Questions tagged [kanji]
漢字. Chinese characters as used in Japanese writing as opposed to the two kana syllabaries and rōmaji (Latin letters).
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70 views
Kanji size and proportions
When I'm practicing writting kanji, the proportions between each of the strokes always seem to be a little off. Are there known exercises to help with this? At the moment, I'm only trying to "copy" it ...
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1answer
71 views
I can't identify this kanji ( kanji 当ても)
I've decided to read manga in japanese again, I left it for a couple of years so now I'm out of practice and in need of help. It must be a really simple one but still I want to understand without ...
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3answers
573 views
What is the upper radical in the Kanji 悪?
I recognize the heart radical at the bottom of the kanji 悪, but I cannot make my mind about the upper one.
Do you know the name of this radical?
Do you also know of another Kanji using this radical?
...
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2answers
143 views
What is the proper way of writing the first stroke of 言? [duplicate]
I am wondering why is it that 言 looks different in different fonts. In Gothic, the topmost part is just a horizontal line while in Google Search, it is a drop. I am really confused about what is ...
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0answers
52 views
What's the difference between 合う, 会う, 遭う, 逢う,遇う? [duplicate]
I recently stumbled upon the expression 酷{ひど｝い目｛め｝に遭｛あ｝った ("I was having a bad time"), where the verb "to meet" was written using a rather unusual kanji.
After looking into it, I can count at least 5 ...
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0answers
24 views
What reading rules should I apply to the 分 kanji when talking about temperature? [duplicate]
Will it be always ぶ, or does it change just like the counter of minutes? Could you give me examples where the reading changes (either of numerals or both kanji and numerals)?
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1answer
103 views
Grammaticality of two kanji verbs without their conjugating part
A friend told me he's going to get a tattoo with "頑張".
頑張 doesn't exist on the dictionary without its -る conjugating part, so is it grammatically correct using it alone, as if it was a noun? Does it ...
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1answer
479 views
Is “eventide” a correct word for the kanji 汐
Jisho dictionary refers to 汐 as the kanji for eventide, tide, salt water, opportunity. looking in Oxford dictionary, eventide means The end of the day; evening.
I don't see how 汐 has anything to do ...
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1answer
86 views
What is used more in Japan for numbers? Kanji or Hiragana?
I’m trying to learn Japanese but I want to know if I should learn my numbers in Kanji or Hiragana because I want to learn what I will definitely use in Japan.
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1answer
65 views
What is the correct romaji/kanji for a phrase that sounds like “fui cabaru”
A japanese Aikido master used the term that sounds like “fui cabaru” or the “up” position of the a sword. I also believe it means something like “the place your hat goes”.
Can you tell me the correct ...
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2answers
245 views
無念 - kanjis say “no wish”, but meaning is “regret”? Why?
無 generally roughly means "none"
念 generally roughly means "wish"
So I personally would have expected "無念" to mean "no wish", "no regret", "no worries", etc. However, counter-intuitively, "無念" means "...
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1answer
200 views
I don't understand why 差し支える means what it means
This is one word I often 'fail' while reviewing and I couldn't find much explanation anywhere. According to most dictionaries, it means something like hinder, interfere.
差: difference, substract
支: ...
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2answers
201 views
What semantic role does ⺉/刀(sword/cut) tend to have in Kanji?
判 Has the phonetic component 半, but why the semantic component knife?
刊 has the phonetic component 干, but why the semantic component knife?
剛 has the phonetic part 岡, but why the semantic ...
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2answers
378 views
Why are Japanese fonts different to Chinese?
I’ve noticed that Japanese and Chinese writing tends to use different fonts. Japanese fonts tend use wider lines and more curves. Chinese fonts tend to use narrow angular lines and there are ...
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2answers
167 views
When I go to Japan to study abroad, can I write my name in kanji?
I am planning to study abroad in Japan in two years through my college for a year at a Japanese speaking university. I also have goals/aspirations to one day work/live in Japan. Is it weird/acceptable ...
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1answer
114 views
Is “爿” a 略字--if so, how is it pronounced/written normally?
If not. . .part of how I help myself learn is to translate things that interest me--comics and art and song lyrics now and then. While reading, I ran into this dialogue, starting with "爿に"--and I've ...
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71 views
What's the difference between “on”, “oto” and “ne”
I've seen some various examples where the kanji "音" has different readings (おん, おと and ね) and couldn't found out when to use each one. Is there a general rule to know each one should I use in an ...
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1answer
92 views
What is the correct reading of 血泡?
As stated in the title - what is the correct reading of 血泡? I couldn't find a definitive answer (Jisho does not know this word at all, Google Translate thinks it should be kehhou, which seems unlikely)...
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1answer
199 views
Is there a reason why 嚥 (swallow -deglutition) and 燕 (swallow -bird) are similar like in English?
I recently came across the kanji 燕, and found out about 嚥 today.
According to jisho.org, both translate to "swallow", except that the first one means swallow bird and the second one (with the "mouth" ...
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0answers
74 views
How did the on-readings with -チ appear?
This is what I know.
1) Unlike, say, -p, the final -t of Chinese readings was maintained in careful speech at least as long as the Christian resources of the XVIth century (Frellesvig 2010: 316-7). ...
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2answers
197 views
What is the significance of number 8 (八) in Japanese? [duplicate]
I've noticed a couple of words with the character 八 that have (seemingly) nothing to do with the number 8.
八百屋【やおや】 - greengrocer
八つ【やつ】当たり【あたり】 - taking out anger on someone
八丁【はっちょう】 - ...
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1answer
139 views
What does this mean to you if you were to see an application named “Japanese 語”?
My friend is creating a word card application to help people memorize Japanese words / Kanji. The subject of what to call the application came up and he asked me for some suggestions. One of the ...
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1answer
135 views
What is the usage of these 12 kanjis (彁, 墸,壥,挧,暃,椦,槞,蟐,袮,閠,駲,妛)+18 more in modern Japanese? How to read it?
I read from this interesting article that it's included in 幽霊文字 (yuurei moji/ghost kanji (character). I tried to look up each of those kanjis:
I use these sites to look up those kanjis:
a.jisho.org
...
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1answer
47 views
What's the purpose of ta-form +りする and how to use it?
Just wanted to know how to apply the りする to a verb when saying something like "I want to visit japan and eat food." I've seen "今度の 夏休みに 川に行ったり、海に行ったりします" but is it as simple as putting り after the ta-...
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1answer
234 views
Why does the word for “surgery” 外科 have the 外 kanji?
I can't seem to figure out what "outside" has to do with "surgery".
Surely, one type of surgery is amputation (切断【せつだん】) which is about removing (外【はず】す) a body part, but there are many other (much ...
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1answer
70 views
What does 通常進行 mean in the context of a two week serialized mangaka job?
I can understand both words separately, and even together in some specific contexts. I can't understand the meaning of these two together in the following phrase and context:
「締切りを３日早めてほしいの。...
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1answer
98 views
What are the common practices for writing Korean names?
Some manga made by Korean writers and illustrators write their names entirely with kanji (especially without any clue as to how to pronounce them), while credits in anime write Korean staffers' names ...
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1answer
92 views
Reading of 管 as in “かん” vs “くだ” and its meaning regarding those two readings
こんにちは。
After reading jisho, here's some of the information that I found:
管 (kun: くだ on: カン)
Interestingly, if you search the details, jisho lists 管 read as 【カン】 and
【かん】, even though the ...
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0answers
90 views
Why are some words (e.g., 処方箋) sometimes partially written with hiragana? [duplicate]
Some words with complex Kanji are sometimes written in a mixture of Hiragana and Kanji. For example 処方箋 (prescription) is often written as 処方せん in pharmacies. This is used by native speakers that have ...
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1answer
103 views
What is the difference between 都市 and 郷?
Do they mean the same thing? What situations should I use one over the other?
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1answer
180 views
Iki versus Yuki meaning “bound for”
Can we read ー行き as "iki" talking about trains bound for some stations?
For example,
この列車は東京行きです。
Here they say we should read it as "yuki."
Here I see that "iki" is used to mean "bound for". ...
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1answer
650 views
Kanjis to Romajis first letter [closed]
I'm fond of Unicode and what romanization attempts. My goal is to get a first latin char (for sorting purposes) of a non-latin character - so far I succeeded by transcribing Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, ...
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2answers
271 views
Are there official kanji attached to popular particles?
After some research on my own (looking through the list of kun-readings for more obscure kanji), I can more or less surely claim:
に is 于 (which is simultaneously many things, including ここに and を);
...
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1answer
146 views
Why use the kanji 伸 for “no” instead of the hiragana の, and the kanji 手 for “te” instead of the hiragana て?
In an anime opening song, at 0:08, I read the following sentence:
omokage no naka te wo nobasu no
おもかげのなか 手を伸ばすの
Please, can you tell me:
for "no", why is the kanji 伸 used instead of the ...
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1answer
111 views
The differences with おちる (落ちる、堕ちる、墜ちる)
Can someone explain the differences with these kanji 落ちる、堕ちる、墜ちる. I've seen them used in manga.
Looking at Jisho.org and get a bunch of definitions. Googling and I can't find an English explanation. ...
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1answer
61 views
Why the pronunciation of some words is different than their components? [duplicate]
美味しい is being pronounced おいしい, but it is not the sum of the way its kanji components are being pronounced. I think I have also seen it in some other words. So why is that the pronunciation of some ...
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2answers
391 views
How to arrive to the meaning of the kanji tonari 隣 through its components?
the kanji 隣 tonari, it is formed by:
- the radical ⻖ : こざとへん hill, mounds;
- the radical 舛 : まいあし contrary, to err;
- the kanji 米 : ベイ rice.
Knowing such components, if it is possible, how can I ...
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1answer
5k views
Meaning of 人 in Japanese internet slang
In a page from the Dead Tube manga, a man is being killed during a live video. Some of the viewers comment the scene simply with "人". What is the meaning of this kanji when used in this way? Could its ...
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1answer
88 views
Different pronunciations of 主
I just stumbled across this - rather simple - sentence from the novel 堕落の王:
それは魔王の意思ですらない。その目的は力の使用だけで、結果には興味すら抱かない。
ただ、主を見ていた。
It wasn't even the demon lord's will. His goal was only to ...
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2answers
111 views
The basis for kanji frequency
What is the basis for kanji frequency? For example, 悠{ゆう｝ has the Frequency of 1921 in the kanji dictionary of Yomichan. What does it mean? Does it mean that in everyday conversation or in newspapers ...
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0answers
65 views
Why does ―・appear on Japanese dictionary? [duplicate]
For example this definition of 臨む: 風景・場所などを目の前にする。向かい対する。面する。「海に―・んだ部屋」
Why does ―・appear instead of the word itself? What's the reason behind it, how do I call it and why that only exist in a ...
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1answer
90 views
Kanji for みない in 調べてみない
詳｛くわ｝しく調｛しら｝べてみないと分｛わ｝かんないって
In the sentence above, what is the kanji for みない?
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1answer
3k views
Why is 私 a sixth grade kanji?
Can anybody explain why 私 is a sixth grade kanji?
I find it funny that such a common word appears on the list so late.
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1answer
913 views
Are there any words that are longer in kanji than in hiragana?
The number of hiragana to write the pronunciation of kanji always seems to be longer than or equal to the number of kanji. I.e. each kanji corresponds to one or more hiragana.
Are there any words ...
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3answers
2k views
Which is the most popular non-Jōyō kanji?
Basically, a trivia question that someone could answer with a script.
What is the statistically most popular kanji in Japanese texts not in the jōyō list? Was it ever considered for inclusion? Is it ...
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2answers
206 views
What's the meaning of these kanji in this image still?
This is a sincere question, I apologize for the lewdeness, though.
I was watching a japanese pornographic film and I stumbled upon this written phrase. I wanted to know what it means (I'm also ...
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1answer
138 views
I am looking for cursive forms of the kanji for 'zu'. It means a drawing. Thanks. [closed]
I am looking for cursive forms , not standard, of the kanji for zu 'drawing'. Thanks for your help.
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0answers
274 views
Understanding difficult handwriting/calligraphy
I'm having trouble deciphering this handwriting. So far, I can definitely tell that the first column says 参拾弐 in 大事, and the fourth column says 手本. Really struggling with column two and some of column ...
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4answers
422 views
Is it possible to write Japanese in pure Kanji?
Is it possible to write Japanese in pure Kanji?
I think I have seen in one TV news show in Osaka that they are showing snippets of newspaper written in all Kanji.
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2answers
284 views
Is there a meaning to the 6 stroke component that 恵, 専, and 敷 share?
The three kanji 恵, 専, and 敷 share the same first 6 strokes. Using the traditional radicals I could describe them as being composed "一, 日, 丨..." at the start and then finishing "...心", "...寸", "...⼂, 方,...
