eT O:'GRAPHIX OVER 1,000 JAPANESE KANJI AND KANA MNEMONICS, Michael Rowley | |] tally, CaoContents INTRODUCTION KANA .. The Sun ... The Moon The Day 20 Tine ae) Wind, Rain, & ‘Clouds see 2h Woter Wosh . Fire... Mouniains & Vale Sones Cave (CHAPTER 2: FOOD csessrestseneesrenens Field & Plant ae Rice FT en nnnrnr ence 52 Wine nnn 54 Tray ene 55 Met. 56 ‘CHAPTER 3: ANIMALS . ‘Cow, Pig, & Sheep . Hors0 onsen 60 Bligh cicero aan a2 Snakes & Birds. 63 Plumage .. 64 Heron’ on 66 DOG oven 107 Forest Animals son 6B Sea Creatures 70 CHAPTER 4: PEOPLE sarsenssrnenennetnene 71 People 2 arsonist eaten aattctaadis deere 7a POpUIDCE nn 7 People’s Burdens ... 7 Woman & Man oon. 80 Ma (rtage Snceuiusaneiaitenntcittceinnst RZ Family retort epee | Self : 86 CHAPTER 5: BODY sessessnnensnnnnmenees 87 Body 88 Flesh & Bone ... . 90 SiN oss : % Tooth, Fang, & Claw 3 Heart. oa love a ones 9 Hote n 7 Head, Neck, & Hoir — %8 Eye 100 Bart sntiriaer 101 Mouth 102 Hand 104 HOU Me greiccoaeeeen sett e ralenut nana TOT,CONTENTS Reach “ seeseeenee 108 Give 109 leg 10 Stand n2 CHAPTER 6: SPIRIT na SPAR iach cesieteaanisei aed fal esau eee Seg Dead Bodies ... a alanis cetacean PO Post 120 Temple 122 Shrine 123 Religion 124 CHAPTER 135 Money on : 126 Wealth snes 128 Master ...... 130 King .occssnmnnnnnnsnnnnnnnennn 11 Power 192 Soldier enn 133 (Never Budge an) Inch von 194 Enclosed - os veseos 136 Attack sanenansenstnnten seve 138 Strike with a Stick seseeeee 140 a2 va ua as ua 150 182 154 156 158 Positions 140 Thread Baskets Needles Cloth Knife Equipment Brooms Build .. Building & Roof Shelter (CHAPTER 11: JOURNEY ..... Move .. Escape .. Boot Cort Road Crash! Stop & Start Again. Come nner 1198 194Introduction How do you study the written Jopanese characters known as kanji? If you are a child in © Japanese school, you write each kanji hundreds of times ot your desk. After a while, by sheer persistence, it sticks in your memory. If you are not a Japanese schoolchild, you probably do what | did. You stare at ecch kanji and make up a story in your head that you con mentally “attach” to the kari 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 | 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 ‘octval physical objects: III a PA te 01 Symbols use logical designs to indicate more abstract notions: ate FF A over onder 42 middle 950 Ideographs put two pictographs or symbols together to create a related idea: a moon 14 bright © The obove three types of kanji are fairly easy to remember. The group of kanji called phono- leographs, however, are more chal- lenging. These kanji combine an element that gives a clue to pronunciation with an element that hints at the “subject matter” of the kanji. Most kon perhaps 80%—fall into this category. The theme clement, called a radical, may itself be a standalone kanji or some graphic variant of one. TRE 126, for example, is a character by itself. Used as a radical it usually indicates something made of wood or relating to trees: uN m 8% oe 126 willow 128 timber 152INTRODUCTION The right-hand elements here give a clue to pronunciation. The problem is that they may have litle or nothing to do with the character's meaning This makes creating a mnemonic for them much more difficult, But even pictographic forms have often been simplified and stylized over the centuries. The kanji STOP 1208, for instance, has changed grectly from its original depiction of a footprint: GPF eb uk HOW TO USE THIS BOOK ‘The organization of this book differs from that used in most kanjilearning 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, | hove ‘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 ‘ore not on the list of kanji approved for general use by the Jopanese Minisiy of Education, They are here because they were visually interesting to me. By the same token, several common kanji have been excluded because frankly | couldn't come up with a satisfactory visval or textual mnemonic. For @ comprehensive, graduated course in kanji, see Kenneth G. Henshall’s very fine book, A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters (Charles E. Tutle, 1988). | 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, | have occasionally made modifications to Mr. Henshall’s listings. You may find it easier to learn the complex kanji if you begin wih the standalone characters and the other elements used as radicals. Many of these basic kanji ond kanji elements are presented her llustrations. Flip through the book and concentrate on these char. alongside the large-format acters first. The smaller entries on each two-page spread often incorporate the basic 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 crossreference numbers atthe bottom of each entry.INTRODUCTION Mi GUIDE TO THE ENTRIES The standord kanji entries in following information '— [DANP, MOIST, HUMID — a VERE, ?— The sun evaporates water, making the air humid, ss Buns book include the SHITSU s——— shimers/su SB water oe wet ae —1 |. Meaning in English. For the most Port the kanji definitions are drawn from Henshal’s book. Definitions that treat the whole kanji as a semantic form are somewhat misleading and imprecise, however. The meaning of any kanji is best gleaned from the many words it is used to represent. When the entry kanji is used in Japanese only os on element within other kanji, the definition is enclosed in quotation marks. 2. Reference number. A sequence number used in the index and in kanji cross: references. 3. Kanji character. A plain typeset form was selected for each entry character to make the association with the visual mnemonic more clear. This form is commonly encountered in printed materials. (Konji written by hand sometimes look very different from their typographic forms.) 4, On (borrowed Chinese) reading Always in upper case, These pronunciations {on- yomi) derive from those used in China when the kanji was first brought to Japan. The Japenese 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, 5. Kun (Japanese) reading. Alwoys in lower cose. These pronunciations (kun-yomi) represent native Japanese words “fitted” to the imported kanji. Most Japanese verbs and adjectives ‘ore kun readings. Underlined letters represent verbal (F adjectival inflections that ore not o part of the anj’s actuel reading 6. Visual mnemonic. | have taken many liberties in creating the pictures that go with the kanji. Sometimes | have tried to preserve the historical etymology of the character; elsewhere | have abandoned it in favor of something that, to my eyes, made more sense. | usually used the identical drawing to represent the same kanji element in different visual mnemonics, but not always. | have,INTRODUCTION for example, taken creative license with the element MOUTH 566 (also used to express “opening,” or enclosed”), drawing it instead as a tomato in Cusiware 246 and a box in DovBte 621. | have also q i 6 Off mouth se cutive 248 double «31 willfully visvally “confused” certain elements that Jopanese teachers ore always insisting must never be confused. One example: the interchanging of sou 101 and wastiok 753. The schematic of elements (see number 8, below) identifies the correct form. sk ae oil 01 worrior 759 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 onother kanji, its shape as «an element may be compressed or slightly altered). The schematic boxes are not used when the entry konji is @ standalone kanji or is @ radical or element with no other use except as a combining form. And again, sometimes | have had to concoct and interpret elements when none, according to Henshall cnd others, may actually exist. While the schematic of elements is a helpful reference aid, keep in mind that itis « guideline only. 9. Element meaning. Refers to the firs definition given for the konji or radical used as an clement in the entry kanji. | have tried to use the meaning of the element in the visual ond 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 cheracters have elements whose meanings are archaic or that correspond to no stand-alone character or radical in Japanese, such os the right side of pice 28. Other characters, like COCOON 307, ‘are too complex graphically to describe with o simple schematic: S = 3% ia on eee Comments on such complex elements appear in o numbered Notes section at the back of the book. These comments are referenced by “n-000" instead of @ cross-reference number. Again, much of the information here derives from Henshall’s book, which describes the kanji elements in detail V0THE SYLLABARIES In addition to kanji, Jopanese uses two pho- netic syllabaries, hiragana ond katakana Each syllabary of forty-six characters repre- sents he some sounds. The cursive hiragana ‘ore used to write words not normally written in kanji and for verb endings ond parts of speech. The angular katokana ore used for emphasis and to write words and names not of Japanese or Chinese origin. < ad ak 7) « 2 kK 7 Ww do Le K do (hirogana) [katakena) w+ W\ ie aHIRAGANA EMM WQMIWN Ham TA Ab | see the letter "A" Ant | see the letter "A" Eat with chopsticks. 7 oF, UbhI Kookoo bird. A tilted letter "K" eg, Elevator doors. SS ea Se @®lad A street eorner. Coin, nH On and Off Switch Olive, = 4 2dWino an 6 SNCIENNS a . ; SSS) : - en +e ktq 7 Seb. Sed, ta Tomahawk. Ps] a = s so [4 Behe S SoS y She has flowing hair. She h funny smile AAAACHIOOOO! Cheer Tmt ODF ‘Seen the sprout will bloom. ‘Suit hanger. It’s a snake, Balls and bats me — Say. Say. Ten. Telephone pole. a oO) ee) Ee IY EM, t fos Sew a zigzog stitch ‘Sew a slitch A thorn in my toe. The “tin toe.Co) oo ee zo TF (x wee \ BR diese Break it in hall —— aa OO eee ECl/== OStE Cc) a a Kk xX @ ¢ Si; Noodle held by chopsticks. Violence is in the news. Who? a more ~O74 Net o big fish. I mever go to church. This way to heaven. This way to heaven. Ces) a) 2@7@ Ell *# NO Smoking. NO Smoking. Half a whole note, Holy cross.HIRAGANA eee eo Ababy cries,“Mama." Marmo's bret — oe ACTS Me, I'm 21 Do, re, mi, Catch mo’ fish with this. Catch me’ fish with this. KATAKANA ° @® vm es (> i aL ‘L Trying to make o Uturn, You are number one. cha, nya, hya, mya, Pwd rya; kyu, shu, chu, nyu, hyy, myu, ryu; ond », sho, cho, Yak. Utun. Yoyo. nyo, hyo, myo, rye. we a a ite ee ea oe ae oo pane IED ara KO, etc. fotPALWA-O-N HIRAGANA Wasp. ‘Wow his head's knocked of = a & 7 The cowboy said, “Whoa.” An arrew head CC) A fh > 3 The sound of *n’, Nicks and cuts [RONVOICED SOUNDS) This mork changes the pronunciations of ha, hi, fu, he, and he to popping sounds: pa, pi, PU, pe, and pe. (Soda) pop sound. VOICED SOUNDS] This mark changes the pronunciations of all the > kana in the series begin- A ( aq 1g a, 319 on ba vibrating sounds: ge, za, ees Three rubies rolled away. Rotate o nut Vocal cord vibrations 16KANJI COMPOUNDS . Each kanji has meaning by itself. Kanji also can be combined in kanji compounds, or jukugo, to form new meanings, much @s root words, prefixes, and suffixes ore combined in English. The compound mening “world,” shown at right, is | composed of sE 1081, meaning WR, and KAI 202, meaning SOUNDARY. Other com binotions include: JAPAN) FEBRUARY AA —FA NI HON NI GaTsu sun} origin 2s wo.e98 month 14 KA HO cal aN de guchi | outside 13 person 363 emerge 955 opening ss STUDENT Core 7) ae Fe ol lt © GAKU SEI semi sudy 126 gain 214 nd 579 Bobanworid The Sun PROSPEROUS, GOOD, CLEAR? AAs elear os @ day with two suns Be Bes REFLECT, SHINE 3] BR yeh . aN usury /s, howe The sun shines outward from its center. Dans Oh center 55 “CRYSTAL, CLEAR, BRIGHT 3} ee DAMP, MOIST, HUMID a 5 se sae, eg "110 05 © doy with roo suns. The sun evaporates water, moking the oir humic. Ban Gans Bont wor os Ban) wet ms A SUN, DAY 1) (GeaRBRicaT 2) (wae 7 NICH JITSU s) te < Bamboo crew ‘ake Bamboo reeds. "GRASS" + This is the radical for grass, though a number of other elements have the same shape, such as hands in character 122, 35as-131 worto TREE, WOOD, 126) [GATHER BOKU, MOKY, sx y Kiko tivman/macy A tree with spreading branches Birds gather in a tree. bid ove GLORY, FLOURISH, SHINE 127) [NEST ae 7 * sO Blossoms flourish on the tree. Three birds nest in a fruit ree. Bi shine on Bee 26 PR bosket si00 fut 1 A ROOT, ORIGIN, BOOK 125} [WILLOW, WILLOWY. 128) BALANCE 131) The ati of aro are cpio 40 KE Bi toe 26 root omizs KEN, GON Character 125 is also used after yaa numbers to indicated that the things being counted are eylindical. Awillow tree. A heron balanees in « tree. 1 ee 26 flow noe Dice 6 Oh heron an)TREES. 92-101 FAKE, GATHER 12 + sal Honds take acoms from the tree. Bho seo hand el) ree 126 TREME, POLE ‘i KroKu, GOKU Vwomers bgnelic poles are ot the extreme pis of earth, tee 125 Ch extreme: n-is9 TA, TE korada body is he “root” of a person. oot root 125, TAF 135, 6 he isond tees generate leaves. nt 5 generation 120 BE reo 124 PLANTING, Far) Hol plants o tree in the soil Plant a tree in the soil Delo Be REST 138 aN ae halberd oo) ew 126 youn ‘A vacationer rests by a tree. BD poson a2 Oh fee ne Oh upright naar ”19-145 WORLD DIVIDE, ANALYZE 139} [FIREWOOD, KINDING. yao) [SHEET COUNTER ia © Ad Seki SHIN ‘akigh, moi Divide o tree to analyze it | cut the tree into kindling, Slice the tree into sheets. ee ae ox iw MS gross 124 El needle 100s Rox vor tee 126 Oh aike aca KK Forest 142) _ (WAMATURE, NOTYET_ 144] hese IMMATURE, NOT YET 144 KX MATSU, BATS Two trees make a forest. oe 126 Oh tree 126 Mi mado This tree is immature. Mtoe bs. Bg ~ AK SHIN Three ees moon woods, rae ize K3 too 26 GE toe 126TREES 146-157 1 BRANCH, SUPPORT 148) x Abhand holds up a branch, DRUM 17 Ry BS limbs ore like branches of flesh, Beat the drum with a branch, Reh w Dh branch a8 1B soll 101 D miniote 24s A branch vas TTREE) BRANCH 151 set odo. Abranch from a tree. 1D ree ie OE branch 48 1, SATSU, SETSU otose (hand w/ax 792 NGO 5 K ‘Mountain trails branch off. 1D mountain tO branch vas152-156 woriD WEALTH, ASSETS 24, SAL AA tolent for turing assets into TIMBER, RESOURCE 152 wealth, 1H oney 700 OE lent 71 ry DEVICE is] 2 People have « talent HK for making trees into timber. el vee ize tle Hal made a wooden device, ~) wee 136 Oh command. 7 O is BUNDLE, SHEAF 153 SOKU tobe, eboney, tuk, skonery Trees are cut into boards Bundled tree branches. Bree 28 © opening sos roo 125 Dh ogoins! es?TIMBER 157168 FENCE 7) My read a book on making fences. A box made of bamboo and wood. tee 16 Oh book we M bombeo 12 ee ne eye st (COUUNN, PILAR 1a) (ACUER VARNA 7 . # RS ‘ Cx oro suas hese wah OPE books sit atop a wooden A tree is cut into a pillar for the Varnish resins ooze like water from el master’s house o tee, Wh op os Bites rm Oh master m4 E wor 6 hee ne wate POLE, BAR, CLUB 162 ARRANGE 165) sel looney exw + Corecty arrange the bundle of sticks, B bundle 133 & ike 202 covect e28 85 ft f 1 CUT BRANCHES __166 Torsu two months to build these A wooden elub. in shelves. Leave nothing but eut branches, es 1 month a 14 tree 126 Oh respecte 209 i ree 26 Oh leove 56 ar17-171 woR.LD Mountains & Valleys LW san ow yes sen, 90 A threepeoked Enter the valley RICH, PLENTIFUL 170) (GREED, DESIRE v G0 aN yo @- 16 Having lef the valley of vulgar Clothes are plentiful in the So greedy he could eat the valey| ‘customs, this person became warldly. _Fich valley © porton see volley 166 ID clothes n-i70 OF volley 168 D volley 160 1 goping moub aMOUNTAINS & VALLEYS 172-100 DAK, OBSCURE, LONELY _172 dark ond lonely paths thread p he mountain. sun ter read qa} ope 5 CREST, CRISIS 173 ” Ae pass 1uns above and below mountain, bie up sea OH down oan PARIS TE ESTE ie ks ‘ oki HO A steep mountain. IB mounioin 167 Oh stronge 78 He made slow progress fo the top of the mountain. TD mounisin 167 sow progress nis RAVINE, GORGE 176 A ravine between mountain peaks. 1D mountcin tor Insert ners RUMBLE, COLLAPSE EXTREMITY, EDGE, UPRIGHT 177 au A " iin How strange to step off the clif. B big on opening sto TAN het, to, ho rea ss DRAW NEAR, ViSIT_180, ‘i ‘A person stands upright on the A yow/seu edge of a cliff A visitor opproaches our house. 1B ond «27 LX mouniin 17 OF plont n-i77 cool 11ee i shonge 172 “3vat = 10s WwoRLD Stones ASSIST, HELP__181 FURTHERMORE, BESIDES 182) By A “on om and assemble them with string pile the stones beside €or on top of each other Jo rosary ary With o litle help we can 1D aim 2 OF power ion 1D fead 6 cain 1 ‘OBSTRUCT, PREVENT, IMPEDE al so. habame to obstruct the hill and i 1D bill 088 cain 82 ANCESTOR i who took the lives of our ancestors, ID calgion me Oh calm 2STONES 186-193 FECA, CIEAR, RUB___186) [ROCK CRAG 189 Eo, = A crag is a stone hand redlaims the land by ‘outeropping on ring it of stones, ‘a mountain. fend soo sone 190 B mountain B sone 90 ONE, REFINE STONE, ROCK 190 A sk, SHAKU plow is honed on a stone. sas ‘A rock at the bose som Dunlomiy mi ofc CHARCOAL, COAL i IK ASHES, 12 hei RK Ashes ot the foot of the cliff D aiff ne fire TN pe [SAND, Gravel 193) GRAVEL 193 5A, SHA magnet is stone with magical Charcoal comes from the mountain. ads of force. a, is small stones, Din ise CH occu an mova BL mountoin ter fre 1D sone 199 ine 22694-200 WORLD INVESTIGATE, EXAMINE 194 SEARCH, PROBE Cave go RE Examine nine coves. ot FL hole ise ine vos seas oe! By hand, we probed behind o fo search for a cave opening BE ford sto Of hole toe Gi tee THRUST, LUNGE, PROTRUDE if e190 Y/ The cave sheliered eight people. root sigh! - Big John lunged from the cave. SKY, EMPTY 19) [KIN OVEN 17) [ERREME, surFeR 70 ae x 7 a co wd sora, koa, ob kena teworaty/ety The empty sky, seen through o Fite fine pottery inthe Kile. body pulled from the cave showed window in a cave. ‘extreme suffering hole Ti contusion sess Shale ied fin 0 fhe ez AA lo ime body a» pul aREADINGS ‘single kanji con have multiple sounds or readings. Kanji were borrowed from China ‘ond used both for their phonetic values (the onyomi, shown in capital letters), which shifted over time, and for words of native Joponese origin {the kun-yomi, shown in lowercase letters). Which reading to use for o character depends on context and what characters itis grouped with aD RD tobe mono KEN BUTSU ooh 382 thing 77 see 00 thing 277 DINE SPLENDID. As AS sHoKU mi goto eo! 282 acl a0 see 302 thing 300 ONEOCLOCK BRIEF —E; —BF io i) tok201-206 MEDIATE, SHELL 202 oy kal Two people mediate 1D person oor parson er 48 Field & Plant FooD ‘AREA, BOUNDARY 203, Kal the boundaries of the field field 201 media 22 Under whose roof will go the ri of the field? roof 114k opening sie Ha AA surveyor walks around the. of each field. 1D fild 21 OH och 0 [FARM DRY FIELD ial x hate, hotake gy The paddy is bumed dry and mad into a field. Dies Feld 2FIELD & PLANT wor-216 ROGE, EDGE 207 The ridges divide the paddy and hald in water. Dd 20) Oh holt car [EEDIING, SAPLING, SHOOT 208 i=] Seedlings shoot up from the field POISON 210 ‘Mom ale @ peisonous plant! Brow ne 1 mother ae 2 aaKU mai Check on the growth of the wheat, Rit BIRTH, PRODUCE 213, My garden produces plants. Band «27 © row é LUFE, BIRTH, GROW 214) Se, SHO mo, icy um, unre, hoary IS you mld Figiow 24 slow progess 128 A lifegiving plant. IWAMIMAT SIZE FOLD REPEAT 209) [TILL PLOW 22, SACRIFICE 215 se it A.cow's life is sacrificed, D cow 2s Oe ate « eee STAR 216) SEL SHO sare for the field, not the A plow tills the soil well hosh mi The sun: o lifegiving star. tid 21 besides 12 1D plow ome Oh well nee Bans Wife 2FooD Rice ae GRAI "ARTICLE 218 2s avo tabu In Jopan, rice is bought at grain stands. cco a7 Dh stond car PROVISIONS, FOOD. 29 te The town’s daily food is rice. 1D vice a7 A quantity mae MATERIALS, MEASURE, CHARGE 2 - @ Aladle is used 10 measure the rice vce 27 Th meosre se POWDER 72] lea WW); Chop the rice into powder. Gh divide seas REZ [RICE_AMERICA 217 SE, MAI ome Jopan won't buy American rice, NEIGHBOR, ADJOIN RIN Ill borrow rice from my neighbor on the adjoining hill hill toot rice 217 GH sop nto 1D ice 7 Al AR WORK, EARN MONEY 72] oo Earning money to bring home rie 1 ice plrt 201 hove. F FRAGRANCE, INCENSE 224 KO, KA ooeu/t The fragrant rice dries in the sun. vce pont 231 an 1Rice 5-201 [GRAIN, CEREALS 225 PRODUCT, PILE 228 ‘COURSE, SECTION 229° =; . mK =I > wie Honds wield axes to harvest the Our tice preduets earn a pile Sort the grains of rice in a grains from the soil ‘of money. sectioned box. ARES a tz Pr = Ail At harvest time we feast on fow 1B rice plont mr (bid 19 hand 400 " ky fe profit by cuting grain explant 2a: OE kale 1007 "RICE PLANT” 231 # but ose the grain to workers’ This rice plant nds. radical represents eeplot 2m Ot lous 97 “grain.”m-ne FooD Eat FOOD,EAT 232 “a Ee fobery, kw, Eat c bow! of food, DRINK, SWALLOW, ‘A mouth opens wide to drink Deo m 1 goping oh COOKED RICE, FOOD. a Cooked rice eaten in a cupped hand. ee TARGEBUIDING HAIL 238, 1s [SARE ma) REAR, SUPPORT cA 0 (ly vw yathnos A starving body eats itself. | support myself by rearing sheep. fa ale Step i Germ vas d STARVE HUNGER 235) =A] [SECTION 1ESSON 7 KI o kA Keep eoting and! you'll have to keep vow your but in a large building, Food on the table makes me hungry. Her speech lesson bears fruit B oed 10 oof ue GE boocks sD ood tO ble 19 Dine we Ul hat 20 52EAT FRUIT, RESULT, CARRY OUT Fruit from the trees in the field 200 TWICE, SOUP, GUID 23 > a ¢ o 0 a a Ten parts water makes © good soup. (CuimVATE GROW 26] aa twci 8 fe I grew a mouthwatering tomato, ld 21 wee 126 1D woter ten 508 B sol 101 OB stond «27 mew ses VEGETABLE 2) Gat 2a) [COMPENSATE ° Bt £6 | put Earth salt on my dish of eggs. soil 101 OB opening sus dish zes iis | was compensated with money IE money 70H OB ond 627. mouth soe BEANS, MINIATURE 25 76,20 A tiny bow! of beans. DIVIDE, CUT UP “gh when my tomato was cut up. 1 slond 627 mouth sib A kife 1007 53FooD ALCOHOL, SAKE 250 me : 4 Pour out the saké, you 251 I get drunk after nine or ten bots. DISTRIBUTE Ul distribute the wine personaly 1 wine 20 he as SEVERE, CRUEL, HARSH 154 The wine has a severe, harsh aie 1D water 44 OL wine 26° B wine 109 (nine vor i ten fos wine 247 OB grow 214 DE mouh 5 FERMENT, YEAST 252) — [CURD_DAIRY PRODUCE 253) (BOTTLE JUG, JAR a KO an home The young wine needs yeas! to ferment. wine 200 piety 100 Jars of dairy produets are left on teach doorstep. wine 207 hoch i200 A bottle ond o jug. Wi poir nas Oh eral nase 54WINE / TRAY 297-265 a, YAKU. Ino profitable year my dish overtiows. Bwer oar @ dih 21 SA | on ll = SA ray is wsed for cuting ido as STEAL 262) SERVE WINE, LADIE, SCOOP _264]) ery over what'll be stolen next— Serve wine with c ladle. my dish! sh m1 Bh pen a8 dish a8 1D wine or 209 Oh ladle 255 REWARD, TOAST 259) [WQUID MEASURE 263) (LADLE, MEASURE 265 - j 0 % J ka toast o the stote N Oh state 5 % sO [ Haku dish 201 Measure ten spoonfuls of liquid Measure liquid with ¢ ladle. 1D person 262 fon 08 55266 -274 worip 1 ie eae 3H 2 ¢ Dp ia 5 the Alitle water extingui burning meat B wots e+ le 6 veo! zor BELKE, BE LUCKY 7a) (FALGREASE a SHO sui opis she yn A NKU You'll be lucky if you get a litle The fat of the meat med. This meaty steok serves two people. 6 lila vis met mr 1 rect nor ny 22 FlESH, MEAT__257) PARE, REDUCE 2) [SWEET PRESUMEUPON 77 This radical cn mean NEE either flesh 2665 or moon 14 | depending on the charac i'n. sax kay ean onci/as rah Pare the litle piece of meat is sweet, BD moot 267 knife 1x7 EXTINGUISH, VANISH, CONSUME 270 & TASTY, GOOD, GIST 273) = | spoon tasty things info my mouth 1 mouh onan FE spoon 273 Le Trim the fat off the sides of the meet Oh side teINTERESTING WoRDS “Fire-flower” burns 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. Dobutsu, “animal,” at right, literally means "move thing.” = 4EX KE hene 1 flower 116 fire #9 fire ex flower tis INTERESTING. GENIUS aa ome shiro} face 49 white 36 ADULT TOMORROW _) AA AB big 12 person 363 bright @ sun +275-280 a NIMALS ow ‘i This is the cow with the ‘crumpled horn, 4 =a Drive the cow fo pasture. Oh ake ace 1) reyes) 1 To get milk you pull on the cow's thing. cow 2s Oi bing 277 UNRAVEL EXPLAIN, SOLVE __278 fe Kal ot tok rf ‘A.cow’s hom explains a lot about its life horn 280 UB dele ox CR cow ars *PIG™ 77 This means pig when used as an element HORN, ANGIE, CORNER 20] Ahorn bends ot an angle. 58COW, PIG, & SHEEP 281-290 ROUSE, SPECIALIST FIG, HO 265) [CHASE_ PURSUE 269, AR Ss 2 ia Ka KE TON HKU inye boo oy Asiyis a house for pigs. We use a pig for its meat. In pursuit of a pig, nod upg ow 1 mot 20 pig 2 move 11s) Oh pig 29 {GrOUP, FLOCK GOOD FORTUNE, OMEN 286) [SHEEP FINE, PRAISEWORTHY v6 hits Sheep ore fi | ae p ore fine asses, lord ofthe sheep attends flock. fed a7 Oh sheep 270 FRESH, VIVID, CLEAR 283, SEN ozeyako fresh fish. Bh ose Oh shoop 290 DETAILED 284 SHO hawt was a detailed speech on sheep. 1 shop. 200 ‘A sheep is sacrificed on the altar to bring good fortune. UD ahr eos sheep a0 BEAUTIFUL FINE 267 tsuki Big beautiful sheep. sheep 2%0 @ bg on ARRIVE, WEAR 208 AB CHAKU sub, ki [like to wear wool myself. F shoop. 200 sell 5022-204 ANIMALS Horse HORSE 2) 5 eA A horse lies on its side, AM = This tends to look more like o horse, if you picture it on its side, (Stor stay 392) [Noise _DisTuRBANCE 293) (SURPRISE a “EE ir 5 a & 6 Kyo sewoqu/aashit dorky oss A horse stays by his master. The horse is disturbed by a sncke. Surprise a horse with a stick and itwill respect you. 1 bone 20 Oh mower 74 TB horse 291 (B stike soz Gi snoko 31) respect 208 horse 2HORSE 295-202 RESPECT 295 eA 7 Ri {llbeot some respect into you [SWORD BAYONET 798) checks his sword STATION RR Load the horse at the station. -warned me of the hand with stick ped cond investigates behind trees 1 speck 0 tee 26 Oh all n-2or Dholiy ns tke ce Boll na Oh sword o29 1D horse 201 measure aoe (WARN, REPROACH INVESTIGATE 200) (RIDER 302) © f = Ken A strange rider mounts 1D hone 201 strange 9 STEEP, SEVERE, PERILOUS KEN ewok scout examines his horse before making camp in the steep ond perilous hills 1D bill 7 Wall aw all nar PACK HORSE, POOR QUALITY 303, REE .. but the peor pack horse keels under the weight ofthe fat man, Dhone fet ou a204-310 Bugs B ANIMALS FIREFLY = el halore Firefly: a radiant insect, a ke A textbook case of mesquite bites, insect 204 tent 4 ke) BE wea 3 wo ( In the grass, an insect made o cocoon of thread, goss 124 Kl thread se BD insect 200 BARBARIAN. His barbarie smell is atractng bug Bred om 1 inet 0 vows PA Use @ net fo rid the impure water of insects, woe 45 net oe? insect TOUCH, FEEL CONTACT aig fick sHoKU foro, sowery An insect’s hornlike antennae: “feelers.” Whom 210 Oh insects“th fw onakes & Birds Insect 304 originally BRD 314 HO A bird in a nest a] p si hhi 7? meaning snake. ofa snoke and in some oni carries the Met roku fell when bit by @ snake. i ies out fee 31 root 14 OF porion msi mouh ste bid 914 ISLAND, 316) [CRANE STORK 37 £0.65 cy aeu Ci shine fu see g snake can pull with its til. A bird flies above the island The erane is next to another bird ‘mountains. soko 211 mmountein 71 bid 314 boron 2) bid 1aaie-322 ANIMALS = Fate Only birds can leave from the clifs that separate us. Dotole nse bied 10 Scorched foul A big scarecrow stirs up ond ‘excites the bird inthe field big 211 bird aie ald ae oatsu bow Used only os « part of other characters, this means bird. A big bird is snatched by the mon with the gun. B big 213 bid 20 inch owPLUMAGE 323-200 [WASH, RINSE, FLY, JUMP, 37 ioe F bird washing its wings. Birds fly south d Q oer UB wings 290 bird s16 RETIN a3) [FAR GNGE a) ms a 1) Yoru HON oe hivgoes/au ers o skonge mask and "Seo you next lime, I've gotte fly.” A bird flapping its wings over the tice field. se stonge a8 wings 2 sand ear 1D vice 2) fad 201 wings 0 S tone Ws ¢, masked gir. » 1 reoshor 209 u LEARN TRAIN 326 fiers SHO Wing feathers. wings mean you need training, 2G while oeani-aa4 ANIMALS Heron € THERON” EA This element means heron. WATCH, OBSERVE a heron 2) watch es Bird watching ENCOURAGE, ADVISE Ey Encourage heron preservation. heron 331 Oh power vas REJOICE, MERRY KAN vyorokoby Rejoice and sing lke o bird. heron 331 1 gaping wauh 3HERON / DOG 2080982 — .. D —- This element ina means dog. Abig, spotted d poe Se (rRoTECT 239) [HUNT 30) Dept mis big 913 fF iP EAST, ANIMAL — SHU, SU sHu wtp wi) werent ho ‘Aman protects... ond hunts HK HUNTING 341 the house with his dog = roof 14 1D dog 220 a ee m1 inch se protect 22 The mosk of o beast. Dpwes ons dog me FRERCE, RAGING, BRAVE child bravely touches the co dog's dish gon cid They go hunting for birds dog sD kop wan CATCH, SEIZE, GET 342 vid KAKU usually catching ‘one in he grass. B dog 338 grass t2¢ 6 bied a9 hand st o74a 248 HE ROK shike Ader with onters Forest Animals ANIMALS ee Pe woah A pair of eyes admires the beautiful deer. group nou deer 33 ELEPHANT R 70, 3H A big-eared elephant. DRAMA, INTENSE, Bl] A tiger vs. « pig with swordplay i cn intense drama. 1D tiger 39D pig 27 wordFOREST ANIMALS 347-353 (CRUELTY, OPPRESS 307) (PLAY, FROLIC, JOKE 350) [SKIN 35) ‘ee te The tiger's cruel, oppressive pow ... The circus tiger plays around the fire, A tiger rips open @ man’s skin and ais his guts Bige os hood. nar 1D ger 2:1. ploy as0 A halberd oo: 1 tiger 352 stomach ms) [CATIVE PRISONER OF WAR 348) [TIGER 352 STIGER’ 353 fio: This element A tiger with quords the prisoner of war ooeee ere © tiger a8 B ge 29 mon ae tiger nase cd tis gives the prisoner's wife = TI WF! oo354-361 ANIMALS Sea Creatures ; fe 354 JUN vs ole A | caught four fish GY0, &¥O een een oe ‘e ‘e DRAGON, = Fa A roaring dragon. ATTACK The dragon attacks by burning dlothing, B deogen nas @ clothing tor TORTOISE, TURTLE SHELL, ARMOR, HIGH, 1ST 357) Ki KO, KAN ome koro The turtle wears a shell, A turtle's shell is its armor. SEE WATERFALL a 7 E The waterfall roars like @ dragon 1B wor oe Oh dragon 358 a WHALE 20 mS iro The whale is a capital fish! 1 fi a OF copil 7 70REPEATING KANGI ‘A word for “people” in Japanese is hitobito, shown at right. The upper kanji is hit 363, PERSON. The lower character is a graphic device similar to ditto morks (*] in English, indicating that the previous char acter is repeated. Sometimes, the pronun- ciation of the second character is changed slightly to make it easier to say. SOMETIMES: GRAND, RFA Ez tokidoki rT) ime 991 0) hall 1190 2 Be RA colors 27 vay ‘el 70412) INCREASINGLY ALE Bir a De | > fo in ~ © a en380-367 PEOPLE P | PERSON 368 INN ws { {A person taking a step Fl meet « personal rend on a cloudy doy. This is the radical [5 person 363 fw cloud s for person. EXPATRIATE fs ~ The expatriate 1D person 157 Oh ower (eroce_7) SCARCE, DESTITUTE 265] 6 80 ton teboshit crossed the The destitute person ‘wooden bridge stands alone. Rew person 162 path mis Oh tower nesePEOPLE BENEVOLENT, HUMANITY 368) [SUBMIT, FOULOW, IE DOWN 269) This benevolent person cores for _The dog lies down before its moster. Iwo people Tenon ss Oh o.oo person ast dog. a5 SERVE, WORK, DO_372 {E x This person serves the samurai 1D person 362 OF samurai 753 PAN ereNT 70) fac A person of lower rank bows fo 0 person of higher standing, 1D peson ser Oh stond a7 REACH, EXTEND 373 Re yobs /ooss Reach out ond extend on open hand. 1B person 362 hand mir3 73PEOPLE PRINCIPLES, ETHICS REPLACE, GENERATION, FEE Efe § * fil tonne Ayoung prion changes 7 generation most pay is cs principles ond few ethics. = bus]PEOPLE 79-385 379 ASSIST, ASSISTANT. 380 [ATTEND (UPON) 381) “Lefy” here is my assistant, The samurai attends this temple. ID peen 32 idle st 1 penon oe Oleh at 1D peron 362 Oh temple ft EQUIP, PREPARE 384 4 I senaees/wary lam red for the ditdwelers 1D person 282 UH use nase TOGETHER KYO the couple traveling together. YO smochiy Fl use this fence to keep them out.286-391 PEOPLE ' Person PERSON, SIDE, WAY, DIRECTION, SQUARE 286 RELEASE, EMIT xa] 40 hones ss This person was released ofter being beaten, 1D petion ate SIDE, BESIDES ai * te Oh srike on ‘A person waves a flag. B fog ae device nat? rr) kee The person points in that direction, Putit beside that standing person. 1B person 261 1B stond «27 Gl parson a FAG 3e7) [PERFORM CHARITY 308) (Visit, INQUIRE En ik It ab 54 Ki si, se HO ) hota hodokoss y conuety lxunety ‘A drama is performed for charity. 1 flog ow create 0-102 J asked him directions during my visit ID speck 240 Oh person 288 7%PERSON / POPULACE 392-399 if Populace PEOPLE, 3 POPULACE 285 iui ‘person comforts @ fomily member Fe who is low. B peron 2 OM family 208 one wor MN There are no people [TOREACH, RESIST, OPPOSE 393) [LOREACH RESIST, OPPOSE 39a) {ESIST, OPPOSE with big heads if He Ge) Ahond reaches out for a resistant family member, [Bhond s20 (family 30 WH one wr in my family, ICOMPARE, RATIO. 394 ‘MULTITUDE, BUG, Ba By RESIDENCE, MANSION 398) : My family resides in o mansion. ieee eyes tt > fp Sommer Twins ore clwoys compared. A multitude of descendants sit under the sun A hand strikes out at the sitin. Tsing person nave OL siting person n-are A sun a 1 compare. 264 Di hond sso Oh compare ate 7400-404 PEOPLE 7 INDUSTRIOUS 00 GOVERNMENT OFFICE, SIGN al If you're not industrious, I'll beat The big eye of government waichs you with a stick. the everburdened people. sx BD child a Oh srike. we FE ot 07 penton ae TEACH 204 This element = means rf othe byotane Ill teach piety to you with this stick. 1D pity a2 ake oe KO The burden a child beors: filial piety. burden 102 child wr 78PEOPLE'S BURDENS 405-410 ROT WEATHER) 405 Bon 1 person sce PERSON 208 SHA, fy person has burdens to carry brdon ot aun COOK, BOL. 405 as SHA rive /eau vase A burdensome bag of victuals is cooked in the fire. Fl person wn fre a ee TORTURE, HiT “7 ? fo ° Y ) He is beaten and tortured for being inconsiderate. 1D bond 380 Oh consider 10» CONSIDER, 109 xO kergosey | sometimes stop to consider ‘AGED MAN, TO GROW OLD #10 if these burdens will erush me os I grow oldPEOPLE Woman & Man ‘WOMAN ail NOISY, IMMORAL a2) > m0, NO eq va \osahi 10, NYO, NYO tends to be noisy in groups. woman 41 woman 41) woman This woman PLEASURE, AMUSEMENT Ai IR She tokes pleasure in giving advice BD woron 1) Ol ghe ws (BGR Fest) buts the fies to open her mouh 1B oman 411 OR self a OF mouh se cond ery over her Figure.WOMAN & MAN 416-21 (WAKE FUN OF TEASE, RIDICULE 414) © Mony characters containing the elements for “woman” cand “man” reflect the times in which they were created. © nobus Two women tease a man from bob sides Riviera 6 mn an OR, YOU, a7 z MAN MALE a9, N B tn DAN, NAN ho aces oth s Gos ‘A man works inthe field Bnd w/sck str moh see ld 2) power 14 a AL 56 $6, 8H5 The samurai shows his strength. The samurai strikes o majestic pose ‘on the lawn of his villa, big naz somurai 759 Bigot —— & monly aona PEOPLE Marriage ‘The wife is handed a broom. woman an hand w/e 1" IFyou'te too dependent, CONTACT, JOIN marriage will box you in. 4E His hand reaches out to jein hes. 1B woman Oh depend e-uz2 IB ond 1052 wand 27 wer a MISTRESS a SHO rrokoke WOMAN, WIFE_473 ‘Aman stands by his mistress. i FS sond «27 wemen ats al bb (Exausie 000) A wife is o woman ie holding a bracore This woman is litle odd. 1 women 11 1D woman «11 Oh Iie ve ond w/brcom 82MARRIAGE 428-006 MARRY, BRIDE eines The house of pigsty Bvomon a) Oh house 281 bride looks like RESTFUL, EASE, CHEAP. o/c jwoman under the roof makes PEACE, SETTLED ai ‘A woman's hand brings peace. i hond 0 1B woman 411 ‘AUTHORITY, THREATEN ea The woman threatens Hal's [HUSBAND MAN 434) Fu, 0 N vege woman gave us everything és the sun of the banquet, brcheap labor authority. rl ue woman att 1 oberd a0 women a1) Her AL wears @ hai MARRIAGE «i A person sits on « hopechest next to. woman, waiting for marriage. B woman 4) DB family 386 aun 3 HELP, SUPPORT 435) Fu ‘A husband lends a helping hand. hand seo Th husband ae fA ‘STANDARD, MEASURE 436 Ki Look to the husband as the standard, 1D husbond 434 woich saaaru PEOPLE Family FATHER 7 My older sister lives inthe ci ae 1B woman « cy tou w YOUNGER chibi A father picks up his child My immature younger sister les in the country. 1 omen tae ELDER BROTHER 438 YOUNGER BROTHER 439 CLAN, FAMILY 442] It BSS ve KS 1, 04, Ty) zoxu a ce An elder brother is ¢ mouth on My snotnosed younger brother. A family’s coat of arms is displayes two logy. ona flag Smash the dep Big mir ow aFAMILY 443-49 [EACH EVERY z EY 80. hohe q ‘woman's nipples q rox kneel before you. Ba mone become dark during person hos @ g Bien 3) moh as SINS GRANOGHOREN aaa) [GRID A) Gj) Sasa) # No Th > ih, a ‘A woman holds child fo her breast ZY 1D bond on Wl chid wo bead mat son sa, su me te grandchild is my descendant. A chile ito oops 97 SSH TOU TRE, GOOD, FINE 7 2 suk, konomy /mashi likes to be held by o woman Dwomer a child ar450-458 PEOPLE He's siting on the platform by himself BS seh a0 3 mouh 06 In Jopan, « person a7 indicates him. or herself SZ by pointing to the nose JN the way Westerners point 10 the chest This element means splitting or dividing. | ALLy wow a jes) /\ Sees A w SHO. AL Ls 6 yoke ‘Wombs are fleshlaunching platforms. | sued him for his public aecusation. Split open the self and make it public 0 fesh 297 1 plotfom ass 1D speck uo Ot public 57 & spl a6 © sf a0 = DISCUSSION 42 1 PRIVATE, PERSONAL 454) 7\ C& 13] a sl SHS SHI we A We had a righteous discussion. keep o personal supply of rice. ‘The pine tree isin public porks. 1D speck 10 Uh righeousness roe vice plant 201 self aso 1B toe 2 public 177