Kanji - Level 4 - Kanji Flashcards
(38 cards)
竹
Bamboo
Radicals: 竹 bamboo
The bamboo radical and the bamboo kanji are exactly the same!
Reading: たけ
There’s a little bamboo shrub sitting there, holding onto a lollipop. Because you’re bigger than the bamboo shrub, you just take (たけ) it from the bamboo, causing it to cry.
車
Car
Radicals: 車 car
The radical car and the kanji car are exactly the same.
Reading: しゃ
There’s a car. It’s the nicest car you’ve ever seen. Exquisite, beautiful. Wouldn’t you be surprised to learn it belongs to a shaman (しゃ)? Well it does. This shaman charges a premium for his shaman services so he can afford fancy cars like this.
央
Center
Radicals: 大 big + 冂 head
If someone has a big head you have to try to focus on the center of it when you talk to them.
Reading: おう
This is the center of the 王’s (おう) head so you have to be extra careful not to look anywhere else.
写
Copy
Radicals: 冖 forehead + 一 ground + 丂 beggar
The beggar is pointing his forehead up at you, his feet trapped in the ground. What diabolical scheme are you planning with this poor beggar you trapped? Turns out, you’re planning to copy him to have your own version of him.
Reading: しゃ
You finally decide on how you’re going to copy him. You hire a shaman (しゃ) and have the shaman perform a sacred shaman cloning ritual.
仕
Doing
Radicals: ｲ leader + 士 samurai
The leader samurai didn’t become leader by sitting around not taking action. He got to where he is by doing.
Reading: し
He was doing things with sheep (し). He is the leader of the sheep clan, and he was able to do more with sheep than anyone else. That’s why he’s the leader.
耳
Ear
Radicals: 耳 ear
The ear radical and ear kanji are the same in looks as well as meaning.
Reading: みみ
Put your hand to your ear and sing… “Mimimimimimiiiii!” (みみ) and listen to your tone with your ear.
早
Early
Radicals: 日 sun + 十 cross
When the sun is over the cross it’s time to go to church… which is so darn early. And if you want to get to church early, you need to be fast, otherwise you’ll be too late.
Reading: そう
When you’re forced to get up fast and early you can feel it in your soul (そう). You’re so tired and it’s so early, your soul cries out, “Please don’t make me go this fast this early. I’m gonna leave your body if you keep this up!”
気
Energy
Radicals: 气 energy + メ treasure
You’re looking for a treasure, but no normal treasure… a treasure that’s a stash of energy. Not gold, money, or anything like that. Imagine yourself finding it, and opening up a treasure chest. Out bursts a spirit ball of energy like you’ve never seen.
Reading: き, け
As you reach inside the energy spirit, you feel something hard inside. It’s a large key (き) that gives you access to another treasure.
平
Flat
Radicals: 干 dry + 丷 horns
If you want to dry your horns you need to lay them flat. If they aren’t flat they’ll always be a little damp somewhere and you’ll never have a moment’s peace.
Reading: へい, ひょう, びょう
Being flat isn’t enough, so you cover the whole thing in hay (へい). Hay absorbs water, so you add a flat layer of it.
花
Flower
Radicals: 艹 flowers + ｲ leader + 匕 spoon
A leader with a spoon is planting flowers so that one day this place may be full of beautiful flowers.
Reading: はな
The leader can’t stop planting flowers though. He’s going crazy. Maybe it’s the pollen? He comes up to someone named Hannah (はな) and starts planting flowers in her face, probably killing her in the process.
足
Foot
Radicals: 足 foot
The radical for foot and the kanji for foot are exactly the same.
That being said, there’s also another meaning you should keep in mind, which is sufficient. If you think about it, one foot should be sufficient enough to walk around with if you hop.
Reading: そく
What do you wear on your foot? You wear a sock (そく).
打
Hit
Radicals: 扌fingers + 丁 street
Take your fingers to the street to hit some people! Street fingers are for curling into a fist. And that street fist wants to do some hitting!
Reading: だ
As you hit one chump after another, suddenly your dad (だ) comes marching out of your house. Uh oh. Dad caught you hitting, which, honestly, isn’t a very nice thing to do, so he has every right to stop you.
百
Hundred
Radicals: leaf + 日 sun
There is a leaf growing out of the sun! You fly out into space to check it out and when you get closer you see that it isn’t just one leaf, it’s a hundred! That makes sense, you wouldn’t be able to see just one leaf on the sun from where you were on earth.
Reading: ひゃく
You fly closer, counting all one hundred leaves when you hear a strange sound. You take off your space helmet and hear, “GUH HYUCK (ひゃく)!” You know that laugh… it’s Goofy! On top of the hundredth leaf is Goofy laughing and waving around. He must have built this leaf tower to get your attention.
氷
Ice
Radicals: 丶drop + 水 water
Add a drop of something magical to water and suddenly it turns into big block of ice, just like that.
Reading: こおり
When you think of ice, I want you to think of someone frozen with ice. Do you know anyone named Corey (こおり)? Anyone famous named Corey, perhaps Corey Feldman? Imagine this Corey person frozen solid with ice.
虫
Insect
Radicals: 虫 insect
The insect radical and insect are the same in looks as well as and meaning.
Reading: むし
It’s an insect! Get it! You squish it with your foot - what sound does it make? A mush (むし) sound.
字
Letter
Radicals: 宀 roof + 子 child
The roof child stands upon the roof, holding up a single letter, a single character, a single symbol for the world to see.
Reading: じ
The character that is being shown is “J,” which stands for Jesus (じ). The kid wants everyone to see this letter and symbol.
男
Man
Radicals: 田 + rice paddy + 力power
Rice paddy power comes from a man. One man, in fact. He’s running on a big wheel next to the rice paddy and providing all of the power for the rice to grow and be harvested.
Reading: だん, なん
A man can power an entire rice paddy until dawn (だん). Once dawn comes they need a little break, so they nap. But once dawn is over, they’re back at it again!
主
Master
Radicals: 主 master
The radical master and the kanji master have the same meanings!
This kanji also means main because the master is the main person of a dojo or household or business.
Reading: しゅ
Do you remember back to the radical mnemonic, where the master is floating a water drop above his head? Imagine back to there. Once you do, the most amazing thing happens. The master sends the drop of water into a chute (しゅ) and it goes careening through an intricate series of them.
名
Name
Radicals: 夕 evening + 口 mouth
What is the evening mouth? Imagine a mouth that’s up in the night sky. It’s just there, talking, and only comes out at night. It only appears in one area of the world (what area would you choose? Imagine yourself going to that place to see the “night mouth.”), and appears only one month out of the year (more on this in a second). The “evening mouth” is the most famous thing in the _____ area (this is the area you choose). He’s so famous that everybody knows his name (“Evening Mouth.”).
Reading: めい, みょう
So, when does “Evening Mouth” appear? Turns out, “Evening Mouth” only comes out to talk in May (めい). You know this because it’s just starting to be spring, and when you look around (you’re watching “Evening Mouth” again) you see some spring flowers come up.
不
Not
Radicals: 不 not
The radical not and the kanji not are the same thing! That makes it easy… Not!
Reading: ふ, ぶ
Think of those jokes, where someone says something, then ends with a loud “NOTTTT!” Someone is doing that to you, over and over. What is that person? That person is a fool (ふ).
号
Number
Radicals: 口 mouth + 一 ground + 勹 prison
There’s a mouth in the ground (in our case, it’s a hatch), and inside is some kind of prison you can’t quite get to. If you’ve ever seen Lost, this will sound familiar… on the hatch, there’s actually a series of numbers that you don’t understand.
Reading: ごう
“You want to know the number to the hatch?” yells an old voice from inside. You say “yes,” and the voice gives you the numbers and you’re in! You go down into the prison, where there is one prisoner: Grandpa ごういち.
他
Other
Radicals: ｲ leader + 也 alligator
The leader of alligators… she’s no ordinary leader, that’s for sure. She’s not a politician.. she’s not a queen… She’s one of the Other Ones, a group of strange, eccentric people who become leaders of animals.
Reading: た
To remember the reading た, we use the word “Taco”
Then there’s the others of the others. These are the taco (た) worshipers. They’re really strange.
去
Past
Radicals: 土 dirt + ム private
If someone tries to dig up private dirt on you, tell them no thanks, that stuff is in the past. Some things should stay in the past. Not everyone needs to know everything about your life and your past.
Reading: きょ, こ
To remember the reading きょ, we’ll use “Little Kyoto.” This will differentiate きょ from きょう, which is regular-sized Kyoto. Get it? You decide to bury all this private dirt from your past in Little Kyoto (きょ). That stuff is from when you were just a little 子 (こ) and you don’t like to think about it.
皿
Plate
Radicals: 皿 plate
The plate kanji and the plate radical are exactly the same, like two matching pieces of china.
Reading: さら
The person washing all the dishes was named Sarah (さら). She was named that because of her large head, which was shaped like Sarah Jessica Parker’s head (very big).
