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
Somewhere in the east
there is a rice field (田) with a tree (木) in the middle of it
|
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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