Questions tagged [kanji]
漢字. Chinese characters as used in Japanese writing as opposed to the two kana syllabaries and rōmaji (Latin letters).
1,349
questions
0
votes
0answers
59 views
Reading: 一つ/一人 (kun/onyomi)
I have a question about onyomi and kunyomi.
I've learned that 一つ is read ひとつ and 一人 is read ひとり.
I am confused because ひと is the kunyomi of 一. That means that kunyomi is used when there's a Kanji and ...
1
vote
1answer
147 views
Why the movies Space Battleship Yamato title don't use Kanji for Yamato but katakana?
The movies wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Battleship_Yamato
The movies title (宇宙戦艦ヤマト) write Yamato (ヤマト) as katakana. However, Yamato is Japanese word, which is available in Kanji (大和).
大和 ...
3
votes
0answers
127 views
Why is 苑 a particularly popular word for naming Yakiniku shops?
スタミナ苑, 清月苑, 叙苑, 京城苑, etc. are all real yakiniku places in Japan. I don't see the character 苑 in the names of any other type of cuisine there.
1
vote
0answers
100 views
What is the origin and meaning of the street names 一年坂, 二年坂 and 三年坂 in Higashiyama, Kyoto?
Obviously "1-year hill", etc., but what is the context of that?
And sometimes we see it spelled with 念 (nen) or 寧 (nei) instead of 年 (nen). Why is that, and which one would be correct?
1
vote
1answer
117 views
I heard this word/compound in an anime and I can't find a single example of it online, am I understanding it correctly? (参加出）
During an exchange in which a character asks another to participate in an event, the other character replies さんかで。(I'm writing it in hiragana 'cause I'm still not sure of the kanjis.) Context-wise the ...
2
votes
1answer
104 views
Why これは in the end of the 唆{そそ}るぜこれは！ statement?
唆{そそ}るぜこれは - is translated as "This is exhilarating" in anime. Though, various translations give "It's tempting" and google gives "I'll instigate this".
Why is "これは&...
2
votes
1answer
134 views
1
vote
1answer
64 views
恋 written as 恋ひ and 恋ふ?
A song in Final Fantasy 14 named Sunrise has a line listed as such, from an official source:
清らに優し 恋ひ恋ふ吾が君よ
⇒きよらにやさし こいこうあがきみよ
What are the purposes of the い(ひ) and う(ふ) being written outside of the ...
2
votes
1answer
109 views
Can 案が検討されまして also be used to mean “implemented”?
I'm not sure how to make sense of this section of text.
Either it says that buses were considered for use but ultimately left without stranded passengers, OR that sightseeing buses were used and ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
How do I read this sentence? 「そこにいるのは、すでに死んだ先人達。」
The last part of the sentence is throwing me off because I'm not sure whether or not "死んだ先人達" should be read as "しんださきひとたち" or "しんだせんじんたち." Could it depend on context? ...
-3
votes
2answers
206 views
Can you help me identify the kanji for the word くろあつがま{kuroatsugama}?
My rice cooker says “kuroatsugama” on its side.
I believe it refers to some kind of black Teflon coating.
The second kanji seems to be a writing of the kanji 厚 I’m unfamiliar with. Why is the top ...
1
vote
2answers
83 views
Can 総指揮 be used outside of a military context?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4JDxrrSGT0
「えーー、こんにちは、あるいはこんばんは。えー、糸井重里です。
今度、任天堂から、えー、マザーというタイトルで、えー、僕の、えー、組織、監督脚本というなんか大げさ が/な 触れ込みで、マザーという新しいロールプレイングゲームが出ます。
I'm not sure if its そうしき 総指揮 general ...
1
vote
1answer
168 views
波比不部保 ([B] sounds) → はひふへほ ([h] or [f] sounds)
Hiragana (平仮名 or 平假名) has its cursive form originated from the Chinese cursive form 草書. You can read from https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B3%E4%BB%AE%E5%90%8D. Also https://www.hana300.com/aakana....
5
votes
1answer
1k views
Is Japanese に related to the Chinese character 仁?
Is Japanese に (pronounced as "ni") related to the Chinese character 仁 (pronounced as "ren" in Chinese mandarin)?
Does the に have the root from the Chinese character 仁?
They both ...
1
vote
1answer
218 views
Why is 江風 being translated to Kawakaze even though there's no Kawa in the kanji?
I am studying Japanese and I am also a bit of an Azur Lane fan (a gacha game). One of my favorite characters is called Kawakaze, based on the real-life IJN Kawakaze (a Shiratsuyu-class destroyer). The ...
1
vote
1answer
118 views
Irregular Kanji Readings
Question about all the irregular readings of kanji that seem to pop up plentiful in kanji dictionaries. Take for example the kanji 丞. According to the entry on kanji.jitenon, this kanji has following ...
2
votes
1answer
105 views
Why are some Jinmeiyou kanji missing from JIS 1?
Background
人名用 (Jinmeiyou) kanji are a list of ~800 kanji officially sanctioned by the Japanese government for use in names.
JIS-X-0208 is the major standard for encoding kanji on computers. It's ...
5
votes
1answer
500 views
Different writing of the kanji 誤?
Good day, I've just noticed that the kanji 誤, while displayed almost everywhere that way, when pasted in my Anki deck, suddenly changes into (see picture below)
I can't get it to display anywhere else ...
2
votes
2answers
183 views
What does the kanji '図' mean?
I'm a graphic designer and illustrator working on a personal character design project about animals made out of combining different asymmetrical figures.
I've been trying to choose a name for my ...
4
votes
1answer
320 views
Why are 关 and 复 half-width in Japanese?
关 and 复 are the simplified Chinese forms of 關 and 復複覆, respectively. Usually simplified Hanzi that don't exist as kanji don't get any special treatment and Japanese fonts might not even display them, ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
What does 豪 mean?
What does 豪 mean in word 豪州 (Australia). I wanted to know the etymology of 豪 (I know what does 州 part means). Also I wanted to know if it is pronounced as "Gōshū" or not.
(I made a mistake ...
2
votes
2answers
96 views
Difference between 濠 and 堀
I wanted to know what is the difference between 濠 (gō) and 堀 (hori). I've only seen 濠 in context of 環濠 (kangō), 豪華な (gōkana) and 豪州 (gōshū). From what I know 環濠 and 堀 both means moat. Well, then, what ...
0
votes
0answers
69 views
What is the etymology of さて, and why are the kanji 偖・扠・扨 used for it?
This is a relatively simple question: what is the etymology of さて, and why are the kanji 偖・扠・扨 used for it?
1
vote
1answer
119 views
What is this kanji, found in a 1932 Japanese world map?
The map can be found at this link, with the text in question placed to the right of the Iberian Peninsula. Despite the existence of many similar kanji (notably, 逐, 遂, 隧, 燧, and 邃), I was unable to ...
6
votes
2answers
182 views
飠vs.𩙿How interchangeable are these?
Going by the information from kanji.jitenon, I have a question regarding the radicals 飠 and 𩙿. I've noticed that some Kanji seem to be used with either of these while others are displayed exclusively ...
5
votes
1answer
162 views
What are those kanji on a 大施餓鬼柱 pillar?
I was reading a manga and came along this text on the pillar:
I deciphered this: 〇〇爰大施餓鬼会
I can't find anything in that. I looked up various 大施餓鬼(おせがき) related articles, but those two kanji were ...
2
votes
0answers
79 views
When is the onyomi reading “ ゾウ ” for the kanji 三 used?
The only example reading I could find for ゾウ is on Jisho.org where 三蔵 ( さんぞう ) is actually using the "サン” reading for 三.
What is the point of having ゾウ as a reading for 三? When is it used?
4
votes
2answers
167 views
What is the meaning of 巻ノ + number next to a book?
What is the meaning of 巻ノ + number next to a book?
I know that
巻 = volume
ノ = ?
七十二 = 72
So it's Volume [?] 72
2
votes
1answer
187 views
Kanji for ordinal numbers
I am beginning to study kanji and while reading a wiki I noticed only the ordinal numbers first (初), second (乙), and third (丙) are listed. Which brings me to ask whether there are symbols for fourth, ...
1
vote
1answer
85 views
Kanji 労 vs 働 vs 努
These three kanji「労、 働、 努」are taught close together in grade 4. I've struggled a bit in separating them conceptually, and haven't found anything online in English that explains this distinction.
I've ...
0
votes
1answer
128 views
Does the kanji 黒 have both the the meanings “dark” and “black”?
I am considering on doing my first tattoo, and the words "kuro" and "dark" both have significance to me. I would like to know if the kanji 黒 has both meanings.
The word "dark&...
2
votes
1answer
128 views
What are mirrored characters? Which common ones exist?
I came across this post on Twitter:
ぎゃんこ
@gyankotsu
mirrored 死 from tokyo ghoul:re
I don't really understand what mirrored 死 refers to, and from the picture I'm still quite confused.
What are ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
Alternative kanji forms, i.e., 「滲みる」 vs. 「染みる」。
I was reading a sentence in a manga and the context used 滲みる to comment on something soaking into fabric. (actually, it was specifically 「滲みとる」, is that an ending I'm not aware of or an accent of た/て?)...
2
votes
1answer
385 views
Presence of の in 蜘蛛巣城
I have a question regarding original title of Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood movie. This title is pronounced "Kumonosu-jō" but written as 蜘蛛巣城. Why is possessive の particle missing here ...
8
votes
1answer
938 views
Meaning of 『肉』 when used stand-alone, apparently as some sort of insult
I am currently translating an English text, which itself has been translated from an originally Japanese text. Whenever there's something I don't understand in the English text, I try to translate the ...
-2
votes
1answer
225 views
How in the heck does this colloquial japanese sentence make any sense grammatically?
I am aware that this is colloquial japanese, but the individual parts are jumbled haphazardly to where I can't figure out how this is supposed to follow even somewhat correct grammar. I got 2 ...
2
votes
0answers
349 views
Official definitions of kanji forms
How are the essential graphical identities of kanji defined? The length of the first stroke in 土, for example, is essential, because if it's longer than the third stroke, you have 士 instead. If you ...
0
votes
1answer
113 views
Help Deciphering 2002 Newspaper Kanji
Can anyone help me decipher the two middle kanji in the name of this newspaper? The first two are obviously 日本, the last two being 新聞, but I cannot manage to figure out the two others... A Japanese ...
3
votes
2answers
135 views
Is the kanji 様 ever used for san/chan etc.?
For example 御母様 ?
I see 御 used instead of お but I have yet to see 様 used instead of さん.
Is it ever used like this ?
1
vote
1answer
94 views
1
vote
0answers
169 views
Chinese Name into Japanese [closed]
I was wondering if it was possible to use my Chinese name 安曜輪 Ān Yàolún as a basis for a Japanese name?
The only other option is to use katakana to transcribe my western name, which is one of those ...
0
votes
1answer
56 views
Is this kanji 缶田門 related to Kanda-ku or something else?
I have a set of souvenir cups purchased in Japan during the 1990's depicting Tokyo locales. There are no markings or production information, only the kanji depicted on the cup design.
To me, it looks ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
Should you spell it 余り when a noun or suffix and あまり every time else?
Are there rules or guidelines on when and where to use the kanji spelling for this word? From my own observations, it seems like it is spelled 余り when used as a noun meaning remainder or leftovers:
...
-2
votes
1answer
84 views
need a little help with translating this fan art [closed]
I mostly understood everything but I'm having trouble understanding/making out three words.
the first one is the use of 現場 in this case. I translated it to "scene" or "crime scene"...
1
vote
2answers
148 views
Why is あやまち written 過ち and not 誤ち?
What's the reason for writing あやまち 過ち and not for instance 誤ち ?
Wouldn't that make more sense since it means to err, be incorrect...? I can see how one would get from exceeding/overdoing a mistake, ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
Why the name 海未 has the 未 and not just 海?
I've seen Love Live recently and I liked the name UMI. I learned that Ocean was 海 only but when I watch her name closely she had a 海未... I just want to understand what does the 未 mean
0
votes
0answers
32 views
Why are some Kanji written in Hiragana? [duplicate]
I just noticed something. There are some Kanji that use Hiragana instead of the characters (like きれい). I'm a bit confused.
0
votes
1answer
127 views
contradictory evidence for 何に as (1) なんに and (2) なにに
is 何に pronounced (1) なんに or (2) なにに here: お飲み物は何になさいますか。?
(1) www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU-hnuSM098 @0:20 provides evidence (NB: despite the possibly incorrect ローマ字 (roumaji) found there and in the &...
1
vote
1answer
127 views
How many Shinjitai and Kyūjitai characters are there?
Kanji
Jōyō
Jinmeiyō
Hyōgai
Shinjitai
2127
?
0
Kyūjitai
0
?
?
Kokuji
9
16
0
Total
2136
863
?
I wonder if the above table is the exact concept of the use of Kanji in Japanese language. Can you help ...
6
votes
1answer
666 views
Why does あっけなく mean “too quick”?
Looking up the kanji, あっけなく comes from 呆気(state of surprise, shock)＋
ない. So, wouldn't the most natural translation be 'without surprise, conformingly'? Even so, I saw the following phrase in a game:
...
