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 |
会 |
1) kai, 2) e - meeting, 3) a(u) - to meet
Think of the kanji as
a person sitting at a desk under a roof. Most
meetings take place in a house with desks, ne.
|
英会話 ei kai wa -
English conversation [only kai
wa means any conversation]
会議 kai gi -
meeting, conference
教会 kyou kai -
church |
|
青 |
1) sei,
2) shou, 3) ao(i) - blue (sometimes
green)
Blue moon! You saw me
standing alone. I saw you standing at the bottom
part of this kanji.
It becomes aoi
(add the i) when placed with a
noun --> aoi ahiru - a blue
duck. (strange example but you get the
drift, right?)
|
青空 ao zora -
blue sky
青森県 ao mori ken
- Aomori Prefecture
青色 ao iro -
blue color |
|
赤 |
1) seki,
2) shaku, 3) aka(i) - red
This kanji has done
something embarrassing and is running away with
it's face turned red (see the arms and legs
running?)
|
赤ちゃん aka chan -
a child, infant
赤道 seki dou -
the equator
赤字 aka ji -
red ink, in the red, a deficit |
|
明 |
1) mei,
2) myou, 3) aka(rui) - light, bright,
to dawn
In the sky the 2 brightest
objects are the sun (left) and
the moon (right)
|
明るい akarui -
bright, cheerful
発明 hatsu mei -
invention
説明 setsu mei -
explanation |
|
秋 |
1) shuu,
2) aki - fall (the season), autumn
In the fall, many
people burn leaves and things
with fire (right part)
|
秋分の日 shuu bun no hi -
autumn equinox holiday [see
more on holidays]
秋風 aki kaze -
autumn breeze |
|
空 |
1) kuu,
2) kara, 3) sora - sky, air, empty
Think of a karate
expert jumping in the air to
break a board in two
|
空手 kara te -
karate [lit. empty hand]
空気 kuu ki -
air, atmosphere
空港 kuu kou -
airport
空 sora - sky |
|
開 |
1) kai,
2) hira(ku), 3) a(keru) - to open
Maybe you will
recognize mon (gate) [門] I think of a man (in
the middle) opening a large gate door by pushing
with both arms
Be careful to not confuse open with
close [閉] I think
of close as a man kicking the door closed
|
ドアを開ける doa o akeru -
open a door
全開 zen kai -
full throttle, fully open |
|
悪 |
1) aku,
2) waru(i)
- bad, evil
It looks like an
anvil or some heavy object on top of a heart [心] When you do
something bad, your conscience (should)
weigh heavy on your heart
|
悪者 warui mono -
a bad fellow, someone (something) bad
最悪 sai aku -
the worst
悪魔 aku ma -
devil, demon |
|
朝 |
1) chou,
2) asa - morning
|
朝日新聞
asahi shinbun - Asahi newspaper
今朝 ke sa -
this morning [irregular pronunciation]
毎朝 mai asa -
every morning
朝御飯 asa go han -
breakfast [lit. morning rice] |
|
字 |
1) ji, 2) aza - letter (from
the alphabet...), character, mark
Think of a young child
learning his alphabet under a roof
|
文字 mo ji -
letter
赤十字 aka juu ji -
Red Cross [ juu ji is cross]
漢字 kan ji -
kanji, [lit. Chinese character] |
|
足 |
1) soku,
2) ashi - foot, feet, leg,
3) ta(riru) - to be enough
sufficient
A person doing a
split with his legs
When
you say, 'ashi' it means both leg and
foot. Japanese doesn't distinguish where one
starts and the other stops
|
両足 ryou ashi -
both legs (both feet)
右足 migi ashi -
right foot, leg
満足 man zoku -
satisfaction |
|
味 |
1) mi,
2) aji - taste, experience
Of course the kanji
that deals with tastes has a kuchi (mouth)
in it [口]
|
味見 aji mi -
try the taste, have a taste
意味 i mi -
meaning
趣味 shu mi -
hobby |
|
新 |
1) shin,
2) atara(shii) - new, fresh
Try to begin to look
at kanji and get a feel for their
meaning. I know it sounds strange, but as you
progress you should be able to automatically
catch its meaning at a glance. Look at this kanji
and think of something new
|
新しい車 atarashii
kuruma - a new car
新聞 shin bun -
newspaper
新年 shin nen -
new year |
|
集 |
1) shuu,
2) atsu(meru) - to collect, gather
This is a collection
of lines
|
編集 hen shuu -
editing (newspaper, book...)
集める atsumeru
- to collect, to gather something
集会 shuu kai -
assembly, group |
|
兄 |
1) kei,
2) kyou, 3) ani - older brother
Think of a loud older
brother with only a big mouth and
2 legs
|
お兄さん o nii san -
big brother (honorific - it changes from 'ani' to
'onii'
兄弟 kyou dai -
brothers |
|
姉 |
1) shi,
2) ane -older sister
This kanji is made of
2 parts: onna (woman) [女] and city or
market [市] - Maybe you can think of a
connection, I can't.
|
お姉さん o nee san -
big sister (honorific - changes from 'ane' to
'onee'
姉さん nee san -
girl, older girl
姉妹 shi mai -
sisters |
|
歩 |
1) ho,
2) bu, 3) ayu(mu) 4) aru(ku) - to walk, to step
The top part is to
stop [止] and the bottom means a little
[少]
So when you walk a long distance
you have to stop a little
too
|
一歩一歩 ippo ippo -
one step at a time, step by step
散歩 san po -
a walk, stroll
第一歩 dai ippo -
the first step |
|
有 |
1) yuu,
2) u, 3) a(ru) - to have, to exist, is
There is
a moon
|
有り難う arigatou -
arigatou, thank you [set expression]
公有地 kou yuu chi -
public land
有名 yuu mei -
famous |
|
安 |
1) an
- safe, peaceful , 2) yasu(i) - cheap, inexpensive,
Remember this kanji
has two different meanings: 1) safe and 2) cheap
|
安心 an shin -
peace of mind
安いもの yasui mono -
something cheap
安全 an zen -
safe, safety |
|
医 |
1) i - to heal, to cure
|
医者 i sha -
doctor
医院 i in -
clinic |
|