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STOP!

KA N J I PICT·O·GRAPHIX

OVER 1/000 JAPANESE KANJI AND KANA MNEMONICS Michael Rowley

Stone Bridge Press Berkeley, California

II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My wife, Kong Hyang Kil, has helped me with every facet of this 'book For the past three years: giving insights into meanings of characters, critiquing my drawings and page designs, and constructing layouts on the computer. I dedicate this book to her for all her socrlfices and inspiration. 'I'd also like to thank my brother Chris Rowley for helping put the manuscript on disk, my parents for their help and encouragement, and my publisher, Peter Goodman, for his patience and skiIL-M.R.

Kanji definitions are taken from A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters by Kenneth G. Hensholl (Tokyo, Japan, and Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. T ultle Co., Inc., 19881 with permission of the publisher.

This book was produced on an Apple Macintosh II computer. Illustrations were drawn by hand, scanned into the computer, and redrawn using Adobe Illustrator, Streamline, and Photoshop. The pages, including the text and illustrations, were laid out in Adobe Illustrator and then imported inlo QuarkXPress. QuarkXPress was also used for the front- and backmatter. Macrons and underlines for Roman characters were made with Altsys Fontographer. The kanji were set on a Toshiba Dynabook laptop computer and output on a Compugraphic phototypesetter in Tokyo, and were placed both electronically in QuarkXPress and by hand. Final output was done on a Llnotronic 330.

Book design by Michael Rowley, Eye Cue Design. Copyright © 1992 by Michael Rowley.

library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rowley, Michael.

Kanji pict-o-graphix: over 1,000 Japanese kanji and kana mnemonics / Michael Rowley.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 0-9628137-0·2

1. Chinese characters-Japan-Glassaries, vocab-

ularies, etc. 2. Japanese language-Glossaries, vocab-

ularies, etc. l. Title.

PL677.6.R69 1991

495.6'82421-dc20 91-23153

CIP

All rig his reserved.

10 9 8 765 4

No part of this book may be reproduced in ony form without written permission from the publisher.

Published by STONE BRIDGE PRESS, P.O. Box 8208, Berkeley, CA 94707.

Printed in the United States of America.

Contents

iNTRODUCTION ••..........•...•......••••.••••••••.•. ~ 7

KANA .oo • .o,o.ooO.OG .. .a ooooo •• Gt.ooooo .. o 11

CHAPTER 1: WORLD •.•.•...••••.•••.•.•••.• •••••••• 17

The Sun ,,, ,, .. , 18

The Moon , , , , , , 19

The Day .. , 20

Time 22

Wind, Rain, & Clouds 24

Water , , , , 26

Wash ., 28

Fire 30

Ice ,', , , , , ,,31

Soil , , , , , , .. , 32

Metal ., , 33

Bamboo & Grass 34

Trees 36

Timber .. " , , , .. , .. , 40

Mountains & Valleys 42

Stones 44

Cave , .. " , 46

CHAPTER 2: FOOD ,;,.,;, ••• 000 -11 11-11-11-11- •••••• 00. 47

Field & Plant 48

Rice 50

Eat , .. , , 52

Wine 54

Tray 55

Meat , " , 56

CHAPTER 3: ANIMALS ••••••••••••••••••••••.•.•••. 57

Cow, Pig, & Sheep 58

Horse " .. , 60

Bugs " , , , 62

Snakes & Birds 63

Plumage , 64

Heron 66

Dog , , " , 67

Forest Animals " 68

Sea Creatures " 70

CHAPTER 4: PEOPLE ... a-a- .... IIo .. U.O' .... uOO.oou ....... uo 71

People 72

Person 76

Populace " " .. ,.77

People's Burdens .78

Woman & Man 80

Marriage , " 82

Family , , , " ,84

SelF , , , 86

CHAPTER 5: BODY ""'" ...... """4 •••• ' •• ,, •••••••••• 0 •••• 0 87

Body ,., , ,' 88

Flesh & Bone 90

Skin 92

Tooth, Fang, & Claw " , 93

Heart , " " " 94

Love 96

Hate 97

Head, Neck, & Hair 98

Eye 100

Ear 101

Mouth 102

Hand , 104

Hold 107

CONTENT,S

Reach ' 108

Give ., .. " " " , , 109

leg 110

Stand : .. 112

CHAPTER 6: SPIRIT n "' " 113

Spirit , , 114

Pain 116

Dead Bodies 118

Past 120

Temple 122

Shrine 123

Religion 124

CHAPTER 7: POWER •• " .o04lD OO 125

Money 126

Wealth 128

Master 130

King 131

Power 132

Soldier 133

IN ever Budge an} Inch 134

Enclosed 136

Attack 138

Strike with a Stick 140

Bow & Arrow 142

CHAPTER 8: LEARN .. u6uon .. ooo""" u 143

Learn 144

Speak 146

Read 148

The Arts 150

Measure 152

Numbers 154

Sizes 156

Colors 158

Positions 160

Oppose 162

CHAPTER 9: TOOLS .... a. .. 0IIII1Ouoeu .... aIHI .... UIt6l;oU 163

Thread 164

Baskets 168

Needles 169

Cloth 170

Knife 172

Equipment 174

Brooms , 175

Build 176

Ax 178

CHAPTER 1 0: PLACES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 179

Places 180

Village 182

Hill 183

Gate 184

Door 186

Building & Roof 188

Shelter 190

CHAPTER 11: JOURNEY 191

Move 192

Escape 194

Boat , ; 196

Cart 197

Road 198

Crash! 199

Stop , 200

... & Start Again 201

Come 202

INDEX 1- 207

6

Introduction

How do you study the written Japanese characters known as kanji?- If you are a child in a Japanese school, you write each kanji hundreds of times at your desk. After a while, by sheer persistence, it sticks in your memory. If you are not a Japanese schoolchild, you probably do what I did. You stare at each kanji and make up a story in your head that you can mentally "attach" to the kanji to help you recall its meaning when you meet it again in the future. This kind of mental memory aid is called a "mnemonic" device. In this book I provide mnemonic devices in the form of text and pictures for over 1,000 kanji, or about half of all the kanji in general use in Japanese newspapers and other printed material.

Kanji developed from pictures used by the Chinese several thousand years ago to represent the world around them. Some types of kanji have retained their pictographic forms and look very much like the objects they represent. The group of kanji called pictographs are stylized representations of actual physical objects:

)11

river 55

mountain 167

gale 1101

Symbols use logical designs to indicate more abstract notions:

J:

oyer 9~2

under 943

middle 950

Ideographs put two pictographs or symbols together to create a related idea:

B

+

sun 1

bright 8

moon 14

The above three types of kanji are fairly easy to remember. The group of kanji called phono-ideographs, however, are more chcllenging. These kanji combine an element thai gives a clue to pronunciation with an element that hints at the "subject molter" of the kan j i. Most ken jiperhaps 80%-fall into this category. The theme element, called a radical, may itself be a stand-alone kanji or some graphic variant of one. TREE 126, for example, is a character by itself. Used as a radical it usually indicates something made of wood or relating to trees:

tree 126

willow 128

limber 152

7

I N T RO Due T ION

The right-hand elements here give a clue to pronunciation. The problem is that they may have little or nothing to do with the character's meaning. This makes creating a mnemonic for them much more difficult. But even pictographic forms hove often been simplified and stylized over the centuries. The kanji STOP 1205, for instance, has changed greatly from its original depiction of a footprint:

II HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

The organization of this book differs from that used in most kanji-learning books for Westerners, where characters appear in order of frequency or in the order used in Japanese schools. Since the whole point of mnemonics is to create associations, I have grouped my kanji thematically with their cousins and near cousins in sound, meaning, or appearance. There is no formal pedagogical basis for my organization. My goal was simply to discover graphic and mnemonic affinities, thus bringing kanji together that are normally very distant from each other in dictionaries as well as people's minds.

My kanji selections do include several that are not on the list of kanji approved for general use

by the Japanese Ministry of Education. They are here because they were visually interesting to me. By the same token, several common kanji have been excluded because frankly I couldn't come up with a satisfactory visual or textual mnemonic. For a comprehensive, graduated course in kanji, see Kenneth G. Hensholl's very fine book, A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters (Charles E. Tuttle, 1988). I have relied heavily on Henshall's book, which was especially useful for its kanji definitions and its descriptions of kanji elements and origins. for simplicity and economy of space, I have occasionally made modifications to Mr. Henshall's listings.

You may find it easier to learn the complex kanji if you begin with the stand-alone characters and the other elements used as radicals. Many of these basic kanji and kanji elements are presented here alongside the large-format illustrations. Flip through the book and concentrate on these characters first.

The smaller entries on each two-page spread ofte n i nco rporate the ba sic elements presented in the large-format illustrations. A few character entries appear without an illustration. Illustrations of the elements that appear in these characters can be found using the schematics and cross-reference numbers at the bottom of each entry.

8

I N T ROD UC T ION

III GUIDE TO THE ENTRIES association with the visual mnemonic more clear.

The standard kcn]l entries in this book include the This form is commonly encountered in printed

following information: materials. (Kanfi written by hand sometimes look

1 -I DAMP, MOIST, HUMID

61-2

--5tIlJ

SHITSU --- shime!.!!.!§.!!.

~w \)~

-6

7- The sun evaporates water, making the air humid.

..__----10

8- EI water 66 9__../

1. Meaning in English. For the most

[] sun I

[lI wet n-o -11

part the kanji definitions are drawn from Henshall's book. Definitions that treat the whole kanji as a semantic form are somewhat misleading and imprecise, however. The meaning of any kon]i is best gleaned from the many words it is used to represent. When the entry kanji is used in Japanese only as an element within other kanji, Ihe definition is enclosed in quotation marks.

2. Reference number. A sequence number used in the index and in kanji crossreferences.

3. Kanji character. A plain typeset form was selected for each entry character to' make the

very different from their typographic forms.)

4. On (borrowed Chinese) reading.

Always in upper case. These pronunciations [onyomi) derive from those used in China when the kanji was first brought to Japan. The Japanese adapted the Chinese sounds to their own speech. The same character may have been imported several times, each time with a different reading, thus producing the multiple readings in use today.

S. Kun (Japanese) reading. Always in lower case. These pronunciations (kun-yomi) represent native Japanese words "fitted" to the imported kanji. Most Japanese verbs and adjectives are kun readings. Underlined lellers represent verbal or adjectival inflections that are not a part of the kanji's actual reading.

6. Visual mnemonic. I have taken many liberties in creating the pictures that go with the kanji. Sometimes I have tried to' preserve the historical etymology of the character; elsewhere 1 have abandoned it in favor of something that, to my eyes, made more sense. I usually used the identical drawing to represent the same kanji element in different visual mnemonics, but not always. I have,

9

INTRODUCTI'ON

for example, taken creative license with the element MOUTH 566 (also used to express "opening," or "enclosed"), drawing it instead as a tomato in CULTIVATE 246 and a box in DOUBLE 631. 1 have also

D

mouth 566

cultivate 246

double 631

willfully visually "confused" certain elements that Japanese teachers are always insisting must never be confused. One example: the interchanging of SOIL 101 and WARRIOR 753. The schematic of elements (see number 8, below) identifies the correct form.

±

±

50ill01

warrior 753

7. Text mnemonic. Keyed to the visual mnemonic. The keywords are in boldface type.

8. Schematic of elements. Each box indicates the position of one of the main elements in the kanji. The element may be a radical, or it may be another kanji (if it is another kanji, its shape as an element may be compressed or slightly altered). The schematic boxes are not used when the entry kanji is a stand-clone kanji or is a radical or element with no other use except as a combining form. And again, sometimes I have had to concoct and interpret elements when none, according to Henshall

10

and others, may actually exist. While the schematic of elements is a helpful reference aid, keep in mind that it is a guideline only.

9. Element meaning. Refers to the first

/

definition given for the kanji or radical used as an

element in the enlry kanji. I have tried 10 use the meaning of the element in the visual and text mnemonics.

10. Cross-reference number. Refers to the sequential reference number of the element used in the entry kanji.

11. Notes reference number. Some characters have elements whose meanings ore archaic or that correspond to no stand-alone character or radical in Japanese, such as the right side of PLACE 28. Other characters, like COCOON 307, are too complex graphically to describe with a simple schematic:

place 28

cocoon 307

Comments on such complex elements appear in a numbered Notes section at the back of the book. These comments are referenced by "n-oOO" instead of a cross-reference number. Again, much of the information here derives from Henshall's book, which describes the kanji elements in detcil.

THE SYLLABARIES

In addition to kanji, Japanese uses two phonetic syllabaries, hiragano and katakana. Each syllabary of forty-six characters represents the same sounds. The cursive hiragana are used to write words not normally written in kanji and for verb endings and parts of speech. The angular katakana are used for emphasis and to write words and names not of Japanese or Chinese origin.

GOODBYE

~ sa cd:: yo

-:::[ rna
? ku
.~ do
T no
J~ ru
~ do
(katakano) (hiragana)

t. (.

'I

I

A-KA

HIRAGANA

\\ • .. l' 1
I I
Hawaii. Eat with chopsticks.
U
-
?
Uhh! Uhh!
E
~
-
x. .I
Exotic bird. Elevator doors.
0 I
a=o ~
Olive. On and Off Switch. A

Ah! I see the letter" AIJ.

I

KA I
tJ\ ~~ tJ J;
Cut the sausage. Cut the sausage.
KI
~ \, ~ \,
Key. Key.
KU
< c< ? ~
Koo-koo bird. Cocoon.
KE
(t ~ 'r it
Keg. A tilted letter IJKIJ.
KO
- @ :J
L
Coin, A street eerner. Ah! I see the letter" AU.

12

H'I RAG A N A
SA I
~ d~ 17· mft
Sob. Sod.
SHI
L ~ ""- ~
/ ~
She has flowing hair. She has a funny smile.
SU
9 ri A ")
/'
Soon the sprout will bloom. Suit hanger.
SE I
i± t!. -I:! t!.
Say. Say.
SO
-t ~ \) ~
Sew a zigzag stitch. Sew a stitch. SA- TA

TA
tc ta Jy S;
ta Tomahawk.
CHI I
-5 \p T ff
.".~
AMACHIOOOO! Cheer.
TSU
? t? \'J ~
It's a snake. Balls and bats.
TE
-c ~ - .!f
T
Ten . telephone pole.
. TO
C ~ ~ t©~
A thorn in my toe. The "t" in toe.
13 NA-HA

H I RAG AN A

NA I

Knot.
NI I
(~ ~=(
Knee.
NU I
~ ~
Noodle held by chopsticks.
NE I
fa ~
Net a big fish.
NO
0) 0
NO SmokIng.
14 Knot.

-

-

Two needles.

Violence is in the news.

I never go to church.

/

NO Smoking.

HA I
(~ ~
~~
Ha, ha, ha.
I
HI
V' ~
Hee, hee, hee.
I ::
FU
" •
.,;~, ,C,
Who?
HE
~ 6
This way to heaven.
HO
{~ r~=
Half a whole note. Break it in half.

He's sitting down.

7?



Who?

This way to heaven. '

Holy cross.

HIRAGANA

IM-YA

MA

A baby cries/Mama."

MI

o y

Me,I'm21.

MU I

A cow says, "Moo."

ME I

Me is Japanese for "eye."

MO

Catch rna' Fish with this.

Mama's breast.

Do, re, mi.

A cow says, "Moo."

Mexico.

Catch rna' fish with this.

YA

Yak.

YU

li]!

Trying to make a U-turn.

YO
ct ~
Yo-yo.
yo II yu II yo

~ ~ ct Yak.

U-turn.

Yak.

You are number one.

3

Yodel.

Yo-yo.

I These kana written small turn ki, shi, chi, ni, hi, mi, ri, into kya, sho, cha, nyo, hya, mya, rya; kyu, shu, chu, nyu, hyu, myu, ryu; and kyo, sho, cho, nyo, hyo, myo, ryo.

I DOUBLERS I The kana U is

used to double the 0 and U vowel sounds of other kana: ko-» ko, ku-»

ka, etc.

--

?

I DOUBLERS I Certain consonants are doubled when

~ preceded by a

.." smaller, silent

tsu, as in: ~."? L

zcsshi

15

RA- WA- 0 - N HIRAGANA
RA I
0 ~ .........
7
Roger the rabbit. Rocket.
R! I
U 1~ I) 1~
Cc ~J <s- ;)J
Reeds. Reeds.
RU
~ ~ )~ >t
Three rubies. Leg and tail of kangaroo. WA I

Wasp.

(WIO

The cowboy said, "Whoa."

N I

The sound of "n".

(Soda) pop sound.

VOICED SOUNDS

Wow, his head's knocked off!

An arrow head.

Nicks and cuts.

This mark changes the pronunciations of ha, hi, fu, he, and ho to popping sounds: pa, pi, pu, pe, and po.

This mark changes the pronunciations of all the kana in the series begin" ning ka, sa, ta, ond ha to vibrating sounds: ga, za, do, and b«.

RE

L

Rain and lightning.

Rain shoe.

RO I

. , . RO

3

D

Three rubies rolled away.

Rotate a nut.

16

Vocal cord vibrations.

KANJI COMPOUNDS

Each kanji has rnenninq by itself. Kanji also can be combined in kanji compounds, or iukugo, to form new meanings, much as root words, prefixes, and suffixes are combined in English. The compound meaning "world," shown at right, is composed of SE 1081, meaning WORLD, and KAI 203, meaning BOUNDARY. Other cornbinations include:

JAPAN FEBRUARY
B * - ~

NI HON NI GATSU
SUIl 1 origin 125 two 898 month 14
FOREIGNER EXIT
*A t±i D
GAl JIN de guchi
outside 13 person 363 emerge 955 opening 566
STUDENT LETTER
~~ =f*lf
GAKU SEI te gami
study 839 gain 214 hand 579 paper 974 1-7

w 0 R t D

The Sun

I PROSPEROUS, GOOD, CLEAR

E3 S

I REflECT, SHINE

EI ulsu!!1/!!!!, ho~

The sun shines outward from its center.

[] sun 1

[J center 955

SHITSU snime!!1/!!!!

... IC_R_YS_T_A ... l,_C_LE_A_R, ... B_R_IG_H_T 31 I DAMP, MOIST, HUMID

I'!'I sun 1

Id sun 1

Ell sun 1

~lffi '\)~

The sun evaporates water, making the air humid.

[!l sun 1

[Jil wet n-6

SHO

As clear as a day with two suns.

f'!I sun 1

IiiI sun 1

13 sa

13 woter 66

1 WARM

~13 IJIIl

ON ala!akai 1!!llUll

The sun warms water in a troy.

13 water 66

[!l sun 1

[Jil dish 265

SHO

As bright as a day with three suns.

B I SUN, DAY 1 I I CLEAR, BRIGHT 41
NICHI, jlTSU :9t ~
hi, -ko
The sun rises each day.
./" <,
KO The sun and a candle shine clear and bright light.

f'!I sun 1

IiiI shine 869

18

T H .E SUN I THE MOO N

8 -14

I CLEAR, BRIGHT

MEI,MYO okoll!l, okeru

As bright as the sun and moon together.

[J sun 1

I MORNING, COURT

CHO

oso

CI moon 14

The morning is shared by the sun and the moon.

[) rise n-v

I DARK, GLOOMY

AN kuro]

CI moon 14

Gloomy people see the dark shadow instead of the sun.

II sun 1

~ stand 627

III sun 1

I EVENING

SEKJ yu

In the evening, the moon rises ...

jNfGHT

YA yo, yoru

... making a nice view at night.

I!I shelter 1147 Ii3 person 362 iii even ing 11

I OUTSIDE, OTHER, UNDO

GAI,GE

solo, hoke, hozu~

He went outside and undid his pants when nature called.

IJ evening 11

CI crack n-13

The Moon

I MOON

GATSU, GETSU tsuki

A crescent moon in the clouds.

19

15 - 20

W 0 R L 0

I MORNING, DAWN

B

TAN

The Day

I DAY OF THE WEEK 181

1"'1 sun 1 Iiil one 697

YO

The days of the week fly by,

From dawn '" II] sun I [II winged bird 0-18

20

'" til noon, we measure the land,

iii dawn 15

We can only escape the sun's heat in late evening,

[II escape 11 &7

1..1 E_A_RL_Y ... , P_R_O ... M .... PT .... , .... FA_S .... T 1 ...... 91 I DAWN, LIGHT, EVENT

!f-~

56 "'-\wMitr.'I\'fu~/1

hoyo] \'1 ,\1p'~""rrl

I NOON, DAYTIME

CHU hiru

11 measure BB4

I EVENING, LATE

BAN

[) sun 1

GYO okotsuki

The sun rises through the grass early in the morning.

Three stars were seen at down.

1"'1 sun 1

[J clear n-20

Iiil gross n-19

IJ sun 1

... - ..... - ..... - ... ~.-.----------------.

THE DAY

21 - 29

[OLD, PAST

IB

KYO

One day is past ...

[] high (1-21

I CHILD

JI, NI ko

01 sun 1

.. , and one more child is born.

E'I post 21

lid kneeling n-22

EKI, I ycsu], ya,ashii

Life is easy in the sunshine.

E'I sun 1

The bright light of the sun glints off the sword.

13 sun 1 [!II sword 1023 ail opening 566

I ILLUMINATE, SHINE

8~

'l\'

SHO !e!:!l/~

The sword is illuminated by the sun above and fire below.

1"3 bright 24

I RAISE, FRY

YO 0~!9Q!.!!

lid lire 32

lid big-eyed lizord 0-23 13 hand 000

Raise your hand in the frying hot sun.

[!II sun 1 rn rays (1-26

On the sunny side of the hill ...

13 hill 1094

[!'! sun 1

rn rays 0-26

I EASY, CHANGE, DIVINATION

I PLACE

JO ba

... is a place in the soil ...

13 soil 102

[!'! sun 1

ell rays 0-26

I HOT WATER, HOT SPRING

TO yu

. .. where hot water springs up.

13 water 66

[!'I sun 1

rn rays n-26

21

30-35 W 0 R L D
I NOON 321
Time If-
GO It's noon-straight up.

l ... y .... EA_R __ ...... __ 31 ... 1 I LONG TIME, lASTING

NEN toshi

We plant rice every year.

... IN_O_W 30_1~

.,

KON, KIN

ima

What time is it now?

KYO,KU hisashii

I've been wailing a long time.

rib I RECITE 341

~~y GIN

I will now recite ...

IJ mouth 566

[I now 30

~ 1 THOUGHT, CONCERN 351

I~' NEN

... my heartfelt thoughts.

!'!'I now 30 IiiiiI heart A99

22

1 I M E

36 - 43

@EASON, YOUNG

KI

A child as young and green as a new season's rice plants,

I"'l rice plan! 231 !iiil child 447

I TEN-DAY PERIOD

JUN

Ten days of sunshine in June.

LJ wrap 949

iii sun I

I PERMIT, FORGIVE

KYO

yuru§l!., mota Permit me to speak at noon.

Il speak 840 [I noon 37

I GRIEF, SADNESS

SHU

urei/eru

I've got the autumn blues.

!iiil heart 499

I SUMMER

KA,GE no!su

Inescapable summer heat.

I"'l mask n-40

I AUTUMN

SHU oki

IiiiI slow progress

Rice stalks turn the fiery colors of autumn.

[] rice plant 231

I WINTER

TO fuyu

[I fire 83

' ...•.......•. ~ .•..........•...... : .

.. " .~

-: .'",

" - , .

. .

.. ~ , ..

. ,

.. ·7 . • ...

.. . ..

Winter snow and ice impede my progress.

1"'1 slow progress 1218

!iiil ice 94

1218

~ ~IS_PR_IN_G 43~1

~ SHUN

haru

Cherry trees bloom in the spring sun.

1"'1 branches n-43 IiiiI sun I

23

44-46

U

arne, orne-

EEi

-

::z:J\

UN kumo

24

WIN,D, RAIN, & CLOUDS

47 -54

... and dim the light of day, !lit cloud 46

[ THUNDER, LIGHTNING

=+= 1:1=·

EB

RAI kornlnori

Lightning flashes and thunder echoes in the field.

~ rain 45

[ ELECTRICITY

DEN

IiiiI field 201

An electrical field travels down the wire,

[DEW, REVEAL, SMALL, RUSSIA 51 I

iS1¥i lEa

RO, RO tsuyu

Dew is on the Russian road.

~ rain AS

!lit rood 1214

[ CONVEY, TRANSMIT

DEN tsutaeru/'1!!JDd.

People transmit clouds of contagious diseases.

IJ person 362

[I cloud SA

'''£lEI [ATMOSPHERE 531

~ FUN

Rain is part of the atmosphere.

1!'1 rain 45 !lit divide n-S3

- ["CLOUD"

A

As an element this means cloud. A/one, it is a rarefy used character meaning N speak. N See 840.

541

~ rain 45

[ SHAKE, TREMBLE

SHIN furu!!/ lllQ

!lit lightning n-49

I shake and tremble at the foot of a cliff.

a rain 45

Iiiil tremble n-50

25

55-60

W O'R L D

Water

[WATER

71<

I RIVER

SUI mizu

J II

Water flows between the narrow banks.

SEN kowa

A flowing river.

[~:~OVINCE, SANDBANK

SHU

$U

Slepping stones lead across the river 10 the sandbank.

I flOW, STREAM

RYU, RU naga!!lll!! g[

A person flows downstream.

113 water 66 [II person n-58 ['il river 55

I FACTION

HA

Rivulets diverge from the mainstream.

II] waler 66

[I river 55

I CALAMITY

«( Y<.

SAl wozowoj

A calamity of flood and fire.

E! river 55

IiiiI fire 83

26

W ATE R

61 -67

[ OPEN SEA, SOAR

CHO oki

I BAY, GULF

I HARBOR, PORT

KO

minato

WAN

[JJ middle 954

Together, two people come to the harbor to see their reflection.

Il water 66 (!'I togelher ssa [Ii' self 450

Sittin' on the dock of the bay.

A ship in the middle of the open sea. IJ water 66

[II red 11-65 Oil pull 817

113 water 66

I DEEP WATER, ABYSS

EN fuchi

621 I "WATER" 661
"
"
I 511;1 ~IS~EA~ ~_: ~67~1

The sea is the mother of life.

13 water 66 [II person 363 Oil mother 446

This is the radical for water.

Deep water engulfs the trees.

IJ water 66

[J plonks n-62

I CAVE, PENETRATE

DO horo

(] water 66

Water penetrates the cave.

!] same 889

27

68-71

W 0 R L 0

I WASH, INVESTIGATE 681

I STEAM, VAPOR

Wash

SEN

aral1

Wash with water.

Il water 66 [II previous n-ea

K!

Swirling steam.

IJ water 66

[II steam n-ev

I DIRT, DISHONOR

Tears cannot wash the dirt of your dishonor.

Il woter 66

[II stagnant n-70

I SATHE

YOKU ohln!

Bathe in a valley of water.

Il water 66

[I volley 168

28

WAS H

@,HALLOW, LIGHT

SEN esc]

Splash in the shallow water.

IJ water 66

(]I halberds 80)

[DRY, DEFENSE

KAN hall[. him

Clothes dry on the line.

I SWEAT

5f

KAN

ose, asebamu

This sweater makes me sweat.

water 66

[I dry 72

I FLOAT, FLEETING

FU uh!lkobu /kaberu

A hand lets a child float in the water.

13 waler 66 111 hand 611 Oil child 447

I DEPEND ON, DUE TO, REASON 761

YU, yO yoshl

Depending on where you place the drill in the field ...

lOll

YU abura

... you may have gushing oil.

[] water 66

[I depend on 76

I BOIL, GUSH

FUTSU wabJ.!kasu

A gushing fountain of boiling water.

IJ water 66

[J emerge n-78

I SOURCE, ORIGIN

GEN minamato

o.~ U;;-"'~·'·W.·· .• · (?L'~"-

(7

The spring is our source of water.

() waler 66

[I origin 81

I SPRING

SEN

80 I

A spring ... I""! white 45

, izumi

IiiiiI water 57

1'i!1. I PLAIN, ORIGIN I/~ GEN

hara

... originates from the plain.

~ cliff 0-81 !iii spring 80

29

W 0 R LD

82 -90

881

I THREATEN, MENACE

IUGH.T, LAMP

Fire

~ugy

KAKU JvlirJ\7L1

odog[/kasu ~ ~

TO hi

Two samurai screamed when threatened by menacing flames.

IJ moeih 566 [] red (X2) n-65

Light the lamp with fire.

() fire 83

[II exact 1089

821

I "FIRE"

; , \, This is a radical for lire.

I VIOLENCE, EXPOSE

I BURN, ROAST

IFIRE 831

BO, BAKU aba@.[!d/hY.

SHO yahY./keru

Exposed to the violent heat of the sun ...

Roast barbeque.

iii offer n-89

[] high n-20

IJ fire 83

~ sun 83

~ ~IF_LA_M_E 86~1

JJ<:

I BURST, EXPLODE

EN

hone The flames of two fj res ...

Iiiij fire 83

~ fire 83

BAKU

~~ I PALE, LIGHT, FAINT 871

131<.. TAN.

awa!

... become faint because of the rain.

... a firecracker explodes in a burst of fire .

[J Rame S6

IJ fire 83

[] burst n-90

II] water 66

30

FIRE I ICE

91 -97

f}AST

TO higashi

The sun rises through the trees in the east.

=: tree 126

Ii!! sun 1

~REEZE

TO

kOl!!, kogo§!.!!.

It's freezing in the east.

[I east 91

it's cold, the shrubs have leaves.

roof 1144 Ii!! plants n--93 Ii.il ice 94

Ice

I ICE

71<

HYO kori

A penguin looks through cracks in the ice.

I "ICE"

( 0·····

"-- .. _

."~ ... .

.

. 0 .. ··

. . .

, . .

It....... ._,'

.'

,_ ..

, .-

. , .

".,. .. ~.

This element means ice.

\ill water 66 !'!J crack n-'l4

I SNOW

SETSU yuki

I FROST

s6 shimo

Snow: rain you can hold in your hand.

El rain 45

Iiiil hand n--597

I con see the frost forming on the tree.

!!'I rain 4S lid tree 126 iii eye 538

31

98- 104

W 0 R L D

I AREA, LIMITS

IKI

Hal draws up the area's boundaries.

IJ soil 101

[J halberd 801

I SLOPE

HAN soko

A man puts his hand against the sloping cliff.

IJ soil 101

[] against 957

Soil

± I EARTH,SOll,GROUND 1011 DO, TO

tsuchl

A plant grows in the soil.

CHI, JI Creatures live in the ground.

1",1 E ... M .... B_A_NK_M ... E ... N_T 10 ..... O I I MINE, PIT, HOlE

1031 I RESIST, OPPOSE

TEl tsutsumi

lEI soil 101

The sun shines on the embankment of soil.

~ leg 617

32

rn sun 1

KO

KO

Miners work in a hole deep in the earth.

The hands oppose management.

lEI soil 101 rn shelter 11.7 ~ desk 157 lEI hond 660 rn shelter 1147 rn desk 157

SOIL / METAL

105-110

Metal

KIN, KON kane, kana

1 fiSH, LURE, CHANGE

A metal fish lure.

(] metal 105 [11 ladle 265

1 NEEDlE, POINTER 1091

~t m~

SHIN -I.

horl

The metal needle points ten degrees north.

IJ metal 105

[11 ten 906

1071 .... 1 C ... O_IN .... 1 .... 10 .... 1

SA kusori

A little metal chain.

n-J06 Il metal 105 []'! Imle 926 III money 70a

Hal flips a melol coin.

(] metal IDS

[11 halberd 80 J

33

lll-119

W 0 R!. D

I TURF, LAWN

SH! shlbo

A path winds through the lawn.

EI gross 126

g poih n-ll1

I STALK, STEM

I I

KEI kuki

A hand cuts the grassy stalks from the soil.

~ grass 124 !!! hand 600 !iiil soil 101

I CHRYSANTHEMUM

KIKU

A chrysanthemum in the grass, with rice-colored petals.

EI grass 124

g rice 217

I WORK, DUTIES

KIN tsutomeru

My duty is to work in the garden.

!'!l grass 124 [] flower 119 81 power 745

I GROW THICKLY

Hal makes the grass grow thickly.

EI grass 124

g halberd 801

I FLOWER

I I

*it.

KA hana

The plants change into flowers.

EI gross 124

g change 374

I ART, SKill, PLANT

I I

-

A

GEl

Planting is a skill and an art.

!"'l grass 124

g speak n-117

I FLOWER, SHOWY, CHINA

I I

$

KA,GE hona

A Chinese flower grows among the grass.

!"'l grass 124

IiiiI flower n-118

I FRAGRANT, SWEET SMELL

HO konboshii

This person takes in the sweet smell of the grass.

EI grass 124

IiiiI person 386

34

~AMBOO & GRASS

120-124

<S9~1 Ba m boo ~ &Grass

tUBE, CYliNDER

TO

tsutsu

Cylindrical bamboo tubes ...

1"'3 bamboo 123

Iiiil some 889

~IPE, CONTROL 121 1 I BAMBOO 1231
~ ~~ t'J
IS fit
KAN CHIKU
kudo toke
... are used as pipes in the officials' Bamboo reeds .
building.
!!'l bamboo 12~ Iiiil official 467 I I

SAN

Two hands count with a bamboo abacus.

~ bomboo 123 I!il eye 538 iii! hands n-122

This is the radical for grass, though a number of other elements have the same shape, such as hands in character 122.

35

125 - 131

W 0 R L, D

Trees

=-*- I ROOT, ORIGIN, BOOK 1251

/+' HON

mote

The roots of a tree are cylindrical.

I'J free 126

Iiiil roots rH25

I TREE, WOOD

BOKU, MOKU, kl, ko-

A tree with spreading branches.

I GLORY, FLOURISH, SHINE

EI sakaw. haw

Blossoms flourish on the tree.

~ shine n-127

IIiil tree 126

I WILLOW, WILLOWY

RYU yanagi

A willow tree.

IJ tree 126

[J flow n-128

I GATHER

SHU atsu!.!!2.!1/.!!lQ!1!.

Birds gather in a tree.

EI bird 319

iii tree 126

I NEST

56

su

Three birds nest in a fruit tree.

EI basket n-J 30

• fruit 126

I BALANCE

KEN, GON

A heron balances in a tree.

IJ tree 126

[J heron 331

Character 125 is also used after numbers to indicated that the things being counted are cylindical.

36

T R E E 5

132 - 138

[TAKE, GATHER

SAl to!:!,!

Hands take acorns from the tree.

13 hand sao []'I hand 611 ffi tree 126

[EXTREME, POLE

KYOKU, GOKU kiwal!!.!!Dd

Magnetic poles are at the extreme ends of earth.

IJ tree 126

[] extreme n-133

~IB_O_D_Y 1_34~1

TAl, TE)

karoda

The body is the "root" of a person.

IJ person 362 [J root 125

I LEAF 1351

YO

ha

Plants and trees generate leaves .

. ~ gross 124 e generation 100 Iiil tree 126

I PLANTING

SHOKU

I PLANT

SAl

Hal plants a tree in the soil.

Plant a tree in the soil.

aJ soil 101 III tree 126 Ell halberd SOl

IJ tree 1,6

IJI upright n-137

~IR_E_ST 1_38~1 J~

KYO YI'

yasumu

A vacationer rests by a tree.

IJ person 362

37

139 - 145

W 0 R L 0

1401

! SHEET, COUNTER

I DIVIDE, ANALYZE

I FIREWOOD, KINDLING

MAl

SEKl

SHIN takigi, maki

I cut the tree into kindling.

Slice the tree into sheets.

Divide a tree to analyze it.

!'I'l gross 124 Ii3 needle 1006 51 ax 1072

(] tree 126

[I strike 802

(] tree 126

[I ax 1072

! FOREST

I END, TIP

jIMMATURE, NOT YET 1441

RIN

hayashi Two trees rna ke a forest.

MATSU, BATSU

sue

MI mado

(] tree 126 [II tree 126

This tree is immature.

This tree has a big tip.

~ IWOOD;"N

~ mod Three trees mean woods.

!'I'l tree 126 Ii3 tree 126 51 tree 126

38

T R E E 5

146- 151

1 DRUM

1 BRANCH, SUPPORT 148 I

[LIMBS

SHI

KO tsuzurnl

SHI

sasaeru

A hand holds up a branch.

The limbs are like branches of flesh.

Beat the drum with a branch.

[J branch 14B

3J soil 101 III miniature 245 ED branch

[) flesh 267

",.1 ( ... TR_E .... EI ... B .... RA_N_C .... H_1_51 .... 1 ~ SHI

edo,e

~JL 1 KILL 149 I

~~ SATSU,SETSU

koro2!,!

A branch from a tree.

IJ free 126 [J branch 148

Kill the trees.

[J hand w/ax 792

IJ free 126

"..,1 B ... R .. A ... N_C .. H .. :_F .. F __ 1_50 .... 1 ~

Mountain trails branch off.

IJ mountain .67

[I branch 148

W 0 R L D

Timber

I TIMBER, RESOURCE 1521

ZA!

People have a talent for making trees

into timber.

IJ tree 126 [I talent 871

~ opening 566

I BUNDLE, SHEAF 1531

SOKU

lobo, tabo!l§!!i, tsuka, tsukaneru

Bundled tree branches.

I:lI tree 126

I WEALTH, ASSETS

ZAI, SAl

[I talent 87\

IJ money 706

! DEVICE

HAN, BAN ita

IJ tree 126

A talent for turning assets into wealth.

Hal made a wooden device.

IJ tree 126 [I command 793

I BOARD, PLATE 1561

Trees are cut into boards.

[I against 957

40

TIMBER

157 - 166

[ DESK, TABLE

KI tsukue

A wooden table.

[J tree 126

[]I desk n-157

[ BOOKSHELF, ARCHIVES

TO

Three books sit atop a wooden bookshelf.

[J tree 126

[]I apply 595

[ SHELF, TRELLIS

tone

It took two months to build these shelves.

[J month IX21 14

[ FENCE

SAKU shigarami

I read a book on making fences.

IJ tree 126

[]I book 668

[ COlUMN, PILLAR

CHO hcshiro

A tree is cut into a pillar for the master's house.

Il tree 126

[]I master 734

[ POlE, BAR, CLUB

SO

A wooden club.

Il tree 126

[J respectful 703

[BOX

hako

A box made of bamboo and wood.

I'l'I bamboo 123 lid tree 126 6l eye 538

J LACQUER, VARNISH

SHITSU urushi

Varnish resins ooze like water from a tree.

13 waler 66 [15 Iree 126 Oil water 57

~ I ARRANGE 1651

~ SEI

totono)l/w!

Correctly arrange the bundle of sticks. 19 bundle 153 ~ strike 802 IiliI correct 826

~w [CUT BRANCHES 1·tLI TOTSU

IJ tree 126

Leave nothing but cut branches.

[]I leove 956

41

167-171

W 0 R L D

Mountains & Valleys

I MOUNTAIN 1671

SAN yama

A three-peaked mountain.

I WORDlY, VULGAR, CUSTOM

J~

vl1:r ZOKU

Having left the valley of vulgar customs, this person became worldly.

IJ person 362 CI volley 168

I!.,.R_IC .... H ... , .... Pl_EN .... T_IF ... U_l 1_7 .... 0 I I GREED, DESIRE

YOKU hoshii

KOKU toni, yo

Enter the valley.

So greedy he could eat the valley.

[I gaping mouth 553

42

yO yutokg

Clothes are plentiful in the rich valley.

IJ clothes n-170 [I volley 168

IJ volley 168

MOUNTAINS & VALLEYS

172 - 180

I DARK, OBSCURE, LONELY 1721 I PEAK, TOP 1751 ~ I CAPE, STEEP 178 r
~ Ill! KI
saki
A steep mountain.
!IJ mountain 167 III strange 179
vO HO
kasukg mine Two dark and lonely paths thread into the mountain.

(;I mountain 167

I!l thread Ix 2) n-172

, PASS, CREST, CRISIS

toge

The pass runs above and below the mountain.

El mountain 167 [fI up 942 [lI down 943

I CRUMBLE, COLLAPSE

HO kuzureru/~

The mountain will crumble in two months.

IiiI month Ix21 14

He made slow progress to the top of the mountain.

!IJ mountain 167

III slow progress n-175

I RAVINE, GORGE

KYO

A ravine between mountain peaks.

IJ mountain 167

[J insert 11-176

I EXTREMITY, EDGE, UPRIGHT

..LLLI

!Lim

TAN hoshi, hcto, he

A person stands upright on the edge of a cliff.

Il stand 627 [1'1 mountain 167 [lI plant n-177

;;!s_ I STRANGE, ODD

PT . KI

How strange to step off the cliff.

E"I big 913 IiiiiI opening 566

'm' I DRAW NEAR, VISIT 180 I KI

YOlJ,!/seru

A visitor approaches our house.

E"I roof 1144 IiiI strange 179

43

181 - 185

W 0 R L D

With a litlle help we can ...

[l cairn 182 []I power 1023

Stones

I ASSIST, HELP 181 I

I FURTHERMORE, BESIDES 1821

SHO, SO katsu

jO tasuk!lli1/karu

. .. pile the stones beside or on top of each other ...

I GROUP, ASSEMBLE

SO kurnl, kU!!!ll

... and assemble them with sIring ...

[l thread 964

SO haba!!l\!

[J cairn IB2

... to obstruct the hill and impede our enemies ....

[l hill 1094 []I cairn 182

I ANCESTOR

so

... who look the lives of our ancestors.

IJ religion 696

[] coirn 182

44

STONES

186 - 193

flQ ~.:.

TAJ<U ~~

A hand reclaims the land by clearing it of stones.

IJ bond 586

[I stone 190

[~ONE, REFINE

The plow is honed on a stone.

IJ stone 190

[J uniformily n-IS7

I MAGNET, PORCELAIN 1881

jl

A magnet is a stone with magical threads of force.

[]I occult (,2) n-1 n

I ROCK, CRAG 1891

GAN iwo

A crag is a stone outcropping on

a mountain.

~ mountain 167 Iiiil stone 190

I STONE, ROCK 190 I

SEKI, SHAKU lshi

A rock at the base of a cliff.

I CHARCOAL, COAL

TAN sum!

I ASHES

KAI

hai Ashes at the foot of the cliff.

C! cliff n-81

Iii fire 6S

L,J' I SAND, GRAVEL

~~ SA,SHA

suna

Charcoal comes from the mountain.

Sand is small stones.

Iiiol fire 83

IJ stone 190

[] linle 926

E'I mountain )67

45

194 - 200

W 0 R L D

Cave

I INVESTIGATE, EXAMINE 1941

~

Examine nine caves.

!""'I hole 194

I SKY, EMPTY

KYO

~ nine 90S

1 HOLE, CAVE 1951

KETSU

ana

The cave sheltered eight people.

!""'I roof 1144

Iii;' eight 904

1961 I KILN, OVEN 1971
:.g
JU'

YO
kama KO

sora, kara, ak!!.

The empty sky, seen through a window in a cave.

Fire fine pottery in the kiln.

Iii;' construction 1054

~ hole 194 Ell fine 290 e fire 82

!""'I hole 194

I SEARCH, PROBE

TAN

sagu[!!, sagaB!

By hand, we probed behind a tree to search for a cave opening.

lEI hand 580 [E hole 194 [Ii tree 126

I THRUST, LUNGE, PROTRUDE

TOTSU tsukJ!

Big John lunged from the cave.

!""'I hole 194

Iii;' big 913

46

A body pulled from the cave ."",,,,,.rl extreme suHering.

~ hole 194 Ii3 body 459 EiiI pull 817

READINGS

A single kanji can hove multiple sounds or readings. Kanji were borrowed from China and used both for their phonetic values (the on-yomi, shown in capital letters), which shifted over time, and for words of native Japanese origin (the kun-yomi, shown in lowercase letters). Which reading to use for a character depends on context and what characters it is grouped with.

FOOD

tClbe mono

eat 232 thing 277

DINE

SHOKU JI

eal 232 acl 590

lONE O'CLOCK I

-

ICHI JI

one 897 lime 691

SIGHTSEEING

KEN BUTSU

see 543 Ihing 277

SPLENDID

mi goto

see 543 Ihing 590

BRIEF I

itt) toki

one 897 lime 691

201 - 206

F 00 D

Field & Plant

I RICE FIELD, PADDY 201 I

EE

DEN to

A rice field.

I WEALTH, RICHES

FU, FO

torni, tomu

Under whose roof will go the riches of the field?

~ roof 1144 e opening 566 IiiiI field 201'

I ABBREVIATE, OUTLINE

I MEDIATE, SHELL 2021

KAI

EEl I AREA, BOUNDARY 203 ,

~t- KAI

A surveyor wa!ks around the outline of each fie!d."

I~

IJ field 201

I FARM, DRY FIELD

hato, hotoke

[I fire 83

[I each 1209

." the boundaries of the field.

The paddy is burned dry and made into a field.

48

Two people mediate over ...

IJ person n-202 [I person n-202

EI field 201

Iii! mediate 202

[I field 201

,FIELD & PLANT

207 - 216

I!IDGE, EDGE .

HAN

aze

The ridges divide the paddy and hold in water.

Seedlings shoot up from the field.

~ grass 124

IiiI field 201

I TATAMI MAT, SIZE, FOLD, REPEAT 2091

JO

tatami, tata!J1!l

are for the field, not the

IiiI besides 182

[POISON

DOKU

Mom ate a poisonous plant!

Check on the growth of the wheat.

f"'I grow 214

IiiI slow progress 121 B

I TILL, PLOW

KO togoya~

A plow tiUs the soil well.

IJ plow n-212

[I weI! 0-212

I BIRTH, PRODUCE 2131

SAN

My garden produces plants.

f"'I stand 627

J.I.- I LIFE, BIRTH, GR~W 2141

::::t::. SEI, SHO

nama, iki!}!, umu, u~, ha~

A life.giving plant.

[) field 201 [I half 907 f"'I grow 214 Iiiil mother <146
[SEEDLING, SAPLING, SHOOT 2081 I BARLEY, WHEAT 211 I
I I A ~
B3

BYO,MYO • BAKU
nee, nawa mugi Jl.J.I- I SACRIFICE

1..:t SEI

A cow's life is sacrificed.

IJ cow 275

CI life 214

_IS_~_R 2_16_1

SEI, SHO

hoshi

The sun: a life-giving star,

f"'I sun 1 IiiI life 214

49

217-224

F OO,D

Rice

* I RICE, AMERICA SEI, MAl kame

Japan won't buy American rice.

,-I G;..:.R.;.;A..;.IN..;., .... P_AR ... T ... IC .... L .... E __ ...... __ 2 .... 1 B .... I 1 MATERIALS, MEASURE, CHARGE 221 Ii

RYO tsubu

In Japan, rice is bought at grain stands.

IJ rice 217

III stand 627

RYO

A ladle is used to measure the rice ..•...

[] rice 217

1",,1 P_RO ... V ... I .... SI_O .... N...;S,_F_O ... O_D .... 2_1 ..... 91 1 POWDER

RYO, RO kate

The town's daily food is rice.

[] rice 217

[ NEIGHBOR, ADJOIN

RIN tonari

III quantity n-219

I'll borrow rice from my neighbor on the adjoining hill.

FUN kana, ka

III measure SS6

Chop the rice into powder,

[] rice 217

III divide 1025

.. '. ::,:::'(: .... : ~

1 WORK, EARN MONEY 223 I it!

KA

koseS!!

Earning money to bring home rice .',

[] rice plant 231 CJl home 2611;

. ':'{

X I FRAGRANC~ INCENSE 2241 .••.•.• • ••• ~ ••

E~ KO,KAi\

kaoC!!/d ...

The fragrant rice dries in the sun.

13 hill 1094 [fl rice 217 [iii stop n-220 E"'I rice plant 23 i

iiiiiI sun 1

50

RIC E 225 - 231
@RAIN, CEREALS 225 ] I PRODUCT, PILE 228 I 1 COURSE, SECTION 2291
-.:elL * f~
*X


KOKU SEKI KA
tsu!!ll!/moru Hands wield axes to harvest the grains from the soil.

al soil 101 iD rice plant 231 fJ hand w/ax 792

[tRom, GAIN, EFFECT

Ri kih!_

We profit by cutting grain ...

IJ rice plant 231 [J knife 1037

01 lose 577

Our rice products earn a pile of money.

13 rice plant 231 rn grow 214 rn money 70B

Sort the grains of rice in a sectioned box.

[) rice plant 23 i

{]I measure 886

.... 1 H_A_RV_E_ST ........ _2 .... 30 ... 1 :fi

KAKU If:

At harvest time we feast on foul.

This rice plant radical repre5ents "grain."

51

232 - 239

FOOD

I LARGE BUILDING, HAll 2331 iJJC ISTARVE 2341 ~ I REAR, SUPPO~T

irg ,~ GA YO
u~ yoshino!!.
A starving body eats itself. I support myself by rearing sheep.
IJ eat 232 III self 450 El sheep 290 Iiiil eat 232
KAN
ilL I STARVE, HUNGER 235) ~
K!
Keep eating and you'll have to keep ueru
your butt in a large building. Food on the lable makes me hungry. Her speech lesson bears fruit.
13 food 323 [1l roof 1144 III buttocks 466 IJ food 232 III table 157 II] speak 840 III fruit 240 Eat

I FOOD, EAT 2321

o

SHOKU taberu, ku!!.

Eat a bowl of food.

52

J DRINK, SWALLOW

IN

nomu

A mouth opens wide to drink.

IJ eat 232

[J gaping mouth 553

HAN meshi

Cooked rice eaten in a cupped hand.

IJ eat 232

III turning hand n-237

EAT 240 - 248
I!RUIT, RESULT, CARRY OUT 240 I I JUICE, SOUP, LIQUID 2431 I CULTIVATE, GROW 2461
~ IT in

c
KA JO BAI
ha~, hotosu shiru Isuchika!,! Fruit from the trees in the field.

Ten parts water makes a good soup.

I grew a mouth-wcterinq tomato.

r!I field 201

~ tree 126

[] ten 906

113 soil 10) [J'l stand 627 Cll mouth 566

IJ waler 66

[VEGETABLE

SAl

no

241 I I SALT 2441 I COMPENSATE 2471
:I:i ~ Htr
;,0
EN SAl
shio I put Earth salt on my dish of eggs.

[was compensated with money ...

Vegetables grow between the grass and the trees.

~ grass 124 §l hand 609 Iii! tree 126

13 soil 101 [11 opening 566 Cll dish 265

13 money 70S [11 stand 627 Cll movth 566

I EGG, ROE

RAN tamago

eggs.

J DIVIDE, CUT UP

A tiny bowl of beans.

. .. when my tomato was cut up.

TQ,ZU

marne

In stand 627 iii] mouth 566 ED knife 1037

I BEANS, MINIATURE

I::.l \1

S3

249 - 256

F 0 0,0

Wine

«

I "WINE" 2491

A wine jar,

I ALCOHOL, SAKE 250 I

SHU sake, sako

Pour out the sake.

II] water 66 [J wine 249

~n I DRUNK, DIZZY

.;..a;.... SUI

. I YOQ

I get drunk after nine or ten bottles. 13 wine 249 [] nine 903 Oil ten 906

I FERMENT, YEAST

KO

I DISTRIBUTE

HAl kuboI;!

I'll distribute the wine personally.

[) wine 249

KOKU

[II me 445

The wine has a severe, harsh taste.

lEI wine 249 [] grow 214 [Q mouth 566

2521 I CURD, DAIRY PRODUCE 2531 I BOTTLE, JUG, JAR
~ M1i

RAKU BIN
kame The young wine needs yeast to ferment.

IJ wine 249

[]I piety 403

Jars of dairy products are left on

each doorstep. .

II] wine 249

[I each 1209

A bottle and a jug.

II] pair n-256

[J vessel n-256

54

WINE I TRAY

257- 265

@AIN, PROFIT, BENEFIT 257]

~ ,\ -.

''',YAKU A

mosu !!J!!h

In a profitable year my dish overflows.

EI water n-257

IIil dish 261

Tray

I DISH, BOWL, PlATE, TRAY 261 I

soroIITl

A bowl on a tray.

1,.;[f§.;.,RA_Y..;.,_BO_N_FE .... S .... TI ... VA .... l_ ........ _ ... 2 ... s .... al "",I S_T .... EA .... L 2 ... 6 ...... 21 I SERVE WINE, lADLE, SCOOP 2641

;~

rm

BON

A tray is used for cutting.

EI divide 1025

IiiI dish 261

TO

nusu!!!!!.

SHAKU ku!!!!!.

2591 I LIQUID MEASURE

iJIi,W I REWARD, TO~ST

1=1111 SHU

Drink a toast to the stale.

[II stote 56

:':--.::_:.":

i .•••. i. \i ~Jl.; I TRAY, BOWL, PLATE 260 I

................... 7'IJ:Jt BAN

..... ...ac.:.

ii Carry the tray. >.. EI corry 1182

IiiI dish 261

I cry over what'li be stolen nextmy dish!

Serve wine with a ladle.

~ next 553

IiiI dish 261

II] wine jor 249

[II lodle 265

2631 I lADLE, MEASURE

SHO

rncsu

SHAKU

Measure ten spoonfuls of liquid.

Measure liquid with a ladle.

[] person 362

[II ten 906

55

266- 274

W'O R L D

Meat

r:t.::l 1 MEAT, flESH

IA"J NIKU

This meaty steak serves !wo people.

1",,1 " ... Fl_ES_H ... , ... M .... EA ... T_" __ 2_67 ... 1 1=1 This radical can mean n either flesh 266 or moon 14 depending on the character it's in.

. I BE LIKE, BE LUCKY

SHO ayaka[!d

You'll be lucky if you get a little meat.

eI linle 926

IiiiI meat 267

I PARE, REDUCE

~IJ

SAKU kezu[!d

Pare the little piece of meat.

~ Httle 926 Ii'] meat 267 EI knife lO37

I EXTINGUISH, VANISH, CONSUME 270 I

5~ <:;;)
<;;)
SHO
ke!',!, kieru A little water extinguishes the burning meat.

11 water 66 []'I lillie 926 [iii meat 267

[ FAT, GREASE

SHI obura, yoni

The fat of the meat ...

II] meat 267

[I tasly 272

I SWEET, PRESUME UPON

KAN

a mall ~!yakasu

... is sweet.

I TASTY, GOOD, GIST

SHI

mune, umo]

I spoon tasty things into my mouth.

eI spoon n-273 IiiiI mouth n-273

BO

IJ meat 267

Trim the fat off the sides of !he

[I side 386

56

INTERESTING WORDS

"Fire-flower" bums a picture in your mind, while "flowering fire" is much more playful than the English "fireworks." Words like "interesting" and "genius" make you wonder how they came to be. Compounds like "adult" and "tomorrow" have assigned readings that can't be guessed at from their kanji. Di5butsu, "animal," at right, literally means "move thinq."

( FIREWORKS I

1t.*

hana bi

flower 116 fire 83

INTERESTING

omo

shire]

face 469 white 936

ADULT

otona

big 913 person 363

I SPARK I

*1t.

hi bona

fire 83 flower 116

GENIUS

KI

SAl

devil 645 talent 871

TOMORROW

asu

bright 8 sun,

275 -280

ANIMALS

Cow, Pig, & Sheep

4 [cow

GYO

ushi This is the cow with the crumpled horn.

I ~ASTURE

BOKU maki

Drive the cow to pasture.

IJ cow 27S

Ell strike 802

I THING

BUTSU, MOTSU

mono

To get milk you pull on the cow's thing.

I] cow 275

II thing n-277

I UNRAVEL, EXPLAIN, SOLVE

KAI,GE toku

A cow's horn explains .0 lot about its life.

13 horn 260 ~ knife 1023 Oil cow 275

I "PIG" 2791

This means pig when used as on element.

I HORN, ANGLE, CORNER

KAKU tsuno, kodo

A horn bends at on angle.

58

COW, PIG, & SHEEP

281 - 290

QlOUSE, SPECIALIST

KA, KE ie, yo

281 ) I PIG,HOG 2851 I CHASE, PURSUE
~ ~
TON CHIKU
buto OQ
We use a pig for its meat. In pursuit of a pig. A sty is a house for pigs.

f'!'l roof 1144

g pig 279

[GROUP, FLOCK

GUN murc, mu@!reru

The lord of the sheep attends his flock.

IJ lord 417

fli¥ I FRESH, VIVID, ClEAR 2831

"'\ SEN

azo~

Fine fresh fish.

IJ fish 354

[] sheep 290

'§'~ I DETAILED

~-1t- SHO

kuwoshii

His was a detailed speech on sheep.

IJ word 640 [] sheep 290

IJ meat 267

[J pig 279

[] pig 279

IJ move 1153

I GOOD FORTUNE, OMEN

I SHEEP, FINE, PRAISEWORTHY 290 I

YO hit$uji

SHO

Sheep are fine assets.

A sheep is sacrificed on the altar to bring good fortune.

[) altar 696

[] sheep 290

~ I BEAUTIFUL, FINE 2871

~._--- ......

."", BI

utsukushii

Big beautiful sheep.

E'l sheep 290 Iii! big 913

~ I ARRIVE, WEAR

~I§§I CHAKU

tsuku, kit\,!

I like to wear wool myself. E'l sheep 290 self 542

291 - 294

ANIMALS

Horse

I HORSE

umo,ma

SA

A horse lies on its side.

This tends to look

more like Q horse, if you picture it on its side.

I STOP, STAY

CHO

A horse stays by his master.

1.1 horse 291

60

[] master 734

2921 I NOISE, DISTURBANCE 2931 I SURPRISE
~I -
s6 KYO
sawagy.!gashii odorobdkasu The horse is disturbed bya snake.

Surprise a horse with a stick and it will respect you.

Il horse 291 11I strike 802 rn snake 31 i

EI respect 295

'iiiij horse 291

H 0 R S E

295 - 303

~ESPECT

KEI

uyamaJd

I'll beat some respect into you.

IJ humility n-295 [II strike 802

[WARN, REPROACH

KEI

He warned me of the hand with the stick.

a respect 295

Iiiil speak 640

I EXAMINE

KEN

j SWORD, BAYONET

~IJ

KEN tsurugi

. .. checks his sword ...

IJ all n-297

[II sword 1023

I INVESTIGATE

KEN

... and investigates behind trees ...

IJ tree 126

[II all n-297

I STEEP, SEVERE, PERILOUS

KEN kewoshil

A good scout examines his horse ... . .. before making camp in the steep and perilous hills.

[J all n-297

IJ hill 1094

[II all n-297

I STATION

EKI

Load the horse at the station .

IJ horse 291

[] measure 884

! RIDER

KI

IJ horse 291

A strange rider mounts ...

[] strange 179

I PACK HORSE, POOR QUALITY

DA

... but the poor pack horse keels under the weight of the fat man.

Il horse 291

[I fat 914

61

ANIMA"S

304 - 310

3051 I BARBARIAN 3081
7JF.

.!:I:l
BAN I FIREFLY

Bugs

KE! holoru

(INSECT, WORM 3041

His barbaric smell is attracting bugs.

Firefly: a radiant insect.

El red 929

E'I fire n-305

Iiiil insect 304

Iiiil insect 304

CHO rnushi

I MOSQUITO

I IMPURE, TURBID, VOICED

A bug.

DAKU nigomhl!.

ko

A textbook case of mosquito bites.

Use a net to rid the impure water of insects.

13 water 66 rn net 987

IJ insect 304

[J text 834

I COCOON 3071
I I ~
miJ lIil
KEN
moyu SHOKU furem, sowam

In the grass, an insect made a cocoon of thread.

I!I grass 124 Iii3 thread 964 Ell insect 304

An insect's hornlike antennae: "feelers."

IJ horn 280

[J insect 304

BUGS / SNAKES & BIRDS

311 - 3J7

Inset:' 304 originally came from a drawing of a snake and in some kanii carries the meaning snake.

[SNAKE, SERPENT

jA, DA hebi

He fell when bit by a snake.

13 sncke 311 [ll roof 1144 at person n-312

Snakes & Birds

IBIRD 3141

,~

CHO tori

A bird in a nest ...

I ... N_O_N_._HU_M_A .... N_C_R ... Y_3 ... 15 .... '1l ~ MEl

nahi.!ill '''~

. .. cries out.

[] mouth 566

[J bird 314

iSTRONG 3131 I ISLAND
~~ A%
KYO, GO TO
tsuyoi shima [I pull $17

A strong snake can pull with its tail.

() snoke 311

A bird Hies above the island mountains.

il mountain 167

LI bird 31A

I CRANE, STORK

KAKU

tsuru

The crane is next to another bird.

IJ heron 331

[J bird 3lA

63

318 -322

A N I M'A L S

I SEPARATE, LEAVE

Plumcqe

RI hanareru/,g;

Only birds can leave from the cliffs that separate us.

III oriole n-31 a

[]I bird 3)9

I "BIRD" 3191

Used only as a part of other characters, this means bird.

I SCORCH

320 I

SHO kog&.!]i/ gQg!, Qse[ll, jireru

Scorched foul.

l""l bird 319

IiiiI fire 82

I BE EXCITED, STIR

FUN furu!,!

A big scarecrow stirs up and excites the bird in the field.

~ big 913 §l bird 319 !iii! field 201

I SNATCH, CAPTIVATE

DATSU ubo!,!

A big bird is snatched by the man with the gun.

~ big 913 §l bird 319 !iii! inch 759

64

PLUMAGE

323 - 330

[WASH, RINSE

TAKU

A bird washing its wings.

lEI wafer 66 [ill wings 330 [II bird 319

[WING

YOKU tsuboso

She wears a strange mask and wings.

~ wings 330

I0Il strange 335

83 I DIFFER, STRANGE

*

katana£!! A strange, masked girl.

~ field 201 I0Il together 383

~!1llEARN' TRAIN_ SHU norog

White wings mean you need training.

IiiiiI white 936

I FLY, JUMP

Birds fly south.

HI tabu

I NEXT (TIME}

YOKU

I FLAP, CHANGE

HON hirugoeI!!.h.!!.

"See you next time, J've gotta fly."

A bird flapping its wings over the rice field.

1'!J rice 231 III field 201 EJ wings 330

I0Il stand 627

65

a wings 330

[ FEATHER, WING

U

ha, hone

Wing feathers.

331 - 334

ANIMALS

Heron

I "HERON"

This element means heron.

66

I WATCH, OBSERVE

KAN

Bird watching.

IIJ heron 331

(]I watch 543

, ENCOURAGE, ADVISE

KAN

SUSUlillilll

Encourage heron preservotion.

I[J heron 331

(]I power 745

I REJOICE, MERRY

KAN yorokobu

Rejoice and sing like a bird.

I[J heron 331

III gaping mouth 553

HERON / DOG

335 - 342

KEN inu

A big, spotted dog.

~ spot n-J35

[B"EAST, ANIMAL

JU kelduJmono

The mask of a beast.

III big 913

[II dog 338

MO

child bravely touches the dog's dish.

[Il child 447 CliI dish 261

Dog

I "DOG" 3381

This element means dog.

I PROTECT 33911 .... H .... U_N_T ........ __ 3_40 ... 1

SHU, SU

SHU kart/!:!!

mamo!:!!

){~I "" H_U .... N ... T_IN_G __ .... 3_4 .... 1 I

1Jf\ RYO

A man protects the house ...

El roof 11M

Iiiil inch 759

.. , and hunts with his dog. IJ dog 338

[II protect 335

They go hunting For birds ... IJ dog 45 [J leap n-34 I

I CATCH, SEIZE, GET 3421

.. , usually catching one in the grass.

113 dog 338

[Il grass 124 + bird 319 CliI hand 580

[ FIERCE, RAGING, BRAVE

67

343 - 346

ANIMALS

I DEER

ROKU shlko

A deer with antlers.

Forest Animals

I BEAUTIFUL

REI uruwoshii

A pair of eyes admires the beautiful deer.

El group 11-344

IiiiI deer 343

I ~EPHANT

zo, SHO

A big-eared elephant.

I DRAMA, INTENSE

GEKI

68

A tiger vs. a pig with swordplay is an intense drama.

I'IJ tiger 353 III pig 279

GYAKU shiita~

The tiger's cruel, oppressive paw ...

[l tiger 353

Iii hand n-347

EQREST ANIMALS

350 I .... 1 S_K ... IN ........ 3_51 ..... 1

GI tawamumt\!

FU hada

The circus tiger plays around the fire. A tiger rips open a man's skin and eats his guts.

In tiger 353 III play 0-350 ED halberd 801 [l tiger 353

Iii stomach 0-351

[SAPTIVE, PRISONER OF WAR 3481 I._T .... IG .... ER 3 .... 52 ... '

RYO toriko

... guards the prisoner of war ...

[l tiger 353

[iii man 419

I fEAR, ANXIETY

GU osore

'" and this gives the prisoner's wife anxiety.

[iii give 834

I "TIGER" 3531

KO tara

This element means tiger.

A tiger with gaping jaws .

[l tiger 353 [iii tiger 0-352

347 - 353

69

354 - 361

ANIMAL$

Sea Creatures

I DRAGON

RYU, RYO rotsu

A roaring dragon.

I ATTACK

SHU

oso!,!

The dragon attacks by burning clothing .

1""1 dragon n-359 \iii' clothing 1021

".:J!z:. I WATERFALL ...

IE@., taki

The waterfall roars like a dragon.

IJ water 66 [)1 dragon 35$

{B-L ..... 1 W .... H_A_L_E _.a

n\'IJl GEl

kujira

The whale is a capital fish!

IJ fish 354 [I capitol 1077

I FISH

GYO

uo, sakana

I caught four fish ...

I FISHING 3551

GYO, RYO

... salt-water fishing. Il water 66 [J fish 354

1 .... :f .... 9 .... RT .... O_IS_E, ... T_UR_T_LE __ ....... _3_56 .... 1 I SHElL, ARMOR, HIGH, 1ST

357 ]

KO, KAN k6ro

KI kame

The turtle wears a shell.

A turtle's shell is its armor.

70

REPEATING KANJI

A word for "peop!e" in Japanese is hitabita, shown at right. The upper kanji is hito 363, PERSON. The lower chorccter is a graphic device similar to ditto marks n in English, indicating that the previous character is repeated. Sometimes, the pronunciation of the second character is changed slightly to make it easier to say.

[ SOMETIMES

~4

toki doki

lime 691 (X2)

VARIOUS

iro iro colors 927 (X2)

INCREASINGly:I

masu masu

gain 257 (X2)

GRAND

DO DO

hall 1130 (X2)

WE

ware ware

self 794 (X2)

[ A LITTLE BIT

~4

SHO SHO

few 925 (X2)

362 - 367

People

I MEET

I PERSON

A

KAI, E OQ

JIN, NIN hito

I "PERSON" 362

A person toki ng 0 step.

I'll meet a personal friend on a cloudy day.

This is the radical for person.

a person 363

Iii' cloud 54

I EXPATRIATE

The expatriate ...

IJ person 157 [J tower n-366

I BRIDGE 3671

ft

I SCARCE, DESTITUTE 365 I

BO toboshii

KYO hoshi

.. , crossed the wooden bridge.

IJ tree 157

[J lower n-366

The destitute person stands alone.

!!'!! person 362 Iii' pcth n-365

72

PEOPLE 368 - 373

~ENEVOLENT, HUMANITY 3681 I SUBMIT, FOLLOW, LIE DOWN 3691 I RANK, EXTENT 370 I
i= 1~ 11L


JIN, NI FUKU
fUi\!/~ kuroi This benevolent person cares for two people.

The dog lies down before its master.

A person of lower rank bows to a person of higher standing.

II person 362

(J two S9S

CI dog 335

(] person 362

[I stand 627

(] person 362

I SERVE, WORK, DO 372 I

I REACH, EXTEND 373 I "&

KYO

oyoQI/bu /bosu

Reach out and extend an open hand.

(] person 362 [J hand n-373



SHI, JI tsuko!!IQ

Th is person serves the samurai.

(] person 362 [] samurai 753

I LOAD, BURDEN

371 I

KA ni

[] what? n-371

73

374 - 378 P E OP L E
I CHANGE 3741 [ PRINCIPLES, ETHICS
1t ~ 1iia
KA,KE R!N
bakeru DAI, TAl kaytQ[jd/eru, yo

A young person changes into a seated old man.

People in Washington have big principles and few ethics.

Every generation must pay its dues.

II] person 362

(J fallen person n-374

[]I order n-375

II] person 362

(J halberd 80 I

[) person 362

[ HERMIT, WIZARD 3771

SEN

I SEAT, SIT, GATHER

A hermit lives in the mountains.

ZA

[) person 362 []I mountain 167

suwom Two people sit on the ground floor. IJ bUilding 1143 (J soil + person (x21 101

PEOPLE

379 - 385

CHO naka

I'm in the middle of a personal relationship.

(J middle 954

KYO, KU

tome, sonaeru

The attendant greets ...

(J together 383

I ASSIST, ASSISTANT

SA

"Lefty" here is my assistant.

II] person 362

[]I left 601

J EQUIP, PREPARE 3841

BI sona~/Yl'2!:\!

I am prepared for the cliff dwellers.

IJ person 362 []

I .... T_O_G_ET ... H ... ER 3 ... 83 .... 1 :I±.

KYO ; "-

tomo .,.

... the couple traveling together.

I ATTEND (UPON)

JI samurai, hobeDl

The samurai attends this temple.

IJ person 362

[] temple 685

USE

YO

!'II use this fence to keep them out,

machiiru

75

PEOPLE

386- 391

I RELEASE, EMIT

Person

HO hana§.!1/tsu

This person was released after being beaten.

[I strike 802

IJ person 386

PERSON, SIDE, WAY, DIRECTION, SQUARE 386

I SIDE, BESIDES

HO keto

BO

katowora

The person points in that direction.

Put it beside that standing person.

13 person 362 []'I stand 627 [liI person

I FLAG

I PERfORM, CHARITY

HO

olozu@.!1!. tozuneru

SHit SE hadaka§.!1

KI hoto

A drama is performed for charity.

I asked him directions during my visit.

A person waves a flag.

rl flag n-387

rl flag n-387

II) speak 840

[j device n-387

[] person 366

[j creature n-102

76

PERSON / POPULACE

392 - 399

1ff

TEl hikuj

A person comforts a family member who is low.

13 person 362 CIl family 396 III one 897

[TO REACH, RESIST, OPPOSE

TEl

A hand reaches out for a resistant family member.

CIl lam ily 396 [II one 897

tt

HI kurall!lli!

are always compared.

siHing person n-374 [J sitting person 0-374

Populace

PEOPLE, POPULACE

395

MIN lami

There are no people with big heads ...

I ClAN, fAMILY, MR 3961

SHI uji

. .. in my family.

J+.r7 I RESIDENCE, MANSION 398 I

!:\IJ TEl

My family resides in a mansion.

!rJ family 396 Ii[] one 697 EI hill 1094

tit I CRIT"',., SJR~~, PASS 3991

A hand strikes out at the sit-in.

A multitude of descendants sit under the sun.

~ sun 394

IiiiI compare 394

IJ hand 580

[J compare 394

77

400-404

PEOPLE

I "BURDENS" 4021 If you're not industrious, I'll beat
you with a stick.
:;tL (] child 447 [I strike 801

~ ITEACH 4041
This elemenf
means KYO
burdens. oshieru
I'll teach piety to you with this stick.
IJ piety 403 [II strike 802 Peop'le's Burdens

~ ! FILIAL PIETY _ ~ KO

The burden a child bears: filial piety.

EI burden 402 iii! child 447

78

!INDUSTRIOUS

. 400 I

! GOVERNMENT OFFICE, SIGN

SHI

The big eye of government watches the ever-burdened people.

EI net 987

iii! person 408

+ y.

o o

PEOPLE'S 8 U it DEN S 405 - 410
4051 I COOK, SOil 4061 I TORTURE, HIT 4071
~ ~ t~
;\',
SHO SHA GO
otsuj ni@/2f.!!/~ Carrying a heavy burden in the sun makes you hot.

A burdensome bag of victuals is cooked in the fire.

~ sun 1

liiil person 408

e person 4()B

Ii2l fire 82

I PERSON

SHA

mono

Every person has burdens to carry.

1""'1 burden 402 Iiil sun 1

He is beaten and tortured for being inconsiderate.

() hand 580

CI consider 409

~ I CONSIDER _ ~ KO

kongo2f.!!

I sometimes stop to consider ...

I AGED MAN, TO GROW OLD 410 I

RO oi,oi[!J

... if these burdens will crush me as 1 grow old.

79

(;: ,)

: ,:::_::;:

411-415

PI:iOPLE

Woman &Man

I NOISY t IMMORAL

~ I_W_O_M_A_N 4_11~1

~ JO,NYO,NYO

onnc, me

KAN

knshimoshil

." tends to be noisy in groups.

This woman '"

!!I woman 411 i3 woman 411 Eil woman 411

80

GO

She takes pleasure in giving advice ...

IJ woman 411

[J give 835

I BEGIN, FIRST

SHI

he ji!M.!1!./!UQ!1!

... but is the first to open her mouth ...

13 woman 4 Jl []I self 4 Jl

I FIGURE, SHAPE

~~~

SHI ~.

sugata ~

. " and cry over her figure.

I!""I next 555

Iiiil woman 411

,WOMAN & MAN

416 - 421

[tAAKE FUN OF, TEASE, RIDICULE 416)

is

nabu!:,!

Two women tease a man from both sides.

D woman (X1, 411 [I) man Jl9

I LORD, YOU, MR. 4171

A tycoon with a cigar.

1:1 hand w/stick n-417 [iii mouth 566

Many characters containing the elements for "woman" and "man" reflectthe

times in which they

were created.

j MAN, MALE 4191

DAN,NAN otoko

A man works in the field.

I"'l field 201 IiIl power 745

I MALE, POWERFUL 4181 I MANLY, STRONG 420 I I VILLA, MANOR, MAJESTIC 4211
~i tt I I


yO so SO, SHO
osu, 0- Falconry is a sport for powerful males.

[] bird 319

The samurai shows his strength.

The samurai strikes a majestic pose on the [awn of his villa.

[] big n- 420

[] sam ura i 753

I"'l grass 124

IiIl manly 420

81

82

422 - 427

PEOPLE

Marriage

I MARRIAGE 4221

!N

If you're too dependent, marriage will box you in.

II] woman 66

1JI depend n-422

I WOMAN, WIFE 4231

FU

A wife is a woman holding a broom.

[) woman 411

1JI hand w /broom 1052

I WIFE

SA!

tsuma

The wife is handed a broom.

15 woman 411

I CONTACT, JOIN

SETSU tsugy

IiiiI hand w/broom 1052

His hand reaches out to join hers.

13 hand 1052 rn stand 627 {] woman 411

.::::(z:. I MISTRESS

-:!f;1::: mekake

A man slands by his mistress.

15 stand 627

SHO

IiiiI woman 411

-hlj' I EXQUISITE, O~D

~~ MYO

This woman is a little odd.

Il woman 411 [J lime 924

MARRIAGE

KA yorne, totsu9J,!

The house of the bride looks like a pigsty.

(] wOman 411

[J house 281

[ RESTFUL, EASE, CHEAP

AN yasui/.!.!l9I!!

A woman under the roof makes for cheap labor.

IiiiI woman 411

I BANQUET

EN utoge

The woman gave us everything under the sun at the banquet.

1!3 sun 1 Iiil woman 411

I PEACE, SETTLED

DA

A woman's hand brings peace.

E'l hand 580

Iiil woman 411

I AUTHORITY, THREATEN

odo~

CI halberd 801

The woman threatens Hal's authority.

iii woman 411

I MARRIAGE

A person sits on a hopechest next

to a woman, waiting for marriage. 13 woman 411 ce family 396 rn sun I

428-436

I HUSBAND, MAN

FU, FO

otto

Her husband wears a hairpin.

f* I HelP, SUP~:T

A husband lends a helping hand.

IJ hand 580 [] husband 434

m. I STANDARD, ~EASURE 4361 look to the husband as the standard.

IJ husband 434

[] watch 543

83

437 -442

P E 0 P L E,

Family

I FATHER

FU chichi

A father picks up his child.

I ELDER BROTHER

[ YOUNGER BROTHER

KEI, KYO ani

TEl, DAI, DE ot5to

An elder brother is a mouth on two legs.

My snot-nosed younger brother.

1""1 mouth 566

IiiiI legs 0-436

84

My older sister lives in the city.

My immature younger sister lives in the country.

A family's coat of arms is displayed on a flag.

I ELDER SISTER

SHI

one

IJ woman 4ll

I YOUNGER SISTER

MAl im5to

IJ woman 411

I CLAN, FAMILY

ZOKU

[] flog n-387

[J city IOB4

[J immature 144

[i arrow SIS

FAMILY

443 - 449

[EACH, EVERY

MAl ·goto

Every person has a mother.

1""1 person 363

Ii!I mother 446

The grandchild is my descendant.

[I child 363

[I lineage 977

II, ME, SELF,YOU

KO, KI

onore

I, myself, knee! before you.

I MOTHER

BO haha

A woman's nipples become dark during motherhood.

I CHILD

SHI, SU ko

A child ...

I LIKE, GOOD, FINE

KG

suht, konaffiQ/mashii

... likes to be held by a woman.

IJ woman 411

[J child 447

':¥L I BREASTS, MIL~ NYU chichi, chi

A woman holds a child to her breast. I!l hand 609 1[1 en ild 447 EI breast fl-449

PEOPLE,

I STAND, PLATFORM

I "SElF"

Self ""',\,\

tA

In Japan, a person indicates him- or herself by pointing to the nose the way Westerners point to the chest.

R~ ._IW_OM_B 45 ...... 1 I

n...... TAl

§"I:\ I ACCUSE, SUE 4531

riA SHO

Wombs are flesh-launching platforms.

[] flesh 267 [I platform 455

I sued him for his public accusation.

[] speak 840 [I public 457

=~ I DISCUSSION 452 )

ii~ GI

+ I ! I, PRIVATE, PERSONAL 4541

'rA SHI

wala{ku)$hi

I keep a personal supply of rice.

We had a righteous discussion.

[] speak 849

IJ rice plant 231

[I righteou$ness 794

[I self 450

DAI, TAl

He's sitting on the platform by himself.

I"'l self 450

IIiI mouth 566

I SPlIT

This element means splitting or dividing.

~"} I PUBLIC, FAIR, LORD KO oyoke

Split open the self and make it public_

I"'l split 456 IIiI self 450

SHO

rnotsu

The pine tree is in public perks.

IJ tree 126 [I public 457

LOOK-ALIKE KANJI

In a writing sys~em that uses more than 2,000 characters it is not surprising that some character~ look very similar. (Imagine the difficulty of Chinese: one dictionary lists more than 48,000 characters.) The kanji karada 134, BODY, at right can easily be mistaken for yasumi 138, REST. Note the horizontal line within the riqhf-hond element of BODY.

1 BODY 13411 REST 1381 I SUBMIT 3691

karada

yasumi

fu~

I COME 1219 I .. I T_IP __ 14 ... 5 ... 1 I NOT YET 144 I

***

kuru

sue

mada

... 1 B_IG __ 9_13..,.1 ... 1 F_AT __ 9_14..,.11 DOG 335 I

okii

futoi

inu

BODY

459-462

Body

I "BODY"

F

I BODY

This element can mean body, and sometimes appears as a miscopying of DOOR 1113.

SHIN mi

I URINE

A corpulent body.

NYO

Urine drops from a bent-over body.

Cl body 460

[j water 57

NO

An evil brain thinks only of the

13 flesh 267 I1l hand 611 [jjj evil 647

88

BODY

463 - 471

CBUTTOCKS"

This element means buttocks.

I "BUTTOCKS"

I FACE, ASPECT, MASK

MEN

ornate, orno, tsura

A mask covers his face.

4641 I GOVERNMENT, OFFICIAL 4671 I NOSE 470 I
rg ~

§II!
KAN BI
hona [TAKE, GRASP, BUNDLE

HA

to[!!, ·wa

() hand S80

A hand grasps a buttocks.

[J bUllocks 463

I FATTEN, ENRICH

HI kO~!)::!lliI

A fattened, fleshy buttocks.

IJ flesh 267

[J buttocks 463

This element also means buttocks.

Government officials in the House are asses.

I!'l roof 1144

• buttocks 466

A pig sticks its nose in a field of gross.

~ self 542 8 field 201 Iil grass 124

I LAUGH, SMILE 471 I

~ .~fw

w,,~:<:.. 'ft.._

A moustache and a big smile.

I!'l bamboo 123

\lit big 913

I ARM, ABILITY, ELBOW

KO hiji

A fleshy arm.

IJ flesh 267

[J elbow rl-418

89

472 - 477

BOD Y

Flesh & Bone

I BONE

KOTSU hone

A bone protrudes from the flesh.

I!'I vertebrae 474 [iii flesh 267

I SKIN, TEXTURE, GRAIN 4731

~n

KI hodo

The skin covers the flesh.

IJ flesh 267 [] desk n-157

I "VERTEBRA" 4741 This element means vertebra.

I TORSO, TRUNK, BODY

DO

-:lf~

t ~ ~ J ~ ,

· .. , .......

· ..

· ... ~.

IJ flesh 267

He has the same fleshy torso as always.

I INTESTINE

CHO

horawato

KATSU stJbeGl, nameraka

A wet, slippery bone.

IJ waler 66

[I same 689

The meat I ate wasn't easy on my intestines.

13 flesh 267 1.l'I sun 1

[Jl bone 472

90

F L E S H & BON E 478 -484
478J I VEIN, PULSE 4821 I BACK, STATURE, DEFY 4831
Jlm ::I1::t
F9
MYAKU HAl
se, sei, somubi.!~ @:lEST, BREAST, HEART

KYO

mune, muna

A cross-your-heart bra supports fleshy breasts.

IJ flesh 267 [J lungs n-478

[P"LACENT A, WOMB

HO

The flesh of the womb protects the child.

Il flesh 267

[J protect 944

kJr I MUSClE, SINEW 480 J

JlfJ :

Muscles as sinewy as bamboo.

/!, bamboo ,23 lii3 flesh 267 @ power 745

I SWELL, BULGE

eHO

fukuramu!~ long, bulging muscles.

(] flesh 267 [J long 9)5

Veins are little streams in the flesh.

Two professors sit back to back and defy each other.

IJ flesh 267

El north n-483

IiiiI' flesh 267

ClI river 55

I SHOULDER

KEN Koto

like a door on a hinge, the arm swings from the shoulder.

[j door 1113 Iii flesh 267

91

485 - 490

BOD Y

Skin

, SKIN, LEATHER

HI kawa

A hand scrapes the skin.

[LEATHER, REFORM 4851

KAKU kawa

A leather hide.

I OPEN, DISCLOSE

HI

A hand pulls back the skin to disclose the innards.

II] hand 580

[) skin 486

iSHOE

KA kutsu

Change your old leather shoes.

(] leather 485

[J change 374

I BREAK, TEAR

HA

yabu!Q/!:.@!!!.

I broke open my skin on a rock.

II] rock 190 [) skin 486

tsuka!:.@!!!.

So tired, only skin holds me together,

[j sick 655 Iii ski n 486

92

SKJN /,TOOTH, FANG, & CLAW

491 - 496

I "FANG" 492 ,

This element means fang.

SHI ho

Bits of rice get stuck in your teeth.

a stop 1205 IiiiI rice 217

tsume

Tooth, Fa n 9, & C I aw'W'WHh,hOCPnaU,

IAGE 4941 I ELEGANCE, TASTE 4951 I PINCH, GRASP 4961
~ ft flIt
REI GA s6
tsumo!'I1!i,
tsunelJ,! The aged ma n ordered some new teeth.

Sink your fangs into a tasty bird.

Hands that pinch, claws that grasp.

[] tooth 491

IIJ fang 492

[] bird 319

IIJ hond 580

[J order n-494

[I dow 493

93

497 - 502

~ 0 D v.

Heart

~,i'J. I FLOW, SECRETE

,!r,\ HITSU, HI

Blood flows from a stabbed heart.

[] water 66

(J necessarily n-497

I "HEART" 4981

SHIN kokoro

This form of the heart radical looks like bood rushing through one's veins. It often suggests feelings.

My feelings come from the core of my heart.

94

I started out on a pleasant hike.

I DECIDE, SETTLE, COLLAPSE

After a while I decided to settle down before I collapsed.

I SUDDEN, EMERGENCY, HURRY 5021

§

Il!,,'

Suddenly, I grasped my heart. It was an emergency.

~ crouch n-502 8 ha nd 597 ~ heart 499

I PLEASANT, CHEERFUL

KAI kokoroyo]

[] heart 498

KETSU kimaru/J:lliill!

IJ water 66

KYO iso9!1, seh!

[] pull apart n-500

[] pull a part n-500

KA!, KE ayashii /shimu

H EAR T

It's a mystery who stabbed the

13 heart 499 [] hand 600 ail soil 101

HI kanashi i! shimu

I BLOOD 5061

KETSU chi

He's bloody.

5041 I GRIEVE, MOURN 5071 I ENDURE, STEALTH 510 I
'I~ ~
IG\

TO NIN
ilamu shinobu My heart is not happy, but sad.

fU kowo]

Iiil heart 498

5051

Fear spread through our hearts.

[I spread 1008

Our hearts will grieve and mourn the deceased.

(] heart 498

Can you endure a blade in your heart?

[J table 508

~ blade 1024

Iiil heart 499

! TABLE, EXCEL, HIGH 5081 TAKU

± I WILL, INTENT 511 I

11'\ " SHI

......, kckorozcshl, kokorozcg;

His heart has the will of a samurai.

503 - 512

~ up 942

Set the table for the wake.

1.5 so murai 753

Iiiil heart 499

'Ii

13 sun 1

~ ten 906

=± I RECORD, JOURNAL 5121

tile, SHI

! SEX, NATURE

SEI, SHO

saga

It's his nature to express his feelings.

IJ heart 499 (J life 214

The samurai recorded his speech.

13 speak 840 [] samurai 753 III heart 499

95

513-518

Love

BO D Y ,

E'l red 65

His heart's filled with love.

IiOiI heart 498

I LOVE, BELOVED 513 )

REN koi, koishii

KAN

wozurog

I LOVE

AI

Unless you uncover your heart, love'S progress is slow.

t;'J hand 609 el heart 499 fiil progress n-516 •.•.....

I THINK

5171ii

SHI

ornoj,

E"! field 201

Thinking involves both the heart and brain.

'~

ETSU

Shout for joy.

[] heart 498

Iiii' heart 499

[J brother 438

I ANXIOUS, DISEASE, BE ILL

I LOYALTY, DEVOTION

CHU

He is so anxious his heart is tied in knots.

E'l pierce n-514

My loyalty comes straight from the middle of my heart.

iiil heart 499

E'l middle 954

iiil heart 499

96

DO iko!]!, okolJ!

LOVE / HATE

519- 524

His heart filled with rage ...

DO yclsu, yokko

IiiiI heart 499

... he beats the slave woman.

fl hand 600

I COMPOSED, DISTANT

yO

Composed, a person behind a wall watches the beating from a distance. IS person 362 E!! strike 802 '* heart .99

Hat

I BAD, HATE

AKU, 0 woru]

A bad heart, full of hatred.

E'I Asia 1082 IiiiI hea rt 491

I INDIGNANT, ANGRY

! ANGRY, IN ILL HUMOR

FUTSU

FUN ikido@

The crowd becomes angry about money.

13 heart 498 111 ten (X3) 906 III money 70B

The blood of his heart boils and gushes with anger.

IJ heart 498

[I boil 0-78

97

525 -529

Had, Neck, & Hair

BOD Y

1 "HEAD" (PAGE] 5251

KETSU

peii

As an element, this means heael, It is a rarely used character meaning page.

1 TROUBLE, PAIN TORMENT

HAN, BON wazurag/washii

I am tormented by a fire in my head,

[] fire 83

[] head 525

I SEQUENCE, COMPLIANCE

Iii ~j(

16" 'I R-E-CE-IV-E-, -TO-P---S2---'sliF.ii 8 CHO

., " itadoki, itadak\!

I got a nail in the top of my head.

[] exact lOS9 CI head 525

JUN

The sequence: shampoo head, rinse in river,

[] river 55

[I head 525

fji!i I HEAD, TO~~~::RT 529 'iii .

~.R alamo, kashira'i .••....•• That's using your bean, er, head!

[J bean 245 [II head 525

98

GAKU ago

His jaw hangs from his head.

[) head 530

~ ~IN_E_CK 5_3~11

a SHU

kubi

A neck X-ray,

HE,AD1 NECK, & HAIR

I HAIR

MO ke

Hair in a comb,

I TAIL

BI

o

530 - 537

A tail is often a tuft of hair.

[j body 460

[iii hair 532

I WAY, ROAD

DO, TO rnichi

Which way in this neck of the woods?

I:J move 1153

[!I!! neck 525

.. ~ I GUIDE, lEAD 5351

~ mic~~ibi

Lead the way, inch by inch. ~ way 53~ IiiiI inch 534

~ l;h~AI~" (DELICATE} h 5~61

,.. IS e ement means arr,

delicate, or attractive.

I HAIR (OF THE HEAD)

HATSU komi

long hair is a girl's best friend.

1!3 long 915 ~ hair 536 Iilil friend 599

99

538 ~ 544

8 OD Y

Eye

I EYE

MOKU, BOKU

me, rno-

An eye looks through a keyhole.

100

KAN . miL\!.

I shade my eye to look.

a hand 579

Iiiiiii eye 538

I SLEEP, FALL ASLEEP, SLEEPY 540 I

MIN nemul/ct/!J1

The eyes of the people are sleepy.

IJ eye 538

[J people 395

I MINISTRY, OMIT, EXAMINE 541 I

SEI, SHO habu@, kaerimiru

E"l few 924

The ministry's examination will omit a few things.

Iiiiiii eye 538

JI, SHI mizukor.g

The eye is the window to your self.

a nose n~542

g eye 538

KEN miL\!./~/!l.Q1

Looking on your hands and knees.

EI eye S3e

g bent legs n-543

SHI miD!

Get on your hands and knees when looking upon the altar.

IJ altar 696

[J look 543

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