Kanji 8 Flashcards
Little
小 The sense of little that this character represents is not the same as “a little bit.” That meaning comes in the next frame. Here little means “small” or “tiny.” The image is actually of three little drops, the 3rst of which (the one in the middle) is written larger so that the kanji has some shape to it. The point of writing it three times is to rub the point in: little, little, nothing but little.
- The primitive of the same shape keeps the same meaning. Written above a horizontal line, its form is slightly altered, the last two strokes turning inwards
Few
少 First we need to look at the fourth stroke, the drop at the bottom that has been extended into a longer diagonal stroke leaning left. This happens because a single, isolated drop will never appear beneath its relative primitive in its normal size, for fear it would drop off and get lost. As for the meaning, let the tiny drop indicate a further belittling of what is already little—thus making it a few of something little.
Large (p=Large dog)
大 Here we have a simple pictograph of a person, taking up the space of an entire character and giving it the sense of large. It should not be too hard to locate the two legs and outstretched arms.
- As a primitive, we need a different meaning, since the element representing the human person will come up later. Hence, this shape will become a large dog or, if you prefer, a St. Bernard dog.
Many
多“Many moons ago,” begins much of Amerindian folklore—a colorful way of saying “Once upon a time” and a great deal of help for remembering this kanji. Here we have two moons (three of them would take us back to the beginning of time, which is further than we want to go), lacking the final stroke because they are partially hidden behind the clouds of time.
Evening
夕 Just as the word evening adds a touch of formality or romanticism to the ordinary word “night,” so the kanji for evening takes the ordinary-looking moon in the night sky and has a cloud pass over it (as we saw in the last frame).
Eventide (Nightfall)
汐 In the next lesson we will meet the character for morning-tide and the element for drops of water. Meantime we have a perfect blend of picture and idea in this kanji to play on the English word for nightfall, eventide: drops of water inching their way up the shore in the evening.
Outside
外 On the left, the primitive for evening, and on the right, that for the magic wand. Now, as every magician worth his abracadabra knows, bringing your magic wand out into the evening air makes your magic much more powerful than if you were to stay indoors. Hence, evening and magic wand takes you naturally outside.
Name
名 Perhaps you have heard of the custom, still preserved in certain African tribes, of a father creeping into the tent or hut of his newborn child on the night of the child’s birth, to whisper into its ear the name he has chosen for it, before making his choice public. It is an impressive naming custom and fits in tidily with the way this character is constructed: evening . . . mouth. At evening time, a mouth pronounces the name that will accompany one throughout life.
Stone
石 With a mouth under a cliff, what else could we have here but the entrance to a secret cavern, before which a great stone has been rolled so that none may enter.
Resemblance
肖 The word resemblance should suggest, among other things, a son’s resemblance to his father. A “chip off the old block” is the way we often put it, but the character is more simple. It speaks of a little bit of flesh.
- When used as a primitive, the sense of resemblance is replaced by that of spark or candle.
Nitrate
硝 The word nitrate should immediately suggest a beaker of nitric acid, which, as every high-school chemistry student knows, can eat its way through some pretty tough substances. Here we imagine pouring it over a rock and watching the sparks fly as it bores a hole through the rock.
Smash
砕 We begin with the two elements on the right, baseball and needle. Since they will be coming together from time to time, let us give the two of them the sense of a game of cricket in which a needle is laid across the wicket. Then imagine using a rock for a ball. A smash hit would probably splinter the bat in all directions, and a smashing pitch would do the same with the needle wicket.
Sand
砂 Good sand for beaches has few or no stones in it. That means that all of us whose feet have been spoiled by too much time in shoes don’t have to watch our step as we cavort about.
Plane (Shave wood)
削 Long before the invention of the carpenter’s plane, people used knives and machetes (or here, sabers) to smooth out their woodwork. If you have ever seen the process, you will have been amazed at the speed and agility with which the adept can plane a hunk of wood into shape. Indeed, you can almost see the sparks fly from their sabers.
Ray
光 There are really only 2 primitives here, little and human legs. The 4th stroke that separates them is added for reasons of aesthetics. (If that doesn’t make sense, try writing the kanji without it and see how ugly the results look, even to your beginner’s eye.) Now if you have wondered what those little particles of “dust” are that dance around in the light-rays that come through the window and fall on your desk, try imagining them as little and disembodied human legs, and you should have no trouble with this character.
