19 July 2011

Kanji Lesson 1

(ジン、ニン、ひと)
Person
Picture of a person.
  • 一人 (ひとり) One person, Alone
  • 男の人(おとこのひと) Man
  • 女の人(おんなのひと) Woman



(ダイ、 タイ、 おお-、 おお.きい)
Big
Picture of a person with stretched arms & legs, makes him looks big.
  • 大きい (おおきい) Big
  • 大きな (おおきな) Big
  • 大人(おとな) Adult



(ショウ、 ちい.さい、 こ-、 お-)
Small
Picture of a person with lowered arms & closed legs, makes him looks small.
  • 小さな (ちいさな) Small
  • 小さい (ちいさい) Small


(ニチ、 ジツ、 ひ、 -び、 -か)
Sun
Picture of a sunset/sunrise, with clouds in the middle.
  • 日曜日 (にちようび) Sunday
  • 子供の日(こどものひ) Children's day (in Japan)



(シ、こ)
Child
Picture of a child. Children have a relatively large head in proportion to their body, compared to those of adults. Especially in newborn babies, where their cranium (part of the head where hair grows) is very large compared to their face.
  • 男の子(おとこのこ) Boy
  • 女の子(おんなのこ) Girl


(ニュウ、 ジュ、 い.る、はい.る)
Enter
Picture of a person bowing while entering other's house (for courtesy, as in "excuse me")
  • どうぞお入りください(どうぞおはいりください) "Please come in" (a set phrase to welcome a guest in one's house)

4 comments:

  1. Thanks very muchg, Ming. Sugokatta!

    How do I subscribe?

    O henji matte masu.

    - Kerry

    Kerryika@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Kerry,
    You can follow this blog using the "Join this site" button at the left side of the page.
    ありがとう。

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Ming,

    Excellent blog, thank you!

    The 1993 book "Tracing the Roots of Chinese Characters: 500 Cases"
    explains the 子 character as: a baby with legs wrapped in swaddling cloths
    (and with arms sticking out).

    Two cartoonish pictures of such a swaddling arrangement:
    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sBOG5WZrWiA/SK4j_ffiC-I/AAAAAAAAAF8/3hGv-mZrk-0/s320/swaddling_cartoons_3.gif
    http://www.gifs.net/Animation11/Jobs_and_People/Babies/crying_baby.gif

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello,
      Glad you like this blog, and thank you for the info, I hope it will benefit other readers too :)

      Delete