| 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! You
can also think of something being contained by boundaries
(countries are lands separated by boundaries).
|
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
... |
|
All the Kanji on the Level 4
Test: #4 
