Preface
This book is a begillningNto interlnediatc\level kanJi textbook for Japancsc-language
leamers from cultures that do not use Chinese characters.It is designed for basically_o
types ofstudents those who have alreadybegun to leam ktti but Wantto h‡We more fm
in their studies,andthOSe without anybackground in kalƒSi WhO Walltto Startleaming these
characters.
Katti callnOtbe mastcrcd ovemight,and many leamers ind thc characters to be illtimi\
dating,tricky to memorize,and easy to forget.We,the authors ofthis book,have frequently
worked with such leamers in our roles as Japaneseclanguage instructors,so we deCided to
pooltogether ideas from our daily teaching experiences to create atool forhclping students
to tacklc kanJi.By caremlly sclccting and rcflning our idcas,we came up with a book that
makes kaƒS1lCaming hl¡ and casy through illustrations and llmemonic hints for each ofthe
5 12 characters prescnted.We hope that this book will enable students to e‰ÏOy‚ ly leam
many kanJi and that it will serve as a handy reference for Japanese-language instrllctors
when they teach kanJi.
We wish to express our dcep appreciation to cveryone who assisted us during the flvc
years it took to bring this book to completiono We espccially thank Chiaki Sckido of the
Japan Tilnes Publications Department for painstakingly editillg our work,NoΆko Udagawa
for drawing the illustrations,Yutaka Ono for aiding our developmellt ofthe lnateΆal,and
our students for inspiring us to crcate this book.
Apri1 2009
The Authors
1.Targeted Users and Purpose
This book is designed priinarily for leamers from cultures that do not use Chinese characters.It
presents 512 begilllling\allld inteFlnediate-level katti alongRith illustrations and inncmonic hints that
make it fm and easy to lcam the „vharacters.By stu‚¯ing with this textbook and practicing with the
companion workbook,users should become able to comprehend beginning\ and intennediate-level
kanii tl¡ey comc across in reading,and tO writc those characters¡om memory.
2.Selection and Composition of Kanii Presented
Thc 512 Lèi preSCnted in this book wcre selected on the basis ofsetteral factors,such as tlleir inclu\
sion in levels 3 and 4 oftlle Japanese Language Proicicncy Tcst(JLPT),and their usc as parts of otllcr
katti.This book is divided into 32 1essons,each ofwhich covers 16 kall.The characters are presented
h order of their JLPT classiicatiOn,sttting witl¡lcvc1 4 and gradually working up to lcvc1 2.The
lcssons are grouped into tlree parts according to their JLPT lcvel,as indicatcd belo‡Y l
Lessons Kanil
Part l l-10 160 characters,including all JLPT leve1 4 kaƒSi
Part 2 11-20 160 characters,including all JLPT leve1 3 kanii
Part 3 21-32 192 characters,lnainly from JLPT lcvc1 2
3.Features of This Book
œKanii can be easitt learned through fun illustrations and mnemonic hints
Thc in illustrations and mnemonic hil¡ts that accolnpany the katti preSented in this book prO’ˆde a
lmk be¡/cen each charactcr's shapc and its meaning,making it casicr for uscrs to collunit tllc kaƒS i to
memory Some illustrations are based on pictograllls,Avhile others were freely creatcd with no relation\
ship to thc charactcr's origin.
œThe book doubles as a kanii diCtiOmary
This book is designed to allow users to readily look up the meaning,Icadings,stroke count,and
strokc ordcr ofkatti,aS well as thc kaƒSi that fOrln part of othcr characters,casily conised kalJi,alld
words incorporating particular kallvi By referring to the various indexcs included atthe end ofthc book,
begiging leamers can use this book like a katti diCtiOnary.
e Workbook helps users to gain a rFlrmer grasp ofkanii
Using the companion workbook(sold SeparateƒT)in cOttllnctiOnwitllthis book enablesusers to leanl
htti nOt Only tt the lcvel ofcharacters and words,but also in tllc contcxt of scntences alld longer text.
œKanii can be learned efrlcientw
The kaji vocabulaly in this book that should be smdied fOr particular levels oftlle JLPT have bcen
shaded to make it easier for leal¡llers to focus on them.These expressions are also practiced in the work\
book to allow beginning allld intermediate stlldents to eicientƒTlcam the necessary Lãèji.
4.Kanil Tables
Each target kaul is presentcd in a table fbrIInattcd as follows.
‡D
‡@
‡A
‡B
‡C
to run
lrun even whenl'm covered
¨
‘–
—Û•—–Lš{B
>‚»‚¤
>‚Í‚µ
‚È‚é|(`14¡œŒ|
‚²’y‘–(‚²‚¿‚»‚¤)fcast
ƒ‹‚µt(‚¾‚Á‚»‚¤)cscapc nom a pŒÜsO.
“¦‘–(‚Æ‚¤‚»‚¤)E
llllEng‚Ÿ vƒŠ
‘–ƒCŽq(‚»‚¤‚±‚¤)Elmh3 mttng
–\‘–‘°of‚¤‚»‚¤‚¼‚)
nlcltorcydc gallg
Žt‘–(E‚µ‚í‚·)Dccclllbå
‚7>~ƒL
ƒj
|ƒL |ƒL1/\FI‘–| | | | | | | 1—Ö
“yœo›‘«oˆø)’èo50
‡E
‡H‡B‡F
‡@ Entry number The targct kattiarc nurnbercd in o¡
dcr oftheir appearance in the book.
‡A Kanii
‡B Meaning(ill EnglisË
‡C Readings
EReadings marlced with>are ƒÏƒbƒÍ777ƒu,Or readhgs derŽs
ed from tl¡c Chinesc pronunci41on of thC
charactc¡Those marked withrare ttƒÈƒbƒÍIPOŒ,Or readings that represellt the native Japanese word for
the conccpt expressed by the character.
EBoth ƒÍŒ
=ƒ@
ƒÍ772ƒuand‚½2
=ƒm
ƒÍ777ƒureadings Fre arranged in the order of their appcarance in the vocabulary
liSt(‡E)Ofthe tablc
EEach table presents all readings includcd m thc J5y5 KattiliSt(a liSt Of l,945 standard kanJiissucd by
Japan's Ministry ofEd¡10ation in 1981).
0 0ƒÈ
lƒbƒÍzŒand‚½77,ƒ@ƒÍ
g
ƒur„vadings sometilncs changc to assimilated or voiced soundsAvhen the kanJi
appetts in the middle or end of a compound.Such phonetically shited readings are also included if
thc table's vocabula‚èlist contains words with those readings.
B
Rcadings listed in bold are ones that slould bC Studicd as part ofthe lesson.Thesc arc readhgs that
appear in the shadcd expressions(fOCus words)OfthC t‚ le's vocabula7 1ist.
‡D Mnemonic hint
EThis is a short dcscŒÜption or scenario designed to facilitate lnemorization ofthe characte¡
TheAvord
in bold indicates the kallJl'S rneaning.Rcading the lnnemonic hint whilc looking atthc accolmpanylng
illustration allows the user to fonm a lnental link beœveen the kanJl's foflll and meaning,Inaking it
easier to rcmember thcm.Also,kanvi cnclosed in parcnthescs in the lllncmonic hillt are a part ofthe
target kanJi,or are related to the target kttji.This feattre was added to malce new k—ƒS
i eaSier to
remembcrby tying tllem to kanil already leamed.
EA Japanese translation is providcd fOr each hint.
‡E Vocabulary list
This section lists exprcssiOns containing the target kanv i that are frequent‚¯used Or represellt various
readings of thc target kalƒSi.Shadcd expressions are focus words tl¡at should be memorized,and are
included in the workbook drills.The levels ofthe shaded expressions are as folloA
vs.
h‚Êe salne goup tte hsted in tte order of meir entry nunlbe¡This index dlows learners t6 use tti l
parts as a referencc t001 for flnding speciflc kaji.
| œVocabulary index(pp 217-244) .
I ThiS index lists all katti voCabulary prcsentcd in this book,in ƒ¿\ƒÁ\ƒÇ\ƒÍ orde¡The details of the l
i WOrd'S ktti Can be loolccd up by retring to ic entry number usted dongside‹M. 1
7.Methods for Studying with This Book
(1)Learning kanii shapes and llleanings
StLldy the shape and meaning ofeach kttji presented by going over the illustration and lllmemodc
Lnt providcd for it.Even kavi that Seem daulatingly complex can be readily digestcd when brOken
down into their vanous parts.’phen faced with a troublcsome kaJi,get a better idea ofits ovcrall forln
by looking up its colmponents in this book and closely exalnining their features.
A¡er learning a kaƒS i,practice wŒÜting it while referring to its stroke order shown in tl¡is book.The
workbook has rows ofsquares that are handy for writing practicc.
0)Studying kanii VOCabulary
After leamil¡g a palticular kaƒSi,study tlle accompanying list of vocabulary.Many kaIvi have
multœ le readmgs,and the reading used vaŒÜes withthe wordin whichthe kttji appears.This means that
itis nccessary to leamthe accottanyingvocabulary in ordcrto gain a ill grœOn the character's dittfN
entreadngs.The shadcd wordsin cach vocŒƒ)ulary list arc frcquently used expressions made up ofkaƒS i
that have been studied up to that point.Please be sllre to solidly leam them.Also,the shaded vocabulary
ofcach lcsson are rccompilcd int0 1ists in thc workbook,so go ovcrtllc words oncc morc to¡rln up your
understanding ofthem.
o)Reading/writing kanil in COntext
ln order to mlly mast„vr the kttji vo9abulary studied,use the workbook to practice reading and
wrlting thenl as part of sentences.The workbook lessons also include reading lnateœal for practicing
htti reading and writing m thc contcxt oflongcrtext.
g
)Re’ˆewing
KŒŒƒS
i can be easily forgottcn if not used regularly.While it is ilmportant to keep advancing to cach
llew lesson,it is equally essential to¡equently go back over past lessons.In theAvorkbook,previously
studied kalji reappear in the drills oflater lcssons,enabling users to review those characters.
[151Lˆê
What are kanii?
Kttji are characters tllat werc crcated in China.‡Y¡ile therc arc various tlleories on their orlgln,thc
gcneral conscnsus is thtt thcy wcre alr„vady in use by l,500B.C.Kallii(the chincsc charactcrs)differ
mm tl.e alphabet and Otl¡erphonographiC wŒÜting systems in thatthey are logogralns,meaning tllat each
character holds rneaning in addition to expressing sound.Thcy are believed to havc bccn introduccd to
Japan via ICorca more than l,500 ycars ago.ƒnit that timc,Japan did not have a wŒÜting system Ofits oAv¡
,
50 the(Dhinese characters were adoptcd toAvrite Japanese.Toda.y.Japanese is wHtten using a mixtllre of
L™èi,—̓¿gƒ¿4ƒ¿,Ž Ž Œƒ¿,and thc alphabct
How many arethere?
Just how many kanvi exist?Thcrc are(3hinese charactcr dictionaries that list roughly 50,000 charac\
tzA,but most ofthem havc fanen out of comon use.Japanese ncwspapers and magazines elmploy
about 3,000 katti.Of tllat numbe‚¿1,945 wcre designated by the Japalllese govemment as commonly
used kttiÊŒŒe J5y5 Kttji.A total of l,006J5y5Kaji are taught at the elementary school level
lreferrcd to as Ky5iku Kttjl),alld most ofthc rcmainder are taugllt injunior high school.
Nearly 99%of the kalJi appearing in newspapers alld magazines are J5y5 Kttji.The 500 nlost
ŠÊ3quel¡tly used kalƒSi aCCOu.t for almost 80%ofall,cwSpaperkalJi,and thc l,000 most frcqucntly used
’Û‰Â
i COVCr mOrc tl¡an 90%.
Types of Kanii
How wcre kaji created?They can bc largely divided into tlle following four types based on their
fomation
œPictograms
Some kttji are pictograms,which are characters that pictorially represent ccrtain tllings.‡Y hile fcw
in number,pictographic kaƒSi arc frcqucntly used as pats of othcr kttji,so they can bc considered
hdamclltal characters.
Picture Eaay kanil Modern kanil
—ú
¨
–ØB„KB
“úƒÖƒÁ;s„Z)’
¨
¨ Œ¢(g9
[171
¨
¡ ‰Ø ã» Œ “ï Œ Œ ëèr ÈâÀ:‹E‹
Kanii Readings
Chinesc characters as used in China generally haŒe one reading.In contrast,mostvapanese kaƒSi
possess multip19 readings,which are dŽsided into ƒÍ‚ñƒbƒÍ773Œ
(Chinese readings)allld‚ñƒBƒbƒÍƒv
(Japanese
Feadings).
Oā
u
ƒmƒÍ/2tƒm: These readings are derived from the pronunciations used in China in the distant past,
more than a millellnilllm ago in some cases.The reason why certain ktti havc multiple
ƒÍƒÈƒcƒÍ
g
ƒuiS tllat telmpOral and regional varianccs in thc Chinese pronunciation wcrc
inƒµorted along with the characters For exal¡¡ple,the ƒÍƒbƒÍƒmOfƒX
Rare ƒÅtt andƒmJƒÈ
;ƒÈƒu
was thc rcading initially illtroduccd to Japall,whileJiiƒÈ was adopted in a latcr cra.
ƒÈ
g
,ƒmƒÍŒ: VRuhen Chinese characters wcre transplanted to Japan, they were read with only the
Chinese pronunciations at flrst.Since this limited the range ofexpression fbr the Japanese
language,katti started to also bc uscd for wttting nttivc Japanese words corresponding
to lhe charactcrs'rneaning,lllttking the birth ofthc‚½—[ƒÈ
,ƒmƒÍ
g
ƒmEAs one cxalnple,the katti
lmeans lpersOn,"so it cal¡e to also be read as‚݃m‚ì,the correspondhg Japanese word.
Writing Kanii
œBasic stroke directions
HoΆzontal strokes are writtcn from lei to right.Vcrtical strokes arc writtcn from top to bOttOm.
‡@ Lcftto nght
“Ô)Toptobottom l
«
œBasic stroke endings
‡@ Stop(‚ì
g
Ă
)
C)Strctch(”Tƒ¿rƒ¿‚Ì
‡B Hook(‚݃¿
g
)
Thc pcn is stopped shāly.
The pen is gcntly lited t„v create a swceping strokc cnd.
Thc pcn is stopped and then pullcd baclcward to lnakc a hook.
(~=“ñ )
(ƒŠ ƒŠ|—[ 11)
(ˆê\)
(1ŒƒŒ 1R)
(lƒƒƒƒƒ )
(R
ƒƒ
’†)
[211
‚¿
áP
”ö
œBasic stroke order
‡@ Topto bo¡om
‡A Let to rlght
()HoΆzontal strokes prcccdc illtersecting vertical strokes
‡@ Center strokes precede smaller side strokes
O Enclosurcs come irst,butthc bo¢om stroke is writen last
G)Piercing strokes are written last
ŽO
ì
\ ¬ Œû ’†
Thcrc arc some exceptions tO thc six¡1les noted abovc.Thc stroke orders are considcrcd the casiest
way to wnte kanii right\handed,and a proper knowledge of them is important for wΆting well\
mmcturcd characters and counting strokcs.Try to leam each L‰Â l in itS COrrcct stroke orde¡
>,Ð3‰Û (38c40)
38
This is the shape of a
craftsman's rulen
–¼l‚Ì’è‹K‚Å‚·B
>‚± ‚¤ ‚ Hê‚É‚¤‚¶‚傤)htoƒD
ƒG‹Æ (‚±‚¤‚¬‚傤)
manufacŒŒg industry
HŽ–‚É‚¤‚¶)cmsmcdOn
‘åH (‚¾‚¡‚)carpenter
H•v(‚ASA‚¤)de’ˆcQ invemg
HŠw‚É‚¤‚ª‚)envneerlng
˜a“cI (‚³RR
‚)craismanshœ
lH“I(‚¶‚ñ‚±‚¤‚Ä‚«)artiicial
‚3> ’šƒG ³“y‚Ío
39
l hold the ru!er wlh my left hand.
¶Žè‚Å’è‹K‚ð‰Ÿ‚³‚¦‚Ü‚·B
>‚³
>‚Ђ¾‚è ¶Žè(‚Ђ¾‚è‚Ä)bt hand
¶‘¤(‚Ђ¾‚肪‚í)lc¡sidc
¶‰E(‚³‚イ)œght and le—
¶”y:(‚³‚å‚)lctt whg
¶ƒI1‚«(‚Ђ¾‚è‚«‚«)le¡\handed
‚5> ƒIƒJƒI¶ å‘Hoo奎®‚Ílo
40
ront
R Œ
]
‚ç1
l prepare for dinner before the
moon(ŒŽ)nses.
ŒŽ‚ªo‚é‘O‚ÉA”Ó‚²”т̀”õ‚ð
‚µ‚Ü‚·B
>‚º‚ñ
>‚Ü‚¦
–¼‘O(‚Ȃ܂¦)
ŽO”N‘O(‚³‚ñ‚Ë‚ñ‚Ü‚¦)
‘O”„‚茔(‚Ü‚¦‚¤‚肯‚ñ)
‘O”¼(‚º‚ñ‚Í‚ñ)¡c ttst hdf
<9> Žñ1Žs‘OŽñ‘O‘O ‡KŒŽoo lƒÖ
>‘æ5‰Û (76-78)
People speak using thOusands
(ç)of wordS.
‰×—r‚à‚Ì’\”£‚ðŠn‚Á‚Ä”£‚µ‚Ü‚·B
˜b‘è(‚킾‚¢)topic ofconvers“åon
˜b‚µ‡‚¤(‚͂Ȃµ‚ ‚¤)togcuss
q¨ã(‚µ‚ã‚í)sign languagc
“d˜b(‚Å‚ñ‚í)glephonc
¢˜b(‚¹‚í)care
>‚í
>‚Í‚È ‚͂Ȃµ
Œ¾1751çoo ‚èŒê
g
20
This is the shape of a standing
person.
l‚ª—§‚Á‚Ä‚¢‚éŽp‚Å‚·B
>‚è‚ ‚è‚Á
‚è‚イ
>‚½ ‚¾
–ð‚É—§‚Â
(‚á‚‚É‚½‚Â)O be usem
–Ú—§‚Â
(‚ß‚¾‚Â)o stand Out
‘—§‘åŠw‚É‚‚è‚‚¾‚¢‚ª‚)
national umivers‚¯
—§”h(IJ‚Á‚Ï)"lendid
Œš—§‚É‚ñ‚è‚イ)
bvldhg KtemplCS,ctc)
‚5>
Ġ
\ƒ„—§
78
“y
‚·
‚y
¡¨
l will Wait for you on the street
in f„_nt ofthe temple(Ž›).
‚¨Ž›‚Ì‘O‚Ì“¹‚ő҂Á‚Ä‚¢‚Ü‚·B
to walt
>‚½‚¢
>‚Ü µ‘Ò‚·‚é(‚µ‚傤‚½‚¢‚·‚é)bpic
‘Ò‡Žº:(+‚Ü‚¿‚ ‚¢‚µ‚Â)waŒÜŠ…
room
‘Ò‚¿‡‚킹‚é(‚Ü‚¿‚ ‚킹‚é)
to arrangc to meet
Šú‘Ò‚·‚é(‚«‚½‚¢‚·‚é)to hope‚§
r
‘Ò–](‚½‚àM‚Ú‚¤)long\awdted
<9>
ƒ^
ƒCƒC
~
ƒC
ƒL
‘Ò‘Ò‘Ò‘Ò 0ƒC‡@)Ž›‚ÍoðŽo20“Á‚ã9o
(489-491)3˜p31Œ¾‰Ê‚
lord/you
My lord gives orders with the
baton and his mouth(Ξ).
‰¤—l‚͂‚¦‚ÆŒû‚Å–½—ß‚µ‚Ü‚·B
>‚‚ñ
>‚«‚Ý
ŒNŽå(‚‚ñ‚¶‚ã)
‚7>
Ê q ƒˆ
ƒf1ŒNŒNŒN 0Œû(lo ‚èŽá
g
20