願 - PLEASE, Grant This WISH That Keeps Springing Up in My Mind

Readings & Meanings:

ガン

ねが（う）

wish, ask a favor, desire

Common Usage:

お願いします

念願

願書

願

Examples:

これからもよろしくお願いします。

念願のカメラを買った。

日本語検定の願書を提出した。

今年こそ思いが叶うように願をかけた。

Translations:

Please take care of me in the future as well. (set phrase to say upon meeting someone)

My heart's desire is to buy a camera.

I submitted my application for Japanese certification.

In the hopes of my wish coming true this year, I offer up my prayer.

Radical:

Oogai is the radical, 頁. It's a pictograph of a kneeling person with a huge head.

原 is the phonetic. Inside the cliff frame, 泉 is squished. 泉 is a spring of water. The pictograph suggests a circular spring.

At first, this combination of pictographs suggested the meaning of "round head." After a while, though, this kanji meant an idea that springs up and goes round and round your brain, over and over, like a wish. This led also to "request."

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

岸 - The SHORE Is Higher and Drier Than the Water

Readings & Meanings:

ガン

きし

(sea)shore

Common Usage:

岸

向こう岸

海岸

河岸（かし）

護岸工事

Examples:

岸をつたって歩いた。

向こう岸には船で渡るしかない。

海岸で貝殻を拾った。

河岸の護岸工事をしている。

Translations:

I walked, following the shore.

You have to cross in a boat to the other shore.

I picked up shells from the beach.

They are making a levee protection at the riverbank.

Radical:

山 is the radical.

厂 (cliff) surrounds the phonetic, 干. As 干 means a stick thrust against an enemy, this signifies that the shore is the ground that sticks to the water.

山 serves to show that it's high ground (higher, at least, than the riverbed or ocean floor.

Bonus:



References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

丸 - ROUND CIRCLE

Readings & Meanings:

ガン

まる

まる（い）

まる（める）

round

Common Usage:

丸三角四角。

○

日の丸

丸見え

Examples:

丸三角四角。

正しいと思う答えに○を付けなさい。

日の丸の旗を掲げる。

カーテンがないから、外から丸見えよ。

Translations:

Circle, triangle, square.

Put a circle around the correct answer.

I fly the Japanese flag.

Because we don't have curtains, you can see everything from outside.

Radical:

The smallest radical? The radical is 丶, "Ten."

The pictograph is of a bending figure under a curved line (a cliff).

Bonus: ○

In Japan, correct answers are circled, or a circle is put next to them. When a Japanese person comes to America and takes a test, they are usually confused by the checkmarks on the right answers and the circles on the wrong answers.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

患 - A Pierced Heart Is a Serious ILLNESS

Readings & Meanings:

カン

わずら（う）

sickness, affection

Common Usage:

患者

患う

重患

Examples:

病院は患者でいっぱいだ。

子供の頃、結核を患ったため背骨が曲がってしまった。

重患は別の部屋で治療された。

Translations:

The hospital is full of patients.

As a child, because he got tuberculosis, his spine became very bent.

Very serious illnesses are treated in another room.

Radical:

心 is the radical.

串 is the phonetic, and means pierce, skewer.

If your heart feels pierced, please go to the hospital.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

缶 - CAN (of food)

Readings & Meanings:

カン

a can (drink or food can)

Common Usage:

缶詰

空き缶

缶切り

Examples:

サバの缶詰は私の大好物だ。

空き缶はリサイクル箱へ入れてください。

缶切りで手を切ってしまった。

Translations:

Canned mackerel is my favorite.

Please put the empty containers in the recycling bin.

I cut my hand with the can opener.

Radical:

缶 is its own radical! (But all the kanji that use it as a radical are too rare to be on the 1,945 list of common kanji.) Its radical name is Hotogi.

It's a picture of a clay pot that bulges in the middle.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

簡 - SIMPLE Bamboo

Readings & Meanings:

カン

simple

Common Usage:

簡単

簡略

Examples:

アメリカの税制に関する簡単な説明をして下さい。

簡略しますと、今年は去年より７万円減税されることになります。

Translations:

Please concisely explain the American tax system.

Simply stated, my tax reduction was 70,000 yen more than last year.

Radical:

Take-kammuri, the bamboo crown (竹) is the top radical.

間 is the phonetic, indicating gaps in bamboo.

This kanji has in the past referred to papers, letters and documents. Also, to omit, and to omit things (from the letters) would be to make them simple.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

巻 - I'll have a (maki) ROLL, please...

Readings & Meanings:

カン

ま（く）

ま（き）

まき

roll up, volume

Common Usage:

のり巻き

７巻

Examples:

のり巻きを食べる。

ナルトの７巻を読んだ。

この巻物の絵は３０万円もする。

Translations:

I eat sushi rolls.

I read the seventh volume of Naruto.

This picture scroll is worth 300,000 yen.

Radical:

己 (Onore) is the radical. It's a pictograph of something rising up from a coiled position. But it is not native to this kanji.

卷 was the original form of the character. Note that, instead of 己, we have a pictograph of a bending figure.

The top element is a phonetic, but it doesn't stand alone. I recognize it from 勝. It shows a wooden slat and some hands, encircled by a cord. "Roll up," in other words.

Important(?): "Maki Roll"

For those who cringe when they hear "ATM machines," please be aware that the sushi-restaurant term "maki roll" is a redundancy as well. It's not really a big deal, but if you want to be more "correct," then eliminate the "maki" part when ordering sushi in an American restaurant.

Chances are, your Korean waitress won't understand your problem with saying "maki roll" and will have to awkwardly make sure she knows what you're ordering, but that's the price you pay for being "correct."

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

干 - A Small Amount of DRY Sticks & Pickled Plums

Readings & Meanings:

カン

ほ（す）

ひ（る）

dry

Common Usage:

干す

梅干

若干

Examples:

洗濯物を干す。

梅干は塩辛い。

裁判所に提出する文書は若干のミスも許されない。

Translations:

I dry the laundry. (outside)

Umeboshi (pickled plum) is salty.

For the writings that have to be filed with the court, the slightest amount of mistakes is unforgivable.

Radical:

干 is its own radical! It's called Ichi-juu. Can you figure out why?

This is a pictograph of a forked stick that keeps enemies at a distance. Original meaning is "thrust/defense." "Dry" is a borrowed meaning.

Bonus: Umeboshi

梅干 is delicious. Don't let the example sentence fool you; there are salty varieties of 梅干, and sake-soaked versions, but the kind I love the best is the red kind. It's a little sweet, but mostly sour, and yeah, a little bit salty, but it's amazing in onigiri.

Below is a quick photo of the brand of 梅干 that I like the best. Note that it's Shiso Umeboshi; that's what gives it the sour taste I love.



References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

慣 - HABIT

Readings & Meanings:

カン

な（れる）

な（らす）

habit, custom, to get used to

Common Usage:

慣れる

習慣

Examples:

だんだんと新しい仕事に慣れてきた。

早寝早起きの習慣をつける。

Translations:

I have slowly become accustomed to my new work.

I keep up the habit of "early to bed, early to rise."

Radical:

Radical is 心 in its vertical form on the left.

貫 is the phonetic, which is a pictograph of two seashells connected by a string that goes through them both. The original meaning is "pierce," but "consistent" is the extended meaning, and the one that applies here.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

刊 - PUBLISHED Words Hurt More Than Sticks and Swords

Readings & Meanings:

カン

publish

Common Usage:

週刊

発刊

Examples:

週刊ジャンプを購読する。

その雑誌は毎週、水曜日に発刊する。

Translations:

I subscribe to the weekly Jump.

That magazine is published every week on Wednesday.

Radical:

Katana 刀 is the radical on the right.

干 is a pictograph of a forked stick which is thrust at an enemy to keep him away.

Not sure how cut sticks relate to publishing.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

観 - A Bird's Eye VIEW

Readings & Meanings:

カン

view

Common Usage:

観光客

観察日記

観音様

Examples:

京都は観光客でいっぱいだ。

カブトムシの観察日記をつける。

先週、観音様にお参りに行った。

Translations:

Kyoto is filled with tourists.

I'm keeping an observation journal on the Rhinoceros beetle.

Last week, we went to visit the Kannon shrine (and pray).

Radical:

見 is the radical.

On the left, we have the phonetic element. It's a simplification of the element in 觀.

In that former form, the left-hand element has 艸 (grass), two 口 (mouths), and 隹 (short, squat bird). So think of a flock of these birds crying in a marsh.

But now the grass and the mouths have simplified down, almost as if you were looking down at them from a bird's-eye view. Think of 観 as viewing objects in a "circular sweep."

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

関 - CONNECT the Boards To BARRICADE the Relations!

Readings & Meanings:

カン

せき

concern, barrier

Common Usage:

下関（しものせき）

関係

関心

玄関先

Examples:

下関はふぐ料理で有名だ。

君には関係ないから、口を挟まないでくれ。

最近、クラッシック音楽に関心を持ち始めた。

玄関先に犬をつないでおいた。

Translations:

Shimonoseki is famous for fugu/pufferfish cuisine.

This doesn't concern you, so don't stick in your two cents (literally: stick your mouth in).

Lately, I've started having an interest in classical music.

I tied the dog to the entrance.

Radical:

門, the gate radical, is here.

That inner phonetic element used to be quite a bit more complicated: 關. That's 丱 and 幺, showing two boards connected by a thread/cord. That's where the "checkpoint, entrance barrier" meaning comes from. "Connect" is apparently a borrowed meaning.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

管 - CONTROL Your (Bamboo) PIPES

Readings & Meanings:

カン

くだ

control, pipe

Common Usage:

管（くだ）

下水管

管理

Examples:

入院中は管をのどに通して栄養を摂っていた。

寒さで下水管が凍ってひびが入った。

鍵の管理をしっかりしておきなさい。

Translations:

During admission to the hospital, they put a tube down his throat so he could take nourishment.

The pipes froze from the cold and got a crack in them.

Keep tight control over the key.

Radical:

竹, Take-kammuri, or bamboo-crown is the radical.

官, the phonetic, is the one we just learned, showing a pileup of bureaucrats in a government building.

You may have noticed that "pipe" and "control" have very little to do with each other. This is because the "control" meaning is an atavistic meaning, which means that it comes from just one part of the kanji (官) instead of the whole.

As for "pipe," the 竹 up top indicate bamboo, and 官 shows an enclosure. A pipe/flute is made from a cylindrical, enclosed object.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

官 - GOVERNMENT in Japan = Bureaucrats Stacked to the Ceiling

Readings & Meanings:

カン

government

Common Usage:

警察官

官僚

Examples:

僕の従兄弟は警察官だ。

日本の政治家は三流、官僚は一流、とよく言われている。

Translations:

My cousin is a policeman.

It's said that Japan's politicians are third-rate, but its bureaucracy is first-rate.

Radical:

U-kammuri, the U crown, 宀 is our radical.

The lower part of this kanji shows an accumulation of objects. In this case, it's probably an accumulation of bureaucrats, piled up in an official building (the 宀 shows a roof enclosing those piled-up things).

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

完 - COMPLETELY Protected, PERFECTLY Safe

Readings & Meanings:

カン

complete, perfect

Common Usage:

完璧

完全犯罪

完了

Examples:

完璧に覚えるまで繰り返し練習する。

完全犯罪を取り扱った小説を読んだ。

今日の勉強はこれで完了だ。

Translations:

I practice by repetition until I remember perfectly.

I read a novel about the perfect crime.

Today's studying is at an end.

Radical:

宀, U-kammuri, the U-crown tops this as the radical.

元 is the phonetic. It's a pictograph of somebody thrusting their head high (in 兀) and another line thrown in after 兀 lost its meaning.

In 完, though, the 元 shows a round thing, an encirclement. This plus a roof means a building that is completely protected. Thus, "complete."

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

感 - This FEELING So Intense, There Are No Words

Readings & Meanings:

カン

feeling, sense, feel

Common Usage:

感触

感じやすい

感動

感謝

Examples:

畳の感触が好きだ。

彼女は感じやすいタイプだ。

シートン動物記を読んで感動した。

感謝の心をいつも忘れないようにしなさい。

Translations:

I like the feeling of tatami.

She's the sensitive type.

I read Ernest Thompson Seton's Wild Animals I Have Known and was deeply moved.

Never forget to keep a grateful heart.

Radical:

心 is our radical, the heart.

咸 is our phonetic. It shows a mouth 口 and a spear 戈, and extra lines to show the mouth is shut. You usually shut your mouth when you bear the brunt of a spear attack. I guess.

Think of that shock that causes your mouth to shut.

Now think of an emotion that overwhelms you to the point of being unable to speak.

That's 感.

Bonus: ii kanji

The most frequent way you'll hear this kanji being used is in the phrase "いい感じ". It means "good feeling," and is used in many, many ways, mostly slang.

When you are at a restaurant and the food is really good and satisfying (and you don't want to single any one food out as specifically delicious, you just want to emphasize that you're happy with everything), say いい感じ.

When you're pleased with something and want to candidly tell your friend, lean to him/her and say いい感じ.

You might wonder what the difference is between いい感じ and いい気分. It's almost impossible to say what the difference is. Don't worry about it; don't ruin that いい感じ.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Thompson_Seton
http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

寒 - It's Freezing COLD, Build a Shelter

Readings & Meanings:

カン

寒い

cold

Common Usage:

寒い

防寒

Examples:

寒い日には厚着をする。

冬の防寒対策は万全だ。

Translations:

On cold days, wear thick clothing.

Our winter countermeasures against cold are flawless.

Radical:

U-kammuri, the U-crown, 宀 is the top radical.

The grid just below the roof is from a pictograph of four bricks stacked together. Down below, the two legs to either side are actually hands, building up a shelter. To emphasize that the shelter was to protect from the cold, eventually 冫 was added. 冫 is the ni-sui form of 氷, ice.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

乾 - DRY only after a Day in the Sun

Readings & Meanings:

かわ（かす）

カン

かわ（く）

dry

Common Usage:

乾く

乾燥

乾物（かんぶつ）

乾燥機

乾杯

Examples:

冬は空気が乾く。

この植物は乾燥に強い。

乾物は保存がきくから便利だ。

乾燥機を入れ替えた。

乾杯の音頭をとる。

Translations:

In winter, the air gets dry.

This plant is strong in arid conditions.

Dried food is convenient because it's preservable.

We replaced the dryer.

I will lead the toast.

Radical:

Otsunyou! This is our first kanji with the amazing bending 乙 radical. It's a pictograph of a line that bends.

But hold on... 乙 is also listed as the phonetic. Ehh, who cares?

Look on the left. Recognize that? It's the same left-hand part as in 朝. Think of it as the sun rising between plants.

So what's the deal with the other two lines on the right side, above 乙? They signify a flag or pennant. It's fostering the idea of the sun high in the sky.

So we've got the sun rising on the left, a signifier for the sun high in the sky, but what's 乙's role? It shows the sun's path from east to west.

Somehow, all of this combines to mean "dry." Perhaps something will dry if it is in the sun all day.

(From my Japan experience, I can tell you that is not true. Laundry can take two days to dry. It's ridiculously humid in that country.)

Important:

How is 乾 different from 枯?

The key may be in the skull (古) in 枯. 枯 indicates drying associated with death, like withering.

乾 is a lack of moisture. If the river is talked about using 乾く, there is no more water, it's completely evaporated.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

側 - Stay on My Left SIDE

Readings & Meanings:

かわ

ソク

side

Common Usage:

右側　（みぎがわ）

側面

Examples:

車を右側に寄せた。

車の側面に傷ができた。

Translations:

I pulled the car up to the right side (of the road).

I got a scratch on the side of my car.

Radical:

人 radical.

Phonetic is 則, the left side of which is an abbreviation of 鼎, which is a pictograph of a tripod kettle (for tea, rice, etc.). The right side shows a knife, 刀, right beside it. 則 means "rule," as it is a rule of the kitchen to have things close at hand.

"Close at hand" is the meaning that 側 borrows from 則, but adds 人. So the picture should be of a person close at hand, on your side.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm

皮 - SKIN

Readings & Meanings:

かわ

ヒ

skin

Common Usage:

皮

皮膚科

皮肉

Examples:

彼女は面の皮が厚い人だ。

皮膚科に行く。

彼女は自分の思い通りに行かないと皮肉を言う癖がある。

Translations:

She is a brazen kind of person.

I go to the dermatology clinic.

She has a habit of saying cynical things when something doesn't turn out the way she wanted.

Radical:

皮 is its own radical! It's called Kegawa.

It's a pictograph of a pelt with the head still on it.

Bonus:



References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm