Kanji: 1-100 Flashcards
日
(ニチ)
ひ
sun; day; Japan
日 depicts the SUN with a line drawn along its equator.
一
イチ
(ひと)
one
One line for 1.
二
二
(ふた)
two
Two lines for 2.
三
サン
(み)
three
Three lines for 3.
十
ジュウ
(とお)
ten
Cross your hands in the shape of a cross: two hands = TEN fingers.
四
(シ)
よん
four
The Kanji for FOUR is based on a square, which has FOUR sides.
五
ゴ
(いつ)
five
六
ロク
(む)
six
七
(シチ)
なな
seven
Write a numeral 7 European-style, with a line slicing through the middle. Then turn it upside down.
八
はち
(や)
eight
Put your EIGHT fingers (no thumbs) together in prayer (actually, almost together, imitating 八).
九
キュウ
(ここの)
nine
The trick with this entry is distinquishing it from 力 (power). To do so, associate the wide, round hook at the end of S2 with the loop in the number 9.
丸
(ガン)
まる
round
Similar to 九 (nine), so let the difference between them (S3) suggest the meaning. Because S3 curves slightly, we can see it as part of the circumference of a circle (geometrically speaking, an arc of about 20°), suggesting the meaning ROUND.
円
エン
まる(い)
yen; circle
See the enclosure as a hand, wrapped in a CIRCULAR shape around two Japanese YEN coins.
〇
レイ
ぜろ まる
zero, placeholder; circle mark, blank
Rounding out our trio of circle characters is the non-traditional kanji 〇, long used in China but probably dreived from the Indian “0.”
人
ニン
ひと
human being (person)
ニン is used more when refering to groups of people or roles, while ひと is more commonly used and generally is used for one person.
This minimal sketch of a HUMAN BEEING is most often modified to イ when it appears as a component grapheme in other kanji (休).
百
ヒャク
hundred
See the number 100, turned sideways. A little line attachees the 1 to the place-holding zeroes.
千
セン
(ち)
thousand
Think of this as a stylized letter T, to represent the distinct sound “th” in “THOUSAND.” Like the Greek letter for the same sound θ (theta), it has a line running across the center.
万
マン
ten thousand
As a temporary expedient, see 一 (one) plus an upside-down numeral 4, suggesting a 1 with four zeroes after it: TEN THOUSAND.
口
(コウ)
くち
mouth
Depicts a MOUTH. As we saw with 円, even a round object like MOUTH is drawn as a square in the kanji. Just as the English word MOUTH can refer to the end of a river or the entrance to a cave, 口 can refer to any mouth-like opening. Thus as a grapheme, 口 will sometimes mean opening or entrance.
田
(デン)
た
rice field
Here we look down from the sky on a RICE FIELD, divided into four equal plots. As we see with 男, 田 will also be able to take on the meaning head when it appears as a grapheme.
目
(モク)
め
eye; item
This kanji depicts an EYE propped up sideways; the middle section represents the iris. It also has a second meaning that is more abstract, but just as easy to see: each of the three rectangles represents one ITEM in a list of three items long.
川
(セン)
かわ
river
Depicts a RIVER, with banks at the left and right, and water flowing through the middle.
月
(ゲツ) (ガツ)
つき
moon; month
Focus on the curves of the two upright lines and let them suggest a crescent MOON: the line at left outlines the dark portion of the sphere, whlie the line at right outlines the bright portion.
明
(メイ)
あか(るい) あき(らか)
bright, cheerful; clear
In this kanji we see the sun (日) shining on the moon (月), making it brilliantly BRIGHT and CLEAR.
曜
ヨウ
day of the week
ヨヨ looks like a pair of wings–let them suggest a bird’s flapping movement. Compined with 日 day, the image depicts a little bird taking flight from one day to the next, to the next, as the DAYS OF THE WEEK fly by.
火
(カ)
ひ
fire
A pyramid-shaped bonfire, from which flames leap to the left and right. As a grapheme, 火 means fire or burn, and takes either a norrowed form or the completely different form 灬, resembling four fingers of flame.
水
(スイ)
みず
water
Looks roughly like 川 (RIVER) pinched from both sides, making WATER splash out. Though it can appear in this form as a grapheme, it almost always changes to the completely different form 氵, easily recognizable as drops of water.
木
(ボク) (モク)
き
tree; wood
金
キン
かね
metal; gold; money
Visualize it as a stack of gold bars kept under a roof.
土
(ド) (ト)
つち
soil, land
See this as a sprout coming forth from the surface of the SOIL. Its shades of meaning extend to earth, land, ground, etc.
本
ホン
(もと)
basis, origin, root; book; this
To 木 (tree) a stroke was added to indicate the tree’s roots. This gradually developed into the meaning BASIS. The root or BASIS of movies, plays, and many other things is in BOOKS. Indicating the time or place in which the speaker is BASED, 本 also means THIS.
東
(トウ)
ひがし
east
This character can be broken down into two component graphemes. Visualize the sun (日) rising from behind a tree (木): EAST.
大
ダイ
おお(きい)
big; university
Stretch out your arms, and spread out your legs: make yourself BIG. The second meaning UNIVERSITY comes from 大’s use as an abbreviation for 大学 (literally, “big school”).
小
ショウ
ちい(さい)
small
Bring your legs together, and pull your arms down: make yourself SMALL.
中
チュウ (ジュウ)
なか
middle; in, throughout; China
Right down the MIDDLE. 中 also serves as an abbreviation for CHINA, the MIDDLE Kingdom. IN, the second meaning, is likewise related to MIDDLE.
生
セイ (ショウ)
なま
life, grow; be born, give birth to; student
Behold a young plant sprining up from the ground and growing its first leaf. See BIRTH and LIFE symbolized in this first leaf, which you should make the focal point of this character.
山
(サン)
やま
mountain
Three towering MOUNTAIN peaks.
出
シュツ
でる だす
go out; put out
Visualize the actions GO OUT and PUT OUT right in the character, by seeing one character for mountain (山) rising out of another. The lower mountain PUTS OUT the upper; the upper mountain GOES OUT from the lower.
