Kanji - Level 11 - Kanji Flashcards
(39 cards)
功
Achievement
Radicals: 工 construction + 力 power
Using your construction power you build something great. A true achievement built for the achievement of making kanji learning easier!
Reading: こう
This achievement was made possible by こういち, so of course this construction project is a giant statue of the man himself. What an achievement of a statue. What an achievement of an achievement.
成
Become
Radicals: 戈 drunkard + 刀 sword
When a drunkard holds a sword it becomes something else. The drunkard doesn’t become a swordsman, they’re still just a drunkard. But the sword in their hands does.
Reading: せい
The sword has become a saber (せい)! It’s just like the saber you have! Hey, wait.
岸
Coast
Radicals: 山 mountain + 厂 cliff + 干 dry
The mountain on top of the cliff is dry from the coast below. Just from looking at the raging shore below, you’d think everything would be wet, it’s splashing everywhere!
Reading: がん
Sitting up there, watching the coast with you, is Gandhi (がん). The world famous Gandhi, is just hanging out up here with you, looking down at what you now realize must be a coast in India.
競
Compete
Radicals: 立 stand + 兄 older brother
Standing next to your older brother is another standing older brother of yours. They’re trying to compete, to see which of them can stand the straightest and tallest.
Readings: きょう, けい
Your older brothers are trying to compete to see which of them gets to go to きょうと with you. You won a free trip to きょうと, but there’s only one other ticket, so now your brothers are competing for you.
争
Conflict
Radicals: 勹 prison + ヨ wolverine +亅 barb
If you keep a wolverine in a prison with barbs, you’re likely to get into a conflict with animal rights groups. Wolverines aren’t meant to be kept in cages, let alone barbed prisons. There’s going to be some sort of conflict here, and animal activist groups are not going to be happy with you.
Reading: そう
When the wolverine cuts itself inside the barbed prison (which is inevitable), the conflict changes. Now there is a conflict between the wolverine and its soul (そう). Does it lose it and become a shell of its former self? Or does it keep fighting and try to hang onto what’s left of its soul?
便
Convenience
Radicals: ｲ leader + 一 ground + 田 + rice paddy + メ treasure
A leader stands upon the ground of the rice paddy. She is searching for treasure. It is said that this treasure here in this rice field will make things much easier for the leader (that’s what leaders really want, after all). If she gets this treasure, it will be a great convenience for her, because convenience is everything when you’re the leader.
Readings: べん, びん
She finds a place to dig in the ground. It looks like there’s some fresh dirt here. Finally, the treasure of convenience that will make this leader’s life so much easier. She digs into the ground and pulls out a box. When she opens it, she finds out it’s a bento (べん). “My god,” she thinks. “This really will make my life more convenient. My people can take their lunches with them now instead of coming back to base to eat, which will waste way less time!”
老
Elderly
Radicals: 耂 coffin + 匕 spoon
By the time you finish digging a coffin hole with nothing but a spoon, you’ll be an old elderly person. Digging with nothing but a spoon takes a long time, especially when the hole needs to be big enough for a coffin. You might as well be digging it for yourself at this rate. By the time you finish, you’ll be all wrinkled and elderly and just about ready to keel over.
Reading: ろう
Now that you’re elderly (and probably about to die) you suddenly crave some delicious roe (ろう). Salmon roe, sea urchin roe, tofugu roe, doesn’t matter. Your old, tired bones need roe after all that hard work!
命
Fate
Radicals: 令 orders + 口 mouth
Orders coming from your mouth will determine the fate of your soldiers. You are their commanding officer and your orders determine their life and death.
Reading: めい, みょう
You are the commanding officer on the Mayflower (めい). You give orders to colonize America. The orders spewing from your mouth hole determine the fate of the settlers and the fate of America and the fate of the world! You and the Mayflower have changed everything forever.
初
First
Radicals: ネ spirit + 刀 sword
If you want a spirit sword, you have to be the first one to find it. Do you really think the first person to come across a spirit sword wouldn’t want it?! No. So if you’re any place but first, you’re not getting anything.
Reading: しょ
If you were lucky enough to be the first one to find the spirit sword, you should open up a small show (しょ) to show it off! And then you can make yourself the first in line every day to see the show.
指
Finger
Radicals: 扌fingers + 匕 spoon + 日 sun
Try to use your fingers to spoon out some of the sun and you’ll come back with just one finger.
Reading: し
Don’t worry, you aren’t the only one out there with just one finger, sheep (し) only have one finger too. I mean, they’re hooves, which are really just a single animal finger. It’s just big and kind of flat.
味
Flavor
Radicals: 口 mouth + 未 jet
What is the jet of your mouth? It’s flavor. It’s what shoots your mouth off, which explains why it hurts so much when you eat something awesome.
Reading: み
And what has more flavor than a big slab of meat (み)? You love meat and its flavor nearly as much as you love the flavor of its juice. So many good things to put in your mouth!
追
Follow
Radicals: ⻌ scooter + 㠯 bear + 丶drop
On a scooter there is a bear with a drop on its head trying to follow and chase you! You accidentally splashed it with water and it’s not happy about it. You’re on your own scooter, luckily, but that doesn’t make this any less terrifying.
Reading: お
The bear is trying to follow you because it wants your obi (お) as compensation for its injured pride. The obi is waving in the wind behind your scooter, and the bear is reaching out with its teeth to try and grab it.
神
God
Radicals: ネ spirit + 申 humble
You should have a spirit that’s humble when before a god. You never really have to act all nice and humble before anyone else, but if you meet a god… well… you should probably lower yourself appropriately. They can smite you and all that.
Reading: しん, じん
When you see a god, you need to get down on your shins (しん). Get down on your ankles? No, not low enough. Knees? No, no, get your shins flat on the ground to show how humble you really are. Luckily, you’re wearing jeans (じん), so at least that will stop your poor shins getting chafed!
良
Good
Radicals: 丶drop + 艮 root
A drop of water to a root is good. It’s good for the roots to grow and live and thrive. And what’s good for roots is good for our plants and us humans too.
Reading: りょう
A good way to get a lot of drops of water for your roots is to buy a row boat (りょう). Then just row out to the middle of the lake and plonk all the roots right into the source!
意
Idea
Radicals: 音 sound + 心 heart
The sound of your heart gives me an idea. The methodic thump thump thumping of a heart puts me in a trance that gives me great ideas. It’s a very inspirational sound, the sound of a heart is. It gives me an idea.
Alternatively, you could look at this kanji and see a “stand” radical and something that kind of (almost) looks like the kanji for “think.” When you stand up and think, you come up with your very own ideas!
Reading: い
The heart of an eagle (い) is very strong. The person who knew this probably came up with the idea to make the bald eagle a symbol of the United States. Eagles are always flying around and doing things, so their hearts are very strong.
労
Labor
Radicals: 龸 viking + 力 power
A Viking in a position of power does not need to labor in the fields. Labor is for the weak! A Viking of power takes what he wants, and need not labor for it. A powerful Viking plunders all and takes what he wants!
Reading: ろう
It takes a lot of labor to harvest roe (ろう) so that’s what the Viking decides to take first! Roe is delicious, but it’s small and delicate. Vikings don’t labor for their own roe! They take it and eat it!
級
Level
Radicals: 糸 thread + 及 escalator
There are pieces of thread on each escalator showing you what level they go to in your school. Each escalator takes you to a different grade, so make sure you follow the right thread or you’ll end up in a class that’s either way above or way below your level.
Reading: きゅう
You want to see what the highest level is, so you go up the wrong escalator. At the top you find a giant cucumber (きゅう).
好
Like
Radicals: 女 woman + 子 child
There is a woman and a child in front of you. You like them very much.
Reading: こう
“I like you two,” you say to the woman and child. They both turn their heads 180 degrees back towards you. They both have faces that look just like こういち’s. “We like you too,” they say in unison.
昔
Long ago
Radicals: 龷 blackjack + 日 sun
You’ve been playing blackjack in the sun since long ago. This is the longest game of blackjack you’ve ever played and it feels like ages since you started. You’ve been sitting out in the sun playing blackjack since long, long ago.
Reading: むかし
Once you finally finish the game, you walk the long walk back home, in the sun, barefoot, on a dirt road that hasn’t been maintained since long ago. Your feet are all sweaty from being out in the sun, and walking on this dirt road gives you muck ashi (むかし). Your ashi (feet) are all mucky and muddy from the combination of dirt and sweat. Your muck ashi are really gross, man.
低
Low
Radicals: ｲ leader + 氏 clan + 一 ground
The leader of your clan wants to live close to the ground so he demands you get low. Low, low, with your belly to the ground. That way you’re always below him, since he’s the leader.
Reading: てい
Low people like you can only eat low food like potatoes. But that’s boring, so you low people learned to make tater (てい) tots. You roll them to each other and eat them without lifting your heads.
育
Nurture
Radicals: 𠫓 trash + 月 moon
Give trash to the moon and it will nurture and raise that trash like it’s its own little moon baby.
Reading: いく
The moon nurtures the trash ball until one day, it speaks! “行く (いく), 行く！” it says. It wants to go live with mom moon!
令
Orders
Radicals: 令 orders
If you know the radical meaning orders you know the kanji meaning orders as well!
Reading: れい
Your orders are to get a ray (れい) gun.
拾
Pick up
Radicals: 扌fingers + 合 suit
You see something that would suit you so you use your fingers and pick up the thing you want. You can pick up anything you think suits you. A shiny rock. A new pair of pants. Anything!
Reading: ひろ
You’re walking around looking for something to pick up when you see a sword in a rock. Yes, this will suit you. You pick up the sword and people jump out around you and tell you that you are the new hero (ひろ)! Uh oh. Maybe you shouldn’t have picked this up.
注
Pour
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 主 master
A tsunami master has the power to pour water wherever he pleases. Tsunami masters are masters over the most powerful water force in the universe, so it makes sense that they have the ability to pour water at will, wherever they please. Best not tick off the master, unless you want a tsunami poured on your head.
Reading: ちゅう
If Chewbacca (ちゅう) was trying to attack you, you’d be able to defend yourself easily. Simply pour a tsunami on him and Chewbacca would surrender in a heartbeat. Chewbacca doesn’t like having water poured on him, especially not all the water from a tsunami.
