額 - What's the AMOUNT of People with Hard FOREHEADS?

Readings & Meanings:

ガク

ひた（い）

amount, forehead

Common Usage:

額 （ひたい）

額縁

金額

Examples:

この発明は、研究者が日々、額に汗して得た成果だ。

表彰状を額縁に入れる。

レジのおつりの金額が間違っていたので、差額を返した。

Translations:

This invention was the result of researchers every day sweating from their brows.

I'm putting the certificate into a frame.

The register's balance amount was not correct, so I had to make up the difference.

Radical:

Oogai is our radical this evening, 頁. It means "head." It's a pictograph of a kneeling person with a prominent head.

Our phonetic is 客, which is just an U-kammuri 宀 on top of our friend 各 (see previous posts).

各 can lend us the sense of "hard," and the forehead is the hard part of the head (for some more than others).

Amount comes from another meaning, "notice board." 額 could mean notice board, very rarely, and from a notice board you can read the amount of seating capacity. (So sayeth KN.)

References:

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

革 - RENEW Your LEATHER Coat

Readings & Meanings:

カク

かわ

leather, reform

Common Usage:

革

皮革製品

革命

税制改革

Examples:

革のジャケットを買った。

皮革製品は手入れが面倒だ。

ロシア革命はマルクスの社会主義理論に基づいて遂行された。

与党主導の税制改革は失敗に終わった。

Translations:

I bought a leather jacket.

The repair of leather goods is troublesome.

The Russian Revolution was based on and accomplished by Marx's Socialist theory.

The government party's leader's tax reform ended in failure.

Radical:

革 is its own radical! Call it Kakunokawa.

The pictograph is of a stretched animal hide, with head and horns at the top and tail at the bottom, legs splayed out to the left and right.

References:

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

確 - I'm CERTAIN That Bird Has a Stone

Readings & Meanings:

カク

たし（か）

たし（かめる）

make certain, certain

Common Usage:

確かめる

確認

確か

確定

Examples:

それが本当かどうか確かめる必要がある。

それが本当かどうか確認する必要がある。

これだけ勉強すれば、日本語検定２級合格は確かだ。

就職先が確定した。

Translations:

It's necessary to ascertain whether it's true or not.

It's necessary to confirm whether it's true or not.

If you only do this to study, passing the second-level of Japanese certification will be certain.

My next job has been decided.

Radical:

Ishi-hen, 石, will be our radical tonight.

The phonetic element is 隺. 隹 is a pictograph of a bird (a short and squat bird, not one with a long tail, like in 鳥). The cover 冖 adds the sense of that squat little bird flying over the horizon. A barely-visible speck in the sky.

石 is stone, of course. But think of it like a cold, hard fact. So you're investigating something hard to see and getting cold, hard facts, so as to be certain.

References:

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

格 - That Tree's STATUS Wouldn't Be So High If Not For That Stick Propping It Up

Readings & Meanings:

カク

コウ

norm, status

Common Usage:

合格

人格

格が違う

Examples:

日本語検定２級に合格したい。

そんな事をいうなんて、彼の人格を疑うね。

俺は貴様のような奴とは格が違う。

Translations:

I want to pass the second-level Japanese certification test.

If he says such things, you have to doubt his character.

I am different (in class, in intelligence, on all levels) from people like you.

Radical:

Radical 木.

Phonetic 各. (see previous posts) Alone, 各 means each/every, but the pictograph shows a leg hitting a hard box. Take from that the idea of "hard."

So you've got a tree, which is supported by a hard something to be propped up.

References:

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

換 - EXCHANGE Children?!

Readings & Meanings:

か（える）

カン

か（わる）

exchange

Common Usage:

交換

換気扇

Examples:

電池が切れてきたので新しいものと交換した。

フライを揚げるので換気扇をつけた。

Translations:

My battery kept dying, so I exchanged it for a new one.

I'm deep-frying, so I turned on the fan.

Radical:

手, the hand radical, is on hand (ha!).

The phonetic is all that stuff on the right. 奐 indicates the birth of a child. In the original pictograph, you can see a woman with spread legs on top, hands ready to assist her on the bottom.

(No, I'm not going to post that pictograph. Stop asking.)

References:

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

替 - REPLACE Your Husband?!

Readings & Meanings:

か（える）

タイ

か（わる）

replace

Common Usage:

入れ替える

両替

替える

Examples:

新しい畳を入れ替えた。

円とドルを両替する。

円をドルに替えた。

Translations:

I switched in a new tatami mat.

I'm going to exchange yen for dollars.

I exchanged yen into dollars.

Radical:

Here's an oddball radical: 曰, or Hirabi.

I know it looks like 日, but Hirabi's middle line doesn't quite reach the right side. 曰 means "say" and is a picture of a mouth (口) with a suggestion of a tongue in the middle. In 替, though, it's just an action indicator.

(In fact, 曰 was replaced by 日 later on, for simplification. I say, too little, too late.)

On top we've got a doubled husband: 夫. 夫 is the standing figure of any person (doesn't have to be husband).

This kanji then shows one person taking the place of another.

References:

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

変 - A STRANGE and Tangled Tale

Readings & Meanings:

か（える）

ヘン

か（わる）

change, abnormal, strange

Common Usage:

人が変わる

変人

変質者

大変

Examples:

二年前の彼女とは人が変わったようだ。

江戸の発明家平賀源内は当時は変人扱いされていた。

暗い夜道は変質者に気をつけて、何かあったら警察に通報してください。

その女性は夫の死後、女手一本の子育てに大変な苦労した。

Translations:

She's a different person than the girl (I knew) two years before.

The Edo inventor Hiraga Gennai was treated as a weirdo.

Along a dark road at night, be careful of degenerates, and if anything happens report it to the police.

After her husband's death, that woman has had a hard time raising her children on her own.

Radical:

Suinyou (夊) down below is the radical. This was originally a pictograph of a dragging foot.

A note from KN: 夊 is often assumed to be the same as 夂, but they're different characters. Unfortunately, in combination with other kanji, 夊 often takes the form of 夂, leading to more confusion. Just memorize 変 as dragging a foot.

What's that on top? A simplified 赤, right? WRONG. But you were right about the simplification.

変 was originally 變. 糸 on both sides of 言. This represents a tangled situation. Tangled indeed.

References:

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

省 - REFLECT upon the fine details

Readings & Meanings:

かえり（みる） to reflect upon

セイ to look

ショウ suffix for government dept.

はぶ（く） to omit, cut down

Common Usage:

省みる

反省

運輸省

Examples:

今までのことを省みて、生活を改善する。

バケツを持って、廊下で反省していなさい。

高速道路の整備は運輸省の管轄だ。

Translations:

Reflecting upon my life up to this point, I'm going to better my life.

Hold the buckets and reflect in the hallway.

Highway maintenance is the Ministry of Transport's jurisdiction.

Radical:

目 is the radical, although it's on the bottom.

少 is on top, the kanji for very small or little. (Incidentally, this kanji is made from 小, which is a pictograph of a wooden stick and its shavings, and a ノ mark, which indicates a sword, cutting even that whittled stick into smaller pieces.)

So, look at the fine details. Certainly something that government departments should do.

"omit, cut down" is a borrowed meaning, unrelated to its original etymology.

Bonus: Buckets?

A traditional school punishment in Japan was to stand holding two buckets filled with water. That's not done anymore, but you still see it in manga and so on.

References:

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

返 - RETURN That Wood to Whence It Came

Readings & Meanings:

かえ（す）

かえ（る）

へん

return

Common Usage:

返す

返事

繰り返し

Examples:

本を図書館に返す。

返事は大きな声でしてください。

漢字の勉強は繰り返し復習することが大切だ。

Translations:

I'm going to return the book to the library.

Please give your answer in a loud voice.

In studying kanji, it is important to repeatedly review them.

Radical:

辶 Shinnyou, spilling out from the left into the bottom, the road particle strikes again.

The phonetic element is 反. This is a hand curving wood back onto itself.

The idea is that you return to your point of origin (via a road?).

References:

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

角 - I See HORNS Poking Out from around That CORNER

Readings & Meanings:

カク

かど

つの

corner, horn

Common Usage:

角（かど）

角（つの）

四角い

三角形

角界

Examples:

次の角を左折してください。

鬼には角がある。

彼の顔は四角い。

三角形のお皿を作った。

角界に新しいルールができた。

Translations:

Please make a left at the next corner(かど).

Demons have horns(つの).

His face is square.

I made a triangular plate.

There is a new rule in the world of Sumo.

Radical:

角 is its own radical! Call it Tsuno.

It is a pictograph of curved horns.

References:

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

欠 - YAWN with a Wide-Open Mouth

Readings & Meanings:

か（く）

ケツ

か（ける）

lack

Common Usage:

欠席

欠勤

欠ける

欠点

Examples:

クラスを欠席する。

会社を欠勤する。

道で転んで歯が欠けた。

欠点のない人などいない。

Translations:

I'll be absent from class.

I'll be absent from work.

I fell in the street and chipped a tooth.

There are no such people without weaknesses.

Radical:

欠 is its own radical! Call it Akubi, it's the wide-open-mouth radical.

It's a pictograph of a person with a wide-open mouth.

References:

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

限 - Adhere to the LIMITS

Readings & Meanings:

かぎ（る）

ゲン

limit

Common Usage:

限界

限りない

無限

制限速度

Examples:

彼の態度に我慢するにも限界がある。

限りなく広がる未来。

無限に広がる宇宙。

制限速度を守りましょう。

Translations:

There is a limit to his patience.

The future is limitlessly spreading out before us.

The universe spreads out infinitely.

Let's keep to the speed limit.

Radical:

阝 on the left means Kozato, piled earth.

On the right, we almost have "good," 良, but not quite. It's 艮, and Kanji Networks is a little unclear about it. KN says that 艮 is an indelible tattoo, whcih indicates adherence. However, I can't find info on 艮 itself.

At any rate, the Kozato radical (shorthand for 阜) makes us think of walled borders around a town, hence, limits.

References:

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

掛 - HANG the Rod on the Wall

Readings & Meanings:

かか（る）

かけ（る）

hang, catch, call

Common Usage:

掛ける

掛け算

手掛かり

Examples:

タオルを肩に掛けた。

掛け算が得意だ。

手掛かりが何もない。

Translations:

I hung the towel on my shoulders.

Multiplication is my strong point.

There aren't any clues.

Radical:

Obviously, this is the 手 radical.

The phonetic is 卦, which is two 土 (earth) and a divining rod (卜). The piled-up earth represents a wall. So this shows a divining rod leaning against a wall.

Add 手 (hand) and you get the idea of someone leaving that rod there. Perhaps they hang it on the wall. References:

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

係 - The Officer CONNECTS the Dots with Extended Thread

Readings & Meanings:

かか（る）

ケイ

connect, in charge

Common Usage:

関係

肉体関係

飼育係り

Examples:

彼はその事件に関係がありそうだ。

上司と肉体関係をもつ。

クラスの飼育係りになる。

Translations:

He seems to be connected to that affair.

I am having sexual relations with the supervisor.

I became the Class Pet Raiser.

Radical:

It's not 糸.

人 is the radical here, as you can see on the left.

But on the right is not 糸.

The phonetic element is 系, which is 糸 with an extension, 丿.

So 係 is a person connecting objects with a thread. I guess only people in charge should do that.

But not with 糸.

Bonus:　カンケイネー！

In Japanese, there is a very useful phrase: それは関係がない。 It means, "There's no connection!" It's useful in debating things with your friends, or arguments in general (just shout 関係ない！), but it's also used when watching TV and something totally silly and absurd takes place.

Speaking of silly and absurd, below is comedian Yoshio Kojima's attempt at teaching English.

In 2007, Yoshio Kojima became famous for dancing in his underwear, pumping his fist at the ground, and saying "そんあの関係ネー！"

References:

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

交 - Dad MIXES the Stew in the Nabe Pot

Readings & Meanings:

か（う）

か（わす）

コウ

まじ（る）

to be mixed, to be associated with

Common Usage:

交わす

交通

外交

交換留学生

Examples:

友達の証に握手を交わした。

交通ルールを守りましょう。

政府の外交政策に疑問を感じる。

シンガポールからの交換留学生を仲良くなった。

Translations:

To show we were friends, we shook hands.

Let's stick to the rules of traffic.

I feel that there's a problem with the government's foreign policy.

I made friends with the exchange student from Singapore.

Radical:

Another cover radical, 亠, is the Nabe-buta, the Nabe lid radical.

We've seen this a couple of times or so.

We've essentially got a cross-legged person here. Yes, it looks like the Dad kanji, 父. Kanji networks says that's just a coincidence.

So, cross-legged person -> cross, interchange, mix, mingle, converse.

交 is also a frequently-used element itself; see, for example, 学校.

References:

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

害 - Cover Your Mouth before You HARM Someone

Readings & Meanings:

カイ

harm, calamity

Common Usage:

百害あって一利なし

公害

Examples:

テレビは子供にとって百害あって一利なし、だ。

中国の公害問題が心配だ。

Translations:

For children, TV has a hundred harmful points and not one single benefit.

I'm worried about the Chinese pollution issue.

Radical:

宀 is the radical... have I dealt with this before? I guess not directly.

This is the う-crown, U-kammuri. It's called that because it looks like the top of the katakana ウ. It is a pictograph of a roof or some kind of cover.

口, mouth, is also in there. Everything above the mouth element indicates something covering the mouth. It looks painful.

If your speech is hindered, you are probably damaged or harmed.

References:

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

皆 - All Right, EVERYONE Line Up!

Readings & Meanings:

カイ

みな、みんな

all, everything, everyone

Common Usage:

皆

皆勤

皆無

Examples:

皆で協力して掃除をした。

皆勤賞をとる。

そのような事実は皆無だ。

Translations:

With everyone cooperating, we finished cleaning.

I won the award for perfect attendance.

No such facts are in evidence.

Radical:

I already dealt with this in the post on 階. But here is the explanation again.

比 is on the top of 皆, and we should know it from 比べる, to compare. 比 is a pictograph of two people lined up.

The bottom part of 皆 is a squished version of 自, self. It acts as an action indicator.

References:

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

介 - MEDIATORS Introduce Distant People and Bring Them Closer

Readings & Meanings:

カイ

mediate, come between, to aid

Common Usage:

...介して

自己紹介

介護

Examples:

鈴木君とは友達を介して知り合った。

自己紹介をする。

老人介護施設を訪問する。

Translations:

I got to know Suzuki through acquaintances.

I will introduce myself.

I visit a nursing home.

Radical:

The top "roof" of this kanji is actually a form of 人.

(I was surprised as well.)

Below, you see two vertical lines. These indicate two sides.

Think of a person standing between two people, introducing them and reducing the space between them.

References:

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

灰 - ASHES in the Stove

Readings & Meanings:

カイ

はい

ashes

Common Usage:

灰色

石灰

灰

Examples:

灰色はねずみ色ともいう。

石灰でドッジボールの線を引く。

火山が噴火したのであたりが灰だらけになった。

Translations:

The color gray (灰色) can also be called mouse-colored (ネズミ色).

We drew the line for the dodgeball game with lime.

Because of the volcano eruption, the surrounding area became full of ash.

Radical:

Radical is 火. It's stuck in a roof-like element that is actually 又, the hand that indicates action. It originally indicated what you take out of a firepit (after the fire is gone).

Well, when I said the roof was 又, I was referring to the archaeological evidence from before 206 BC. After that, the hand was turned into a stove-like shape in 厂.

References:

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

解 - SOLVE the Problem by Dissecting It...

Readings & Meanings:

カイ

ゲ

と（く）

と（かす）

と（ける）

to solve, untie, dissolve; explanation

Common Usage:

難解

解く

不可解

理解

正解

Examples:

難解な問題を解く。

彼は不可解な人間だ。とても理解できない。

全問正解の人には特別プレゼントがあります。

Translations:

I solve difficult problems.

He is a mysterious, incomprehensible man. I cannot understand him.

There is a special present for those who got 100% of the questions right.

Radical:

角 is the radical. Its name is Tsuno. It's a pictograph of curved horns. It's the horn radical. Splendid.

刀 is above 牛 on the right. 刀, in English, is katana, or sword. 牛, a cow.

This entry does not look like it's going to be PETA-friendly.

So, you take your knife and dismember a cow, removing the horns, too. In a sense, you are disentangling the cow, separating it into parts you can eat and parts you can use.

In the same way, we must untangle difficult problems in order to understand them.

References:

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