei - a student
一生 isshou - all life, a lifetime
人生 jin sei - life (human)
先生 sen sei - teacher, master, doctor... |
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