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Big in Japan: 15 Japanese characters that you can learn today
All this week, Big in Japan is bringing you trade secrets on how to unravel the linguistic enigma that is Japanese...While most resident foreigners here in Japan can rattle off a good number of key phrases, the true test of linguistic fluency is whether or not they can read traditional Chinese characters or kanji (?? / ???).
One of three sets of written scripts that comprises Japanese, kanji are - quite frankly - a royal pain in the ass to learn, especially since there are literally thousands and thousands of characters to learn.
Considering that most Japanese students can't read a newspaper until they reach high school, you can imagine how long it takes Westerners to master the full character set. However, this worthy goal is in fact possible to achieve, and it really is never too late to take the plunge.
Interested in learning a bit of ??? (nihongo, Japanese)?
Here are 15 easy Japanese kanji that that you can learn to read today:
??(den / ta, rice field) This character is just like a bird's-eye view of a rice patty.
??(san / yama, mountain) Do you see the shape of the mountain here?
??(sen / kawa, river) Try to picture the flow of a bending river.
The list goes on...
Japanese characters aren't impossible to learn, especially if you memorize a few simple mnemonic devices. After all, modern kanji were at one point in time simple drawings, so try to analyze each character, and look for the original inspiration behind the picture.日 (nichi / hi, sun) Can you see the sun rising about the horizon?
月 (gatsu / tsuki, moon) This character looks like a crescent moon in the sky.
雨 (u / ame, rain) The storm cloud is releasing drops of rain.
海 (kai / umi, ocean) A huge wave is curling and about to break.
火 (ka / hi, fire) Do you see the small campfire here?
油 (yu / abura, oil) Oil is gushing out of a huge tower.
竹 (chiku / take, bamboo) Two chutes of bamboo are blowing in the wind.
木 (moki / ki, tree) A tall tree grows upwards from the ground.
肉 (niku, meat) You're staring right at a juicy T-bone steak.
鳥 (chou / tori, bird) A large bird is sitting at the top of its nest.
魚 (gyo / sakana, fish) A fish is swimming effortlessly through the sea.
人 (jin / hito, person) Try to picture a person taking a long stride.
Morale of the story: Japanese really isn't impossible to learn how to read, and you'll be surprised how quickly you start to see patterns emerging in the characters.
With that said, we here at Big in Japan still recommend that you consult with an actual Japanese person before getting any kanji tattoos that you might one day regret!
** All images are courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project **
Filed under: Asia, Japan, Big in Japan
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark Gilbert Oct 18th 2008 5:54AM
Why do you give two Japanese words for each Kanji character? Like kai and umi?
Cheers,
Mark Gilbert
Francesca Oct 18th 2008 1:19AM
Japanese Kanji have different readings: on'yomi and kun'yomi. On'yomi are the Chinese readings, while kun'yomi are the Japanese. Kanji can have multiple readings, and which one you use is dependent on the context of the word and sentence. Usually it's the kun'yomi for proper names and for words with a single character, while the on'yomi is used for compound words, but there aren't any set rules. Like the word for Sunday is 日曜日-nichi yo bi where the same kanji is pronounced two different ways in the same word!
Matthew Firestone Oct 18th 2008 5:57AM
Francesca is absolutely correct!!
In the case of Kai and Umi, here are two examples:
1) 海 - This character is read as 'umi,' which by itself means simply 'sea.'
2) 東海 - These characters are read as 'toukai,' which means 'East Sea.'
If this is confusing, don't worry as even Japanese people have problems sometimes with knowing which way to read the characters!!