Kanji Pict-o-graphix

Học Kanji qua ảnh

PRLINICIAIGL suchen sata pseer vá có 5222m2 64

HN NT e0 ltốc co it eeiidseeeteo óó

Nà ác co Ha on chở rEzcszknnkeh 67 FORGET An <ceinoceccerpnscodinvsoceeccssenmmesscnncelss 68 S80 CS N - 77: sêcs catck s26 t002i20141646sxãengg 70

CHAPTER 4: PEOPLE 71

PMI LEE 74 (áwvviiccvctTAGLz:í c2 2265134205426 0v4 72

lạ 1T 2, POPW7V R9 Y-SAAẨkhốc 22(V/2LVYỆC "PK ANVĐIVAAM y4 v30 6/24 ` 7ó

47.7) | CA NÀO JV00/01000071 7/0 lọc vác 77 PeOHeW EUHAADA 42.2224 0((20202226212<6(2-22266<2 bu 78

VVbiigf 6L NNGIN ;.s as 066v 0236890316625 80 (VN TẾ Ki ecg coi 2 0n 90220 62xai4645416435s2s sai: 82

Hedqrt .- -. -ccẶcẰ c2 94

ME YÊT bo co 14060066c64511425-xx4)441-22x6090166/4/6344565e596142 96 FHI! peorecavensinscesso+nmaretameripesheripisomnereageret 01978 97 Head, Neck, & Hoair .- 98 EXVS: areeente orprernssiaienedbeeniecmsstteriiacpiwratecetsia gates 100 DEIP” đun coi 0u c1632/E1244L62244616444x4kekka46 g4 101

DI TE An 0y 0520xn40 2126-40 rxs-tdrgrzzererei 102 F03910 x92 g)r60nv0YYycnos:ccseLagno(n0Menei 104

TH Tổ gi aec se: 107

BOGIDÉN ááuyvkdiSes65/020ScGGã1:012/60153002818mieeovEsiok 108 CEPEEREdìG 106266200612 241474441962293ixs9925< 162

TIN ó v áxá (000660300 dkrbk coi ma“ 109

VN) si ái2v6i656650aie2kenEobcsncegatcsa 110 CHAPTER 9: TOOLS 163

TÊN (uc cv boot sa 112 THIÊN 1181415160165 0614 2Gà(10!ssả 164

KT ca Go áả(00aa a0 (0(0naaxsasaianeo 168

CHAPTER ó: SPIRIT o esevse 113 NHI sec 1Ÿ v21 ccd 16a cac ve, 1ó9

ST TOP Ki cLtox0icztš 6c cfiseikek4216E/ 2 sẴAY8251xxisƒhhoytà 114 CON ccc 3c dsc2c2641022=60114ssgEsx420218aA)1//31-2AAs2x2 170

KT 0à 714ok(c¿xvVbZg(iy6sayag22'©zia- s4 s2 1sx 116 CHÍ tac pilin an ih oN ak Sas Sled anes 172

NGHI HE cáe.srau2cccovasaueii.6scagxda 118 BỆNH GÌ NT 2=-ebe2aan.221ẠissySao0‹0 93640409C393-0ocsae- 174

KHI cg4eie4444 (44222242xai42534110ksossl\alAlfswa >6 120 ĐH Xe nc0svAscccsosieasevEeaoozbe 175

II i4 c02 52-2260 xs sa 202-002 122 D0 N Í i0:g0 00c sex2vl 5/00 0Aágesj0002asEdcvgocooliei 176

UI: oma chk ce ee nal DR le 123 Pa ie akan HH T 178

NHI CO a, 9 puieaocesesere sceeetetbidceub eee eae elena 124

CHAPTER 1O: PLACES 179

CHAPTER 7: POWER 125 PÏ[@ces cuc cASSSSceerknnves 180

FEU 292 201480%6-549291109906622)59/0000f2y22 0A 126 VilÌage Ặ Q2 re 182

| ne 128 LD -— HH XS - — 183

Master .ccccceccceeeecueeeeeseceeesaecesesecaeeeensess 130 Gt eee ccccececceceeeeeesecesceuseseeeeeseuaaeeseeess 184

4, 0.5 131 DRO ‹ assgvvfs-c<62sargsse09609661339: 96 ve, S66-00699 P561) 186

mà 132 Building & Roof . Ặcccc c2 188

Soldier se 133 Shelier -L LG On n nh se 190

(Never Budge an) lnch_ 134

Enclosed -.cccQQQQSn nhu 136 CHAPTER 1T: JOURNEY ses TỘI

NI cm sen re an 138 án ch ác ca can ng no 192

SHIR VN (G GHỐK se.essskiesesesessLESLEkEAics=inrEt5s 140 EỆOG IỀ PP: sụt 1441000nả1)x6<46xxs4xx+xgsgleagpiVEesspme- 194

DO 5 AI EU cam =e4se>s-cboo #2294 7946)0x 6nax»sk4e 142 AIM vip 4 /6o147454174)/42t4xx6soyA402x914475G4zbyffoegaavivai 196

CAN sưa xnRGixoasr(41071g5g070V60sg'e2kf2segib36:656g8i8ốc 197 CHAPTER 8: LEARN =— 1111 cose 143 DI ga deerfennessereecree E02 006 cœsscoitbssessere 198

HT ‘eet cá144216xx266410126+.6<s326256z8E5nf<sapgJVfdteWn 144 G0 hài nung zcsecss sẽ ee 199

BEBO, wren mmKea rie er righ eeerpebsimepcnmbersecceaxHehe 146 BEES dc: senveccansonsvcitngeunesd ces bGlieckRaceiseneasies 200

NI lxcrcoftreddlereesotrEssecomsrilbcsedesazses 148 creat AOR PETG se vssssssseooserfeksdksi442oaLiesssái 201

BliGe FEW | sins seacesiccnieiereliaeeinGvecrmubibawesereeiotenn 150 KT H c9116ti66601<6ccxaseia2 11G cà vện 202

PAPRIUE: ‘rein sessine intense ieamehshqtee-eoendwicneaive vesetale 152

[RINDI cancadeece sh encancteespcestespitt-ses bensanntdiuseae 154 NOTES 203

Dy IIE Nan09 1166662601261 AwreeeeesS5v000/6222s04f 156

COND Ti ane rbien sosnaandés Wientddnamamecieiecensledeaete 158 INDEX 207

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 | 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 | 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:

Ji UW F1

river 55 mountain 167 gate 1101

Symbols use logical designs to indicate

more abstract notions:

perhaps 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:

free 126 willow 128 timber 152

INTRODUCTION

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 have often been

simplified and stylized over the centuries The kanji

STOP 1205, for instance, has changed greatly from its

original depiction of a footprint:

G7 FU ak ik

MH 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, | 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 | couldn't come up with a satisfactory visual or textual mnemonic For a comprehensive, graduated course in kanji, see Kenneth G Henshall’s very fine book, A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters (Charles E Tuttle, 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 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 char- 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 cross-reference numbers at the bottom of each entry

INTRODUCTION

M GUIDE TO THE ENTRIES

The standard kanji entries in this book include the

7— The sun evaporates water, making

the air humid lo

8— IB water 66 [A sun 1° (id wet ns —11

9

1 Meaning in English For the most 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 kanji 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, 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 (Kanji 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 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

5 Kun (Japanese) reading Always in lower case These pronunciations (kun-yomil represent native Japanese words “fitted” to the imported kanji Most Japanese verbs and adjectives are kun readings Underlined letters represent verbal

or adjectival inflections that are not a part of the kanji’s actual 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

CULTIVATE 246 and a box in DOUBLE 631 | have also

O 6 OB

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 soi

101 and WARRIOR 753 The schematic of elements (see

number 8, below) identifies the correct form

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-alone kanji or is a 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

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 entry kanji | have tried to 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 are 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:

IZ 2 Em Faas]

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-000” instead

of a cross-reference number Again, much of the

information here derives from Henshall’s book,

which describes the kanji elements in detail

10

THE SYLLABARIES

In addition to kanji, Japanese uses two pho-

netic syllabaries, hiragana and katakana

Each syllabary of forty-six characters repre-

sents 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

A cow says, * A cow says, “Moo.” Yoyo Yodel

Le) ese ono writen sm

turn ki, shi, chi, ni, hi,

L LOGUBLERS] used to double ES sonants are

— the O and U doubled when

t) + <p vowel sounds “2 preceded by a

of other kana: smaller, silent ko» ko, ku> tsu, as in:

RA-WA-O-N HIRAGANA KATAKANA

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, and ha to

vibrating sounds: ga, za,

da, and ba

16

KANJI COMPOUNDS

Each kanji has meaning by itself Kanji

also can be combined in kanji compounds,

or jukugo, 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 com-

Utsuru /su, hqeru WQ x2

The sun shines outward from

As bright as a day with three suns

| DAMP, MOIST, HUMID

The sun evaporates water, making the air humid

SHITSU shimeru/su

MA sun | m sun 1 fd sun 1 HH water 66 (8 sun 1 {i wet n-<

H | SUN, DẠY 1) | CLEAR, BRIGHT | WARM 7Ì

NICHI, JITSU | a *

hi, -ka | : ` »

The sun rises each day 7 | - ñn sò

The sun and a candle shine clear

and bright light

THE SUN / THE

| asa S= Se yo, yoru

The morning is shared by the sun

and the moon

0 rise n-9 [3 moon 14

making a nice view at night

MA shelter 1147 fd person 362 Gl evening 11

| DARK, GLOOMY 10]

Gloomy people see the dark

shadow instead of the sun

IB sun [B stand 627 [W sun 1

| OUTSIDE, OTHER, UNDO

hayai akatsuki

We can only escape the sun’s heat The sun rises through the grass Three stars were seen at dawn

in late evening early in the morning

Ml sụn 1 Ti escape 1167 ® sun 1 fl grass n-19 Ml sun : LR clear n-20

20

D high n-21 LN sun 1 IE sun 1 [R sword 1023 [ll opening 566 BB hill 1094 (A sun 1 (i rays n-26

| CHILD 22] ‘| ILLUMINATE, SHINE 25 |

a

VY

The sword is illuminated by the

sun above and fire below

MI bright 24 im fire 32

is a place in the soil

EE soil 102 [HB sun 1 (a rays n-26

_|EASY, CHANGE, DIVINATION 23 |

life is easy in the sunshine

im bigeyed lizard n—23

| RAISE, FRY

YO ageru /garu

Raise your hand in the frying hot sun

IB hand 000 [A sun | (a rays n-26

| HOT WATER, HOT SPRING

where hot water springs up

HH water 46 [BM sun | [M rays n-26

PB now 30 fl heart 499

22

A child as young and green as a Inescapable summer hect

new season’s rice plants

& tice plant 231 m child 447 ™ mask n-40 im slow progress 1218

) [TEN-DAY PERIOD | AUTUMN 4]

SHU

= | SPRING 43 |

SHUN

Ten days of sunshine in June Rice stalks turn the fiery colors haru

of autumn Cherry trees bloom in the spring sun

Hi wrap 949 sun | IO rice plant 231 [I fire s3 Mi branches n-43 imi sun |

=p [PERMIT FORGIVE 38) [WINTER

ñ KYO

yurusu, moto

Permit me to speak at noon `

-D speak speck 3840 ` LÍ noon 37 a

TỔ

f

K | GRIEF, SADNESS 39 | vg

8 SHU

©v urei /eru Winter snow and ice impede my

I've got the autumn blues progress

BM autumn 41 m heart 499 ™ slow progress 1218 mm ice 94

WIND, RAIN, & CLOUDS 47 -54

Lightning flashes and thunder

echoes in the field

M rain 45 im field 201 rain 45 fal road 1214

| ELECTRICITY | CONVEY, TRANSMIT

| shake and tremble at the foot of

a cliff

Mi rain 45 ml tremble n-so

People transmit clouds of contagious diseases

ID person 362 [RE cloud 54

h As an element this means

cloud Alone, it is a rarely used character meaning “speak.” See 840

A person flows downstream

IB water 66 =[M person n-se [fl river 55

A calamity of flood and fire

MH river 55 im” fire 83

À ship in the middle of the Together, two people come to the Sittin’ on the dock of the bay

open sea harbor to see their reflection

water 46 [B middle 954 Hi water co [BM together 388 =I self 450 IE water 46 [§ red nes [i pull 817

DEEP WATER, ABYSS "WATER" 66 `× | SEA ó7Ì

*

` ` N KAI

/ + The sea is the mother of life

H water 66 [B person 363 [i mother 446

EN This is the radical

fuchi for water

ater penetrates the cave ⁄Z

water óó [§ same sao

yogoreru /su, kitanai

Tears cannot wash the dirt of

asai A i fi »- uku/kabu /kaberu ớ” waku /kasu ce al a

lash in the shallow water A hand lets a child float in A gushing fountain of boiling

the water water

water 66 {i halberds soi H vokr 6ó [H hànd óc [R child 447 HH woler 66 [ emerge n-78

Y, DEFENSE | DEPEND ON, DUETO, REASON 76} —[ SOURCE, ORIGIN 79 |

Depending on where you place

the drill in the field

Two samurai screamed when

threatened by menacing flames

0 fire sa [N exact 1089 1 mouth 566 CH red (x2) n-5

| BURN, ROAST 85] | VIOLENCE, EXPOSE

Kt \ FR AIS

SHO BO, BAKU

yaku /keru abareru /ku

BAKU 5

ay a firecracker explodes in a burst of fire

I fire s3 LH burst n-90

30

Bice 94 { east 91 Ml water 66 FJ crack n—94

| COLD 93) | SNOW 96] |FROST 97 |

Broof 1144 fi plants n-93 El ice 94

Snow: rain you can hold in your hand

Hal draws up the area’s boundaries

NI :oil toi {8 halberd soi

A plant grows in the soil

ayy, VY! OTe NSO

sloping cliff “ons

E1 soil toi [ qgoinst 957 th

| EMBANKMENT 100 Ì 103} — | RESIST, OPPOSE

[EI SL AN

2E ys 7L

TEI KO

tsutsumi

The sun shines on the embankment Miners work in a hole deep in The hands oppose management

of soil the earth

A soil 101 (BA sun 1 (i leg 417

BB soil 101 (MB shelter 1147 [N desk 157 IB hand 660 ~~ ([B shelter 1147, [i desk 157

32

Ni ba cy * SẺ“

CÓ PaaS NS Agrees đe cớ

gees ets sitter ses 2

aw d ^^ HAY

a: Ay Seer ee

Behe ae en AES: eae ae reo ort ta 2

FISH, LURE, CHANGE

#

CHO tsuri /ru

$T

SHIN hari

metal 105 [A stand 627 [ll scene n-106 IE metal 105 [B little 926 HD money 708

106} | CHAIN, LINK 107 |COIN

Hal flips a metal coin

EK) metal 105 [— halberd ao:

WORLD

| TURF, LAWN 111) ~~ [ WORK, DUTIES 114) | ART, SKILL, PLANT 17

SHI Ạ KIN GEI

shiba wait tsutomeru

M grass 126 mm path n-111 Aj grass 124 ff] flower 119 Hl power 745 M grass 124 im speak n-117

| STALK, STEM 112) ~~ [ GROW THICKLY 115] — [FLOWER, SHOWY, CHINA _178]

KEI 4 MO KA, GE

kuki 7 shigeru | hana

A hand cuts the grassy stalks from

the soil Hal makes the grass grow thickly A Chinese flower grows among the grass

FE grass 124 PB hand 600 i soil 101 PA grass 124 im halberd soi MI grass 124 fl flower n-118

| CHRYSANTHEMUM 113) [FLOWER 116} — [FRAGRANT, SWEET SMELL _119]

hana kanbashii

A chrysanthemum in the grass,

with rice-colored petals

M grass 124 ml rice 217

The plants change into flowers

MI grass 124 tal change 374

This person takes in the sweet smell of the grass

M grass 124 lm person 386

34

BAMBOO & GRASS 120 - 124

are used as pipes in the officials’ Bamboo reeds

This is the radical for

grass, though a number

o hands count with a bamboo of other elements have

cus the same shape, such as

bamboo 123 fl eye 538 fl hands n-122 _—+hands in character 122 `

“a

BOKU, MOKU, SHU

ki, ko atsumeru /maru

A tree with spreading branches Birds gather in a tree

te FD or Tế e0) F8 shine n—127 Em tree 126 ™ basket n—130 im fruit 126

| ROOT, ORIGIN, BOOK 125] = — | WILLOW, WILLOWY 128) | BALANCE

The roots of a tree are cylindrical

fl tree 126 Iml roots n—125

KEN, GON

Character 125 is also used after yanagi

numbers to indicated that the things

being counted are cylindical

A willow tree A heron balances in a tree

ID tree 126 [ flow n-128 [ tree 126 [R heron 331

36

Hands take acorns from the tree Hal plants a tree in the soil Plant a tree in the soil

hand 580 [MB hand 611 [i tree 126 Al soil io) WW tree 126 Gl halberd soi HH tree 126 [R uprighi n—137

EXTREME, POLE 133] |REST 138 |

KYU

ỷ yasumu

A A vacationer rests by a tree

EH] person 362 LN tree 126 KYOKU, GOKU

is and trees generate leaves

ass 124 fa generation 100 Ei tree 126

is

Divide a tree to analyze it | cut the tree into kindling

mỈ needle 1006 = ax 1072 Hi) tree 126 ax 1072 PA grass 124

FOREST 142

RIN

Two trees make a forest

mada HE) tree i26

This tree is immature

> WOODS 143

AK SHIN

mori

Three trees mean woods

PA tree 126 i tree 126 Gl tree 126

This tree has a big tip

38

4 My" ——— Le A branch from a tree

SATSU, SETSU Hl tree 126 LR branch 148 korosu

`

Kill the trees

Mr XM'‹vdvsê [BRANCH OFF 150Ì Lj

taba, tabaneru, tsuka, tsukaneru

Bundled tree branches

Hal made a wooden device

EH) tree 126 (8 command 793

| BOARD, PLATE 156

HAN, BAN ita

Trees are cut into boards

HH tree 126 (H against 957

yooden table | read a book on making fences A box made of bamboo and wood

126 GI desk n-157 ID tree 126 t[R book ses FA bamboo 123

ee books sit atop a wooden kshelf A tree is cut into a pillar for the Varnish resins ooze like water from

master’s house a tree

ee 126 (i apply 595 HD tree 126 (H master 734 IB water 66 «TB tree 126 [R woler 57

Correctly arrange the bundle of sticks

FS bundle 153 PM strike 802 iM correct 826

Leave nothing but cut branches

ree 126 OH month (x2) 14 Hl tree 126 CH respectful 703 HL tree 126

UH leave 956

Enter the valley

MOUNTAINS & VALLEYS 172 - 180

ARK, OBSCURE, LONELY 172] | PEAK, TOP 175 | FR | CAPE, STEEP 178 |