寄 - APPROACH the Building by Leaning Towards It

Readings & Meanings:

キ

よ（る）

よ（せる）

to approach, to drop in, to gather, contribute, to draw up a chair

Common Usage:

寄付

寄生虫

年寄り

言い寄る

Examples:

赤い羽募金に300円寄付した。

目黒区には世界唯一の寄生虫博物館がある。

「年寄りだと思って馬鹿にするな！」

喫茶店でナンパに言い寄られた。

Translations:

I contributed 300 yen to the red-feather fundraising. (red feathers are used in Japan instead of red ribbons. not necessarily AIDS-related.)

In Meguroku is the world's only parasite museum.

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm old!"

I was approached by a smarmy guy in the coffee shop.

Radical:

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

奇 is the phonetic. It's a combination of 可 and 大, showing a person (大) who bends (可). In other words, a lame person. Somehow, this came to mean "strange, wonderous."

In 寄, 奇 lends its meaning of "lean, bend" to the roof up top to show someone leaning toward (and approaching) a building.

Bonus:



References:

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

規 - MEASURE the Circles, They're As Big As Your Eyes

Readings & Meanings:

キ

rule, regulation, compass

Common Usage:

規則

規格

定規

Examples:

校内では規則を守って下さい。

規格外のリンゴが安売りされていた。

授業中しゃべっていたので先生に定規で頭をたたかれた。

Translations:

Within the school grounds please observe the rules.

I was sold a substandard apple at a discount.

The teacher hit me on the head with a ruler for talking in class.

Radical:

見 is the radical, on the right.

Next to 見 is a pictograph of an arrow-like thing that was used to draw a straight line. A smaller piece of wood was attached to this to form a kind of compass for drawing circles.

References:

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

機 - A Very Complicated and Sharp MACHINE

Readings & Meanings:

キ

はた

machine, occasion

Common Usage:

機

機織り機（はたおりき）

危機一髪

自動販売機

自販機

Examples:

「鶴の恩返し」の昔話は、鶴が自分の羽を機で織って布を作る話だ。

昔の機織り機を博物館で見た。

危機一髪で助かった。

自動販売機のことを略して自販機ともいう。

Translations:

"The Crane's Return of a Favor" is a story about a crane who wove out of its own feathers a handmade cloth on a loom.

We saw an old-fashioned weaver's loom in the museum.

I was saved in the nick of time (by a hair's breadth).

We also call vending machines "自販機" for short.

Radical:

As in 械, the radical is 木, because the first machines were wooden.

幾 is the phonetic. 幺 is here twice on top; as it means "fine thread," this lends the idea of fine, minute, slight. 戈, a halberd, slices toward a 人. This originally meant "almost," as in the 人 was almost divided. It came to mean "how much" or "some."

In 機, this comes together as a wooden machine that has intricate, "minute" parts that come into repeated contact.

Bonus: 機織り機

If you're having trouble picturing a complicated, intricate wooden machine, take a look at this 機織り機 that I saw in Fukuoka.


The 機織り was very friendly and talkative. He told us that he is one of the few remaining traditionalist weavers in Japan. So rare and so time-consuming are the products of his trade (kimono obi, etc.) that nobody can pay for it in his area. They can only be sold in the expensive stores in Tokyo, or by special order.

References:

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

喜 - Oh JOY, a Feast!

Readings & Meanings:

キ

よろこ（ぶ）

joy, happy

Common Usage:

大喜び

喜々（嬉々）

Examples:

試験に合格したので家族が大喜びした。

彼女は喜々とした様子で先生に報告に行った。

Translations:

Because I passed my exam, my family were overjoyed.

She, with a gleeful countenance, went to report to the teacher.

Radical:

口 is the radical, on the bottom, indicating mouth.

The rest is a pictograph showing a serving pot on a stand with a stack of food.

Combine them and you get the idea of a feast, which indicates joy. At least, that's what I feel at a feast.

The sound mimics what the Japanese thought of as the sound of a happy, joyous person, especially in 喜々, KEE-KEE, a high-pitched squeal of joy.

Bonus: 犬は喜び...

I first learned this word in my winter in Japan. It's part of a folk song that everybody knows:

Yuki ya konko arare ya konko.
Futte mo futte mo mada furi yamanu.
Inu wa yorokobi niwa kake-mawari,
neko wa kotatsu de maruku naru.

You can hear how the song goes here: http://www3.u-toyama.ac.jp/niho/song/yuki/yuki_e.html

References:

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

季 - The SEASON of the Grain Harvest

Readings & Meanings:

キ

season (of the year)

Common Usage:

季節

四季

Examples:

友人から季節のお便りをもらった。

日本の四季の移り変わりは本当に美しい。

Translations:

I received a seasonal letter from my friends.

In Japan, the changing of the four seasons is truly beautiful.

Radical:

子 is the radical, meaning of course child/offspring.

禾 is on top, meaning grain or rice.

These combine to indicate a time when the children of the grain plants are harvested.

References:

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

希 - I DESIRE a RARE Embroidered Cloth

Readings & Meanings:

キ

rare, aspire, desire

Common Usage:

希望

希薄

古希

Examples:

災害被害地区の人々に希望を与える。

希薄な人間関係も悪くない。

60歳の人のことを「古代稀なり」といって、古希とも古稀とも書く。

Translations:

He gives hope to the people in the calamity-stricken area.

It's not bad to have thin human relations.

?

Radical:

巾, Haba, is our radical, down there on the bottom. It shows a clothwrapped around a head.

The other stuff is just two sets of intersecting lines. These indicate fine stitching, which was rare in those times.

References:

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

期 - A Square Lunar Calendar Shows TERMS of the Moon

Readings & Meanings:

キ

ゴ

term

Common Usage:

期末試験

同期

末期（まっき）

Examples:

期末試験は学年でトップだった。

同期の卒業生を連絡を取り合っている。

末期ガン患者の治療にあたる。

Translations:

My final exam was the top in my class.

I'm getting in touch with other graduates in the same class as me.

The treatment of the patient with the last stages of cancer was successful.

Radical:

月 is the radical, and here it is definitely derived from the moon kanji.

其 is the phonetic, and it means "that" now but originally was the pictograph of a square device for winnowing grain, plus a desk.

Square/rectangular and moon leads to the idea of a period or cycle, as in the fixed phases of the moon.

References:

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

記 - Arise and WRITE DOWN Your Dreams in Your Journal

Readings & Meanings:

キ

しる（す）

write down

Common Usage:

日記

記す

記憶

Examples:

彼に日記を盗み読みされた。

報告書にサインを記した。

そんなこと言ったかどうか記憶が定かでない。

Translations:

My diary was surreptitiously read by him.

I signed the report.

I don't have a clear memory of whether or not I said that.

Radical:

言, Gon-ben, is the radical.

己 is the phonetic, which is a pictograph of a pattern found on ancient pottery, originally meaning "arise" but came to mean "oneself."

If Kanji Networks is right about the meaning of 己 in 記, then the idea is "words that help raise clues/signs." An alternative idea would be that the words you write down are self-reflective.

References:

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

含 - Now, CONTAIN It!

Readings & Meanings:

ガン

ふく（む）

ふく（める）

contain, include, keep in one's mouth

Common Usage:

含まれる

含み笑い

含有量

Examples:

この福神漬けには人工着色料が含まれている。

「今に分かりますよ。」と言って、彼は含み笑いをした。

この食品の塩分の含有量は10mgだ。

Translations:

These pickled vegetables are made with manmade food coloring products.

"Now I understand" he said with a barely-contained giggle.

This food's salt content amount is 10mg.

Radical:

口, kuchi, mouth, is the radical.

今 is the phonetic. Of course, we know it means "now," but the pictograph is of a cover over some kind of contents, meaning to conceal an object by covering it totally. (The idea of "now" came from the idea of seizing a moment--to catch prey, that is.)

Combined, they show something contained in the mouth, or otherwise contained.

References:

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

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