Speak and Read Japanese

by Larry Herzberg

  Literally: “definite-preparation.” Often used with suru.

  準 This kanji in Chinese means “exactly; precisely,” but in Japanese has come to mean “quasi-” or “semi-.” It has the character 十 on the bottom as the radical, indicating that something that’s been done is a perfect “10.” The phonetic on the top has the “water” radical 氵 on the left and the “shorttailed bird” radical 隹 on the right. When a bird dives down from the sky into the water, it has to take definite aim. The true etymology is about a hunter needing to shoot very definitely, i.e., precisely, in order to bring down a bird.

  備 This kanji means “prepare.” It has the “person” radical 亻 on the left, for it is people who make preparations for various things, such as preparing the fields for cultivation. The right side of the kanji has the “grass/flower” radical 艹 on the top, found in the kanji for various flowers, vegetables, and herbs, as well as tea. Below that is a roof with a side wall, under which is the character “to use” 用, showing a hand holding a tool that a person wishes to use. A useful mnemonic might be to think about a man preparing to propose to a woman under the roof by using flowers to enhance the mood.

  kaban かばん bag; book bag; backpack

  Be careful to not leave your bag or backpack in the cabin of a boat or in a cab on the seat!

  kado 角 / かど corner

  Only a cad stands on the corner ogling the women who pass by.

  角 The kanji shows the horn of a bull, with the crossed lines representing the striations on the horn. The corner of a street has sharp angles, like the horn of a bull.

  kaisha 会社 / かいしゃ company

  Every company is concerned with making lots of cash.

  Literally: “gathering-society.”

  会 This kanji means “meeting; gathering.” Under a roof is the character for “two” above the outline of a nose. It seems to be showing two noses, representing two people, meeting under a roof. After all, two nose (knows) better than one! The truth is that this kanji is a simplification used in both China and Japan after WWII of the kanji 會, still used in Hong Kong and Taiwan and among Chinese Americans, which shows two people talking in a doorway under a roof. The 曰 on the bottom represents a mouth filled with talk, rather than the sun.

  社 This kanji means “society.” It has the “god” radical 礻 on the left, with the kanji for “earth” on the right. The true etymology is that it represents the emperor praying to God every year for a good harvest on behalf of the entire society.

  kakimasu 書きます / かきます write

  When we write something we must not get too cocky and forget to first check the facts we claim to be reporting.

  書 The kanji shows a hand on the top holding a writing brush represented by the vertical line, with the bristles pressed down flat on the paper, writing down something that you want to say. Those words are represented by the mouth on the bottom of the character, with the horizontal line in the box representing the mouth filled with speech (曰).

  kami 神 / かみ god; god(s)

  A Commie doesn’t believe in God.

  神 The kanji has the “god” radical 礻 on the left. When this radical appears on the left of a kanji, it looks a bit like a man in a necktie, turning to the right and heading to church. In reality it’s a deliberate distortion of an altar (示) on which something (一) is placed on top as an offering to God. The phonetic on the right side of 神 has a vertical line extending out from a farmer’s field (田) and means “to extend.” God extends his bounty to us, including the bounty of the fields.

  kanai 家内 / かない my wife [humble]

  Can I tell you stories about my wife! I can, but I won’t!

  Literally: “home-inside.”

  家 This kanji means “home” and shows a pig under a roof. The pig is turned 90 degrees to make it easier to write, with four legs on the left and the tail sticking out at the bottom right. The Chinese could never afford the wasteful practice of raising cows, which necessitates large tracts of land to graze, as their main source of meat. Peasant homes often had pigs sleeping with people under the same roof, albeit in a sty at the other end of the house from the family bedrooms.

  内 This kanji shows a person within a room, conveying the idea of “within.” The place for a woman in traditional China or Japan was in the home.

  kanari かなり relatively; fairly

  The canary is a relatively small bird.

  kanojo 彼女 / かのじょ she; her

  Can O.J. really have killed her, his lovely wife?!

  Literally: “that-woman.”

  彼 This kanji means “he; his.” It has the “step” 彳 radical on the left. Originally the kanji meant another person, as opposed to “you” or “I.” The phonetic 皮 on the right side means “skin.” It shows a hand 又 on the bottom right using a knife to scrape the hide off an animal.

  女 This kanji means “female.” It shows a woman with her arms and legs crossed, bowing submissively. Clearly it’s a kanji devised by Chinese men three millennia ago, and indicative of the position of Chinese and Japanese women until the past century.

  kantan 簡単 / かんたん simple

  Doing the can-can is anything but simple!

  Literally: “simple-single.”

  簡 This kanji means “simple.” It has the “bamboo” radical ⺮ on the top. The original meaning of this kanji was a single, simple slip of bamboo on which a message was written. The phonetic 日 on the bottom shows the sun in the middle of a door or gate (門) and means “in between.” Think about how simple it is to write a note on bamboo or paper when the sun is shining in our doorway and we can see clearly.

  単 This kanji means “single.” After WWII it was slightly simplified from its original form, 單, which shows two mouths on top and a pitchfork on the bottom. It was meant to show assailing an enemy in single-hand combat with loud cries and a pitchfork, which was the nature of war in ancient times.

  kao 顔 / かお face

  A cow has particularly sweet face, with those big cow eyes.

  顔 The kanji has the “head” radical 頁 on the right. The left side shows the shading of the face.

  karada 体 / からだ body

  When you get a karate chop to the body, it really hurts!

  体 The kanji has the “person” radical 亻 on the left, referring to the human body. The phonetic 本 on the right shows a tree with a small horizontal line drawn near the base to indicate the root of the tree. The body is the root or base of human beings. This kanji is actually a simplification used in Japan and China since WWII of the traditional kanji still used in Hong Kong and Taiwan and by Chinese in the West. The original kanji 體 has a very different radical and phonetic. It has the “bone” radical 骨 on the left, appropriate for a kanji for the body. The phonetic on the right shows two hands on top placing a ritual vessel (豆) on the altar of a temple, perhaps in prayer for bodily health.

  karai 辛い / からい spicy; hot

  “Ay, caramba, that’s hot!” you might say after eating a tamale with hot sauce.

  辛 The kanji originally meant “hard” in the sense of painful. It actually shows a prisoner in manacles and chains. The top two strokes are the head and neck; the two short slanted lines are the hands in manacles; the bottom two horizontal lines depict chains on the legs; and the vertical stroke is the torso of the prisoner. A hard fate, indeed! Since the kanji is now used in Japanese to mean “hot; spicy,” think about it showing a person with arms outstretched exclaiming, “Ay, caramba, that’s spicy!”

  karappo 空っぽ / からっぽ empty

  When you find the refrigerator empty, you might say to yourself, “oh, karappo!”

  空 The kanji has the “cave” radical on top, consisting of a roof with eaves, with the two slanted lines below the roof showing the concavity of the cave. The phonetic 工 at the bottom shows a carpenter’s rule for drawing straight lines, with the vertical line in the middle being the handle.


  kare 彼 / かれ he; him

  That Nascar racer, he takes really good care of his car.

  彼 The kanji has the “step” radical on the left. Originally the kanji meant another person, as opposed to “you” or “I.” It has come to mean “he” in Japanese. The phonetic 皮 on the right side means “skin.” It shows a hand 又 on the bottom right using a knife to scrape the hide off an animal—definitely he-man work.

  kariru 借りる / かりる borrow; rent

  It’s fine to borrow money on occasion, but don’t make a career out of it!

  借 The character has the “person” radical 亻 on the left. It is only people who lend or borrow things. Animals just take what they want without asking. The right side of the character appears to have a shorthand version of the number 21, written in Chinese as 二十一, on top, with the character 日 for “sun” or “day” on the bottom. 21 days is exactly the period of time that we can borrow books from the library.

  kasa 傘 / かさ umbrella

  So many umbrellas look alike that we often find ourselves saying to others “Mi kasa or su kasa?”

  傘 This kanji actually depicts an umbrella. The two slanting lines on top show the protective top of the umbrella, with the long vertical line representing the handle. The four little 人 are not people but rather depict the spokes that support the top of the umbrella. Several decades ago the Chicago Tribune, in a Sunday column entitled “Learn a Chinese Character a Week,” explained it as showing ten (十) people (人) who were required to make an umbrella on an assembly line. While this is bogus etymology, as a writer of a book on fanciful mnemonic devices I can hardly cast stones!

  kashu 歌手 / かしゅ singer

  A cashew is a nut, and so is many a singer!

  Literally: “song-hand.”

  歌 This kanji shows two mouths on the left, with breath arising from them representing singing (可). The left side of this kanji, 哥, was the original kanji for “song.” However, since in Chinese the word for “older brother” is pronounced exactly the same and is written as 哥, to avoid confusion the Chinese added a pictograph showing a person exhaling breath (欠).

  手 This kanji means “hand.” The three horizontal strokes represent some of the fingers of the hand, with the vertical line representing the wrist.

  kasu 貸す / かす lend

  ’Cause I care about you, I’ll lend you the money.

  貸 The kanji has a cowry shell, the “shell” radical 貝, on the bottom. Cowry shells were used as currency in ancient China before the invention of copper coins and silver ingots, so it’s appropriate to have this radical in the kanji “to lend,” since it’s often money that is lent. The phonetic on the top is the kanji 代, which means “generation.” It has the “person” radical 亻 on the left and the “dart” radical 弋 on the right. Human beings unfortunately continue to use weapons against one another in generation after generation. To remember the kanji 貸, think about how people will lend you money, but often there’s a hidden weapon held by the lender, that we call the “interest” on a loan.

  The “-masu” form of kasu is kashimasu. Think about how banks lend cash to their customers.

  kata 方 / かた person

  The jazz musician introduced me to his drummer by saying “this cat is the person who keeps the beat in our band.”

  方 This kanji means “square” as well as “place.” It looks like a square boat lashed to the shore. Since a boat is tied to the shore at a certain location, the kanji came to also mean “place.” According to the 2nd-century Chinese etymological text Shuowen Jiezi, it may well be a deliberate distortion of the Buddhist “swastika” 卍, which symbolizes that God is everywhere and in every place, north, south, east, west, above, and below.

  When used as a single kanji and not in combination with other kanji kata is the formal word for person.

  katsu かつ win

  Cats are winning out over dogs as the most numerous pet in American homes.

  The -masu form of katsu is kachimasu. Think about how in ballgames like baseball or football you have to catch the ball to win.

  katsudoo 活動 / かつどう activities

  Cats do engage in a lot of entertaining activities, which is why their videos are so popular on YouTube.

  Literally: “living-movements.”

  活 This kanji means “to live.” It has the “water” radical 氵 on the left, since water is the most crucial requirement for life. The phonetic on the right adds to the meaning, since it shows the tongue (舌), which mammals use to lap up water.

  動 This kanji means “to move.” It has the “energy” radical 力 on the right, with the kanji for “heavy” 重 on the left as the phonetic and that seems to show weights piled up, as they would be at a gym. The suggestion is that we use a lot of energy to move something heavy.

  kau 買う / かう buy

  To buy a cow in previous centuries was a really major purchase for a peasant.

  買 The kanji actually shows a net on the top, with a cowry shell, the “money” radical, on the bottom. In ancient China, cowry shells were used as currency. When you went to buy something, you would scoop up a bunch of cowry shells to go make a purchase.

  kaze 風邪 / かぜ cold (the virus)

  ’Cause of the common cold, millions of us have to miss work every year.

  Literally: “wind-wickedness.”

  風 This kanji means “wind.” It has the “insect” radical 虫 under a single slanted line, indicating that the insects are hiding. The strokes that surround the insect on the two sides and the very top indicate the blowing of the wind. The 2nd-century Chinese etymological text Shuowen Jiezi explains that “when the wind blows, the insects breed.” I prefer to remember it by thinking that when the wind blows, the insects hide and don’t bother you when you’re enjoying a picnic.

  邪 This kanji means “evil; wicked.” It has the “city wall” radical on the right, which outlines the building blocks of a city wall. The left side is the kanji 牙 for “tooth,” which is the outline of a sharp canine tooth. Not knowing the etymology of the kanji 邪, I remember it by picturing the right side as the head and big belly of my dentist, extracting a tooth. He means well by me, but it sure seems evil at the time!

  kega けが injury

  When the fraternity boys drunkenly moved more kegs of beer into their fraternity house, they suffered an injury.

  keiken 経験 / けいけん experience

  Getting cake on your birthday is a delightful, if fattening, experience.

  Literally: “pass through-examine.”

  経 This kanji means “pass through.” It has the “thread” radical 糸 on the left, referring to silk having to pass through an arduous process of raising silkworms, boiling the cocoons they eventually make, and unravelling the thin filaments to create silk threads. The phonetic on the right was simplified after WWII to show a hand (又) on top with the “earth” radical 土 on the bottom. The experience of most people in ancient China or Japan was to get their hands dirty by working the soil.

  験 This kanji means “examine; test.” It has the “horse” radical 馬 on the left, since before buying a horse the buyer would always carefully examine it. The phonetic on the right of 験 was simplified after WWII. It now seems to show a person (大) under a shelter, perhaps examining the horse to determine its condition.

  kekka 結果 / けっか result

  The result of every birthday party is a cake.

  Literally: “tie together-fruits.”

  結 This kanji, which means “to tie,” has the “thread” radical 糸 on the left, indicating silk thread. The phonetic on the right means “good luck.” The “mouth” radical 口 on the bottom is that of a fortune teller with arms akimbo (士). Hopefully the soothsayer is saying that the odds are 10 (十) to 1 (一) that the results of some action will be fortuitous. This kanji is also used in the kanji compound for “marriage,” 結婚 (kekkon), which uses the metaphor of “tying” a couple togethe
r through the bonds of marriage. The same basic metaphor of “tying together” is employed in the kanji compound here for “result,” which is the consequence that is tied to the actions that preceded it.

  果 This kanji means “fruit.” It is the same metaphor that we use in English when we talk about the “fruits” of one’s labor, although in English that always refers to a positive result, while in Japanese it is not necessarily a good or bad result. The kanji 果 shows a tree bearing a fruit on top, which the ancient scribes made to look exactly like the “field” radical.

  kekkon 結婚 / けっこん marriage

  A marriage custom is to have cake on your wedding day.

  Literally: “tie the knot of marriage.”

  結 This kanji, which means “to tie,” has the “thread” radical 糸 on the left, indicating silk thread. The phonetic on the right means “good luck.” The “mouth” radical 口 on the bottom is that of a fortune teller with arms akimbo (士). Hopefully the soothsayer is saying that the odds are 10 (十) to 1 (一) that the couple will have good fortune.

  婚 This kanji means “marriage.” It has the “woman” radical 女 on the left. Since Chinese men created this written language two to three millennia ago, they thought of marriage in terms of a man taking a bride. The phonetic on the right, which means “dusk,” shows the sun on the bottom (日) and a water plant stretching out its tendrils below the surface of the water (氏). When a man marries, it is the sun setting on his bachelor years.

  kekkoo けっこう fine; just right

  Cake? Oh, that’s just fine!

  Often used with desu.

  kenka けんか quarrel

  Ken started to quarrel with Barbie over the fact that there is a Barbie car but no Ken car.

  Often used with desu.

  kinjo 近所 / きんじょ neighborhood