Kanji Symbols Kanji Symbols Easy Way to Remember
One of Japan's three writing systems is Kanji. These are Chinese characters brought to Japan in the fifth century. Previously, there was no written form of the Japanese language. Some might find the sound of the Japanese language is easy on your ears.
However, the Japanese writing and reading system could get a little perplexing. Well, the reason is pretty simple. There are just too many Kanji in Japanese. Just like the old quote by Sun Tzu; Know your enemy and know yourself. Need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
Let's take a close look!
Contents
- 1 What is Kanji?
- 2 Is there a Native Japanese Word in Modern Japanese?
- 3 How Many Letters are in the Japanese Language?
- 4 Why do the Japanese use Kanji?
- 5 When is the Best Moment to Start Learning Kanji?
- 6 How to Learn Kanji?
- 6.1 Knowing Hiragana Helps Your Kanji Readings
- 6.2 Kanji Build is Similar to Hiragana and Katakana
- 6.3 Get to Know the Basics of Radicals
- 6.4 Get to Know the Basics of Strokes
- 6.5 Kanji Characters have Two Patterns of Reading
- 7 How Many Kanji Characters are Necessary to Get By?
- 8 Kanji doesn't end here, Kanji is Fun!
What is Kanji?
Over time, alphabets from China traveled far from home and developed in a certain way in surrounding countries, including Japan. The Japanese word Kanji (漢字 | かんじ）refers to the Chinese characters.
While it's pronounced Hanji in Mandarin Chinese and Hanja in Korean using the same characters. The Kanji pronunciation, variation, and meaning of Kanji vary between countries.
Is there a Native Japanese Word in Modern Japanese?
The imported Chinese alphabetswere helpful yet not sufficient to express everything in Japan. Therefore, some native Japanese words were born. It's commonly seen among the name of plants and Japanese customs.
- 樫: (かし | kashi | ring-cupped oak, Japanese blue oak)
- 凪ぐ: (なぐ | nagu | for sea and wind to become calm)
- 糀: (こうじ | kouji | a type of mold used for Sake brewing or Miso making)
How Many Letters are in the Japanese Language?
The Japanese language consists of 46 characters ofHiragana (平仮名 | ひらがな), 46 Katakana (片仮名 | かたかな | カタカナ), and over 3,000 Kanji.
Even though learning Hiragana and Katakana won't be a big issue, you might find it quite challenging to memorize Kanji. But don't worry, we will introduce you to some tips today.
Why do the Japanese use Kanji?
Together with Hiragana and Katakana, the knowledge of Kanji had become essential in the Japanese writing system and reading. There are reasons why the Japanese language has three types of characters.
- Hiragana and Katakana represent sounds, while Kanji shows a sense of the concept.
- Readers can pick up the given information quickly and precisely.
- The Japanese writing systems don't have spaces between words and capitalized words. The combination of the three types of characters makes more sense.
One example:
Without the appropriate character use, it becomes hard to get the full context. We need to think about where a word starts and ends. Let's look at the three different ways of writing the same sentence.
- ふらんすのしゅとはぱりです。ぱりではえっふぇるとうがゆうめいです。
- フランスノシュトハパリデス。パリデハエッフェルトウガユウメイデス。
- フランスの首都はパリです。パリではエッフェル塔が有名です。
*The capital of France is Paris. The Eiffel Tower is famous in Paris.
When is the Best Moment to Start Learning Kanji?
If you've already mastered Hiragana and Katakana, it's about time to concentrate on Kanji. You might feel that it's a long way to go at first, but once you get the ideas of Kanji radicals, strokes, and pronunciations, you'll be able to step up to the next stage. Many Japanese learners start by drilling Kanji using books and other media.
How to Learn Kanji?
Learning Kanji can be challenging, but we've listed down 5 helpful tips on how to make it easier. Check them out below!
Knowing Hiragana Helps Your Kanji Readings
Japanese decided to borrow Chinese characters' sounds, then start developing their own Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. The Japanese reading aid called 振り仮名 (ふりがな | Furi-gana) and suffix called 送り仮名 (おくりがな | Okuri-gana | suffixes for adjectives and verbs) written in Hiragana help you to read and understand Kanji more.
Kanji Build is Similar to Hiragana and Katakana
Kanji takes more strokes and has more variations, but the basic ideas are alike. Once you master Hiragana and Katakana, you can recognize some parts of Kanji.
Examples:
- a: 安→あ、阿→ア
- i: 以→い、伊→イ
- u: 宇→う、宇→ウ
Get to Know the Basics of Radicals
Kanji is like a word puzzle in one character. Every Kanji contains one or more 部首 (ぶしゅ | bushu | radicals), and each radical provides general meanings and pronunciations.
Knowing the radicals helps you look for new words in the Kanji dictionary. Also, the knowledge of radicals helps your understanding without memorizing thousands of Kanji.
Radical Examples and Common Characters:
Radicals related to 水 (みず | mizu | water); mizu: 水, nisui: 冫, sanzui: 氵, shitamizu: 氺
- 氷 (こおり| koori | ice)
- 海 (うみ | umi | sea, ocean)
- 凍る (こおる | kooru | to freeze)
Radicals related to 人 (ひと| hito | human); ninben:亻, hitoyane: 𠆢, hitoashi: 儿
- 体 (からだ | karada | body)
- 会う (あう | au | to meet)
- 兄 (あに | ani | brother)
Radicals related to 木 (き | ki | tree): kihen: 木
- 桜 (さくら | sakura | cherry tree)
- 杏 (あんず | anzu | apricot)
- 枯れる (かれる | kareru | to wither)
Get to Know the Basics of Strokes
Like Hiragana and Katakana, there are certain rules to writing a Kanji. In addition to writing Japanese characters readable and beautiful, stroke orders and stroke counts are keys to learning a Kanji. Also, the Kanji list by stroke count is a common feature in the dictionary.
Kanji strokes go from:
- From top to bottom, and left to right
- Horizontal first, and vertical second
- The bottom enclosure comes last
Kanji Characters have Two Patterns of Reading
Japanese Kanji has two reading methods; the original Chinese pronunciation called 音読み (おんよみ | on-yomi) and the Japanese reading called 訓読み (くんよみ | kun-yomi.
If you already know Chinese, On-Yomi becomes a big help. However, Kun-Yomi leads you to understand the meanings of Kanji. Also, Kanji radical can be a guide to certain sounds and meanings.
On-Yomi:
- 桜 (おう | ou | cherry tree)
- 犬 (けん | ken | dog)
- 空 (くう | kuu | sky)
Kun-Yomi:
- 桜 (さくら | sakura | cherry tree)
- 犬 (いぬ | inu | dog)
- 空 (そら| sora | sky)
How Many Kanji Characters are Necessary to Get By?
Japanese people regularly use around 2,100 Kanji, and it's called 常用漢字 (じょうようかんじ | Jouyou-Kanji | regular-use Kanji). For instance, Japanese children learn new Kanji every year in school.
Elementary school students learn about 1,000 Kanji in six years and 1,100 more in the three years of middle school. Memorizing thousands of Kanji isn't necessary to have conversations. Still, it's good knowledge for getting around town freely and reading written Japanese.
Kanji doesn't end here, Kanji is Fun!
Do you remember the time when you set your eyes on a Japanese character? Probably some of you had thought that it looked like a cipher and impossible to read. Learning Kanji by heart takes time and effort, but it certainly brings you to a new world.
Learning individual Kanji is fun, but exploring Kanji symbols and expanding knowledge to over 5,000 compound Kanji words (熟語 | じゅくご | jukugo | Kanji combinations) are also very enjoyable. You will find a beautiful or an interesting Kanji in no time!
がんばってください (Ganbatte kudasai)! ^^
Source: https://90dayjapanese.com/kanji/
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