漢字: Chinese characters as used in Japanese writing as opposed to the two kana syllabaries and romaji Latin letters.
2
votes
1answer
80 views
What is the correct kanji for the verb to sweat 汗をかく
What is the character used for the verb to sweat? 汗をかく
10
votes
2answers
355 views
Recent creation or adoption of hanzi characters into Japanese kanji
According to Wikipedia, kanji was introduced and imported from chinese hanzi long time ago before Japanese language even had a writing system. From there, Japanese kanji has transformed and evolved ...
6
votes
2answers
386 views
12
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3answers
575 views
Why is 「昨夜」 pronounced as 「ゆうべ」 {yuube} and 「今日」 as 「きょう」 {kyou}?
「ゆう」 is neither the kun'yomi nor on'yomi of 「昨」 and 「べ」 is not a pronunciation of 「夜」 either. The same can be said about the pronunciation 「きょう」 for 「今日」.
So how come the pronunciations of the two ...
5
votes
1answer
253 views
Is 子年 read as ねずみどし or ねどし? What about 卯年 and 亥年?
My dictionary says that 子年 can be read as both ねずみどし and ねどし, but when typing it in my computer, my IME only seems to convert ねずみどし to kanji.
The same goes for 卯年 (うどし and うさぎどし) and 亥年 (いどし and ...
4
votes
1answer
276 views
Is 胡 missplaced in the Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary? [closed]
I recently tried to look up the kanji 胡 in the Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, which uses the SKIP method to look up each kanji, and I couldn't find it. It seemed to me a relatively ...
7
votes
2answers
166 views
Using appropriate old characters with people's names
What is the general etiquette about about using the newer characters （新字体） or even a more modern version of the old character (旧字体） when used in names? Is it generally considered rude?
For example, ...
4
votes
5answers
176 views
Rust: 錆 vs 銹 vs 鏽 vs 鏥
In doing some looking around today I found four characters that all mean rust and are all read さび. Is there any distinction that can be made between these characters?
錆
銹
鏽
鏥
1
vote
0answers
129 views
What are some words with kanji/readings/meanings that don't match? [closed]
Maybe a hard to understand question, but for example, I love the word 百日紅 (さるすべり) because it's the name of a red flower and uses some very poetic kanji (one hundred days of red) but opts instead for a ...
3
votes
1answer
164 views
Does Japanese have morphemes that span two kanji?
I read once (in this comment by Victor Mair on Language Log) that Chinese has single morphemes that span two hanzi. The example given was the Chinese word pútáo 葡萄. At the time, I assumed it applied ...
3
votes
3answers
250 views
Is there a reliable translation of the kangxi radicals?
Inspired by the Wikipedia page on Kangxi radicals I decided to study the meaning and writing of radicals before I tackle the much more numerous kanji. But in working my way through the list, I started ...
3
votes
2answers
235 views
Reading 捻る: when is it ねじる or ひねる?
How can I tell whether 捻る is read as ひねる (P. ・ N.C.) or ねじる (P. ・ N.C.)?
I assume the answer is "based on which verb is appropriate", so I've been trying to learn the difference between them. Based ...
3
votes
2answers
136 views
微温い versus 温い versus ぬくい versus ぬるい
According to WWWJDIC,
ぬるい and ぬくい are both written 温い.
Anthy and the iOS Japanese input systems agree.
However a native speaker and the input of an electronic dictionary (広辞苑）say that
温い is read ...
5
votes
1answer
93 views
For the word じき meaning “soon”, what is the difference between the kanjis 直 and 時期?
As discussed in this question, one meaning for じき is "soon, momentarily". Looking it up in my (English/Japanese) dictionary, I found both the kanjis 時期 and 直 for it.
I looked them up further ...
3
votes
1answer
105 views
「のれん代」(Goodwill) and 「のれん」 of 居酒屋
Is there any relation between 「のれん代」(Goodwill) and 「のれん」 of 居酒屋?
And how about those kanji, are they using same kanji for both?
If there are the same kanji, I would like to know their etymology, ...
7
votes
1answer
103 views
Usage of 腱 vs 筋
What is the difference between the following characters: 腱 vs 筋 （すじ）
Both translate to tendon (as in the connective tissue between muscles and bones)
11
votes
1answer
266 views
Is there a list of kanji ordered by usage in novels?
I have found many lists of kanji ordered by their usage in newspapers, but are there any lists that order by their usage in novels and other fictional material?
This might be useful to have because ...
6
votes
1answer
169 views
Distinguishing 沙 from 砂
I looked up both 沙 and 砂 in my 学研{がっけん} 漢和辞典{かんわじてん} today. It appears that they share the same list of readings (サ、シャ、すな、いさご). I also see that some words can be written with either kanji. Here are ...
11
votes
2answers
394 views
Why is 空【くう】, and not 無【む】, used to define “void”, “emptiness” in a buddhist context? What are their nuances?
Feel free to participate to the meta-discussion on whether this type of question (relying on buddhist terms) should be allowed on JLU.
A while back, looking at a reproduction of some famous zen ...
11
votes
1answer
177 views
What is the difference between “河” and “川”?
I saw the first (河) used for "Hippopotamus", literally mimicking the Greek name (River Horse) but I expected to see 川 in its place...
Also, apparently you can use "河川" to mean river*s* (plural)?
But ...
1
vote
2answers
209 views
How is 鎗 different from 槍 and 鑓?
Edit: This question has been reworded as much as possible from the original to try to make it a question about Japanese. Also, adding the IME単漢字辞書 fixed the IME problem (thanks to Tsuyoshi Ito for ...
3
votes
1answer
155 views
Question on mnemonic device for characters such as 恋, 変, and 湾
I am currently studying kanji by using a number of sites, some of which provide mnemonics to aid in learning. While not a specific radical per se (I think), the top portions of the following ...
8
votes
1answer
115 views
question about kanji sports names 蹴球, 籠球, 庭球, and 野球
A few questions about these words. The words [蹴球]{しゅうきゅう}, [籠球]{ろうきゅう}, and [庭球]{ていきゅう} mean football, basketball, and tennis, respectively. But I have only seen them in a dictionary, and in practice ...
7
votes
1answer
297 views
Why is there a 分 in 自分?
I didn't find anywhere why is the minute's kanji there in 自分? Is it because a meaning of 分 is "part". Please clarify.
3
votes
1answer
398 views
Are the 4-byte UTF-8 Kanji rare enough that I can ignore them?
I'm writing a programming algorithm which converts code points of Kanji characters to their respective UTF-8 octets.
My problem is, if I don't include 4-octet characters, and only deal with 3-octet ...
6
votes
2answers
177 views
Understanding of the character 叉
I see the character 叉 in a lot of words that do not seem to have anything in common:
[夜叉]{やしゃ}
[三叉路]{さんさろ}
[叉焼]{チャーシュー}
[音叉]{おんさ}
Is there any commonality here? What does 叉 ...
0
votes
1answer
306 views
Online source for Kanji etymology [closed]
Is there a good website that contains etymological explanations about the 2000 most important Kanji?
I'm looking for something like this:
...
20
votes
1answer
219 views
How is the wind related to illness?
I've seen the kanji 風 appear in several different illnesses: 風邪 (a cold), 中風 (paralysis), and 痛風 (gout). Conceivably there may be others, but I haven't seen them.
What does the wind have to do with ...
16
votes
2answers
403 views
When and how did USA and UK come to be written as [米]{べい}[国]{こく} and [英]{えい}[国]{こく}?
I know of four countries with a specific kanji besides Japan: China, the Netherlands, the USA and UK. The last two must be quite recent (I presume 19th century) but I wonder on the details and context ...
10
votes
3answers
343 views
What does “齓” mean?
I've found this kanji during Shodo practice. My teacher (Japanese) didn't know the meaning (she recognized the Tooth bushu/radical but not the "word").
I tried to look it up on the electronic ...
10
votes
1answer
260 views
Do native speakers consciously use phonetic elements in 形声文字?
Do native speakers of Japanese use phonetic elements when reading less common kanji? For example, does the compound 咆哮 look like ほうこう because of the elements 包 and 孝, even if you haven't learned to ...
3
votes
1answer
167 views
How to write “Ikigai”
I'd like to use Ikigai ("something one lives for; purpose in life; raison d'être") for a Calligraphy (ShoDo) work.
According to Tangorin there are three possible ways to write this:
生き甲斐
生きがい
...
13
votes
3answers
377 views
Kanji for native Japanese concepts: Kun'yomi spanning multiple morphemes
There are a few words, which are written with Kanji imported from China, but where the intended native Japanese meaning would prefer a different choice of Kanji. My favourite examples are
雷 vs. 神鳴り ...
11
votes
2answers
259 views
What exactly is 「だらし」?
WWWJDIC states that 「だらしない」 can be written with kanji as 「だらし無い」, which suggests that the phrase is a negative construction that uses 「無い」, unlike words like 「すくない」 and 「あぶない」. Furthermore, 「だらしが無い」 ...
9
votes
1answer
205 views
How did 家, 手, and 士 come to be included in the names of professions?
When I look at the words for professions, there are usually kanji such as 員、者、長、師、屋 and such, that end the name. These appear to make sense to me; however, what about ones such as 家、手、and 士?
For ...
6
votes
1answer
207 views
When are 止める, 停める and 留める read as とめる, やめる or とどめる?
When are 止める, 停める and 留める read as とめる or とどめる (and in the case of 止める, やめる)?
I think 止めてください could be read as both やめてください and とめてください, which I think could maybe be translated as "cut it out" and ...
8
votes
1answer
133 views
What is the difference between 恰好 and 格好?
Is there any difference between the words 格好 and 恰好? Can I actually call them different words, or is it that they are just the same word written differently? I've been told that they have exactly the ...
4
votes
2answers
395 views
What is “kanji illiteracy” (kanji yomenai) in the context of native Japanese speakers?
In the context of native Japanese speakers (not non-natives), is there a concept that roughly translates as "kanji illiteracy"? If so, what are the Japanese terms for it? Also, what does it mean? Does ...
9
votes
2answers
316 views
do people actually respect the nuances of 探す vs 捜す?
Part 1
I understand 探す to be to search for something (general)
and 捜す to be to search for something lost
But do people actually care about the difference in nuance when they use it?
I mean do ...
2
votes
0answers
99 views
same reading, similar meaning, different Kanji [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
do people actually respect the nuances of 探す vs 捜す?
There are many kanji that I have come across with similar meanings, and (seemly coincidentally) identical readings. ...
9
votes
2answers
179 views
What's the difference between 迷う and 紕う?
I was looking in a dictionary and both were listed as being defined as "to lose one's way, to hesitate, or to waver," but I don't understand why there are two different kanji for the word.
4
votes
1answer
154 views
Are the meanings of 煙 and 烟 identical?
I noticed that 煙 in the phrase 茶煙永日香{ちゃえんえいじつかんばし} sometimes appears as 烟. For example, here is a teapot with 茶煙永日香 and a scroll with 茶烟永日香. Is there a difference in meaning between 煙 and 烟?
煙 and 烟 ...
11
votes
6answers
370 views
Computer: 計算機 or 計算器?
What is the difference between the two kanji variants for 「けいさんき」, the other word for 「コンピューター」?
計算器
計算機
8
votes
6answers
777 views
Why are there 3 ways of writing in Japanese?
Why are there kanji, hiragana and katakana? Is there a logical reason behind this or just tradition?
15
votes
1answer
177 views
How did 革 “leather” come to mean newness?
How did the word 革{かわ}, 革{カク} "leather" acheive the meaning "newness"? 広辞苑 lists one of the definitions (under かく) as "あらたまること, あらためること", and we can see this in some of its associated 熟語: 変革, 改革, 革新. ...
6
votes
2answers
262 views
Which kanji for はじめます? There seem to be two
I thought the kanji for はじめます was:
始めます
However, one of my friends tweeted using 初:
トマト鍋初めて食べたけどおいしかった
Which is correct? Is there a difference in nuance between the two? jisho.org brings ...
3
votes
2answers
118 views
Difference between 颜 and 顔
I have seen both used like 笑颜 and 笑顔 to mean smile (noun). afaik both are pronouced as えがお (somebody correct me if I'm wrong, ビギナーだ).
So what exactly is the difference?
5
votes
3answers
229 views
What is the difference between 寿司, 鮨, 鮓, 寿斗, 寿し, and 壽司?
It is likely that this is due to my poor understanding, but why are there so many names for「すし」? I think for the most part I have only seen the first three (寿司、鮨、鮓). For whatever reason in some ...
8
votes
1answer
216 views
Change of kanji like 大坂 to 大阪
Wikipedia says that Osaka used to be spelt 大坂, and is now spelt 大阪. Is there a term for what happened, and does it happen often?
Related question: On the replacing of kanji obsoleted in the 1946 ...
4
votes
3answers
221 views
Relation between kanji readings and meanings
I understand that a kanji can have several possible readings and several (typically related) meanings. Furthermore, I've noticed that a single reading typically corresponds to some subset of the ...
