Kanji - Level 1 - Vocab Flashcards
上
Above
Kanji: 上 above
When a vocab word is a single kanji and alone, it tends to steal the meaning from the kanji. Same goes for this one too. It means above or up.
Reading: うえ
Above you is a huge weight. You’re holding it up and struggling (it’s heavy!). You look up and try to crane your neck to see how much it weighs (うえ), but you can’t see the numbers on the side of it. How long can you hold it above your head like this?
大人
Adult
Kanji: 大 big + 人 person
This kanji combines big and person. If you’re a child, how do you think of adults? You just think of them like big people. That’s why this combination of kanji means adult, and when used like an adjective, it means mature.
Reading: おとな
“I’m an adult, which means I have adult responsibilities. Oh, Toner (おとな)? I need some of that for my terrible printer…” … now feel so sad you have such a terrible printer that runs out of toner every day. Ohhhh Toner!
一人
Alone
Kanji: 一 one + 人 person
When there’s one person, what are they? Well, they’re either just going to be simply one person or alone.
Reading: ひとり
The reading for this vocab doesn’t follow any rules you learned previously. It’s an exception, which means you have to learn the reading separately too. Spend a few moments trying to remember this word, look away for 10 seconds, and then try to recall its reading. Could you do it? Try again, this time in thirty seconds. Did you do it again? Okay, go ahead and move on. You may know it now, though you’ll need to recall it again in the next 5-10 minutes if you want to remember it for good.
Alternatively, if you know the reading for the vocab word 一つ (in the same level as this word), you can know that it uses the same reading!
人工
Artificial
Kanji: 人 person + 工 construction
A person of industry (工 can also mean industry) makes a lot of things by hand, so everything they make is artificial, and also means it’s man made.
Readings: じんこう
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on’yomi readings from the kanji. Since 人 has two on’yomi readings, here’s a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:
Remember this by thinking about how jeans (じん) are artificial. You’ve never seen jeans growing on trees, right? Nope, jeans are 100% man made.
下
Below
Kanji: 下 below
When a vocab is a single kanji with no okurigana (that’s hiragana attached to the kanji) it tends to steal the meaning of the kanji it comes from. So, this one is below or under.
Reading: した
When a vocab is a single kanji and is alone it tends to use the kun’yomi reading. You learned the on’yomi reading for this kanji, so now it’s time to learn the kun’yomi reading to learn this vocabulary word.
What’s below you? What’s below your foot? Oh no. The worst thing possible: It’s した.
大きい
Big
Kanji: 大 person + き + い
This is the adjective form of big. It has the same meaning, though it is a word for describing. Words that end with い are often adjectives, remember that for future words as well. So, as long as you know the meaning of this kanji, you can transfer that to the meaning of this word. It’s the adjective big, or large.
Reading: おおきい
What do you do when you see something really, really big? You say おお because you can’t believe your eyes. Imagine something really large and say おお out loud to help seal the memory in that brain of yours.
八
Eight
Kanji: 八 eight
When a vocab is a single kanji it usually steals its meaning from its kanji as well. Same goes for this vocab word. It means eight.
Reading: はち
When a vocab is a single kanji and all alone like this, it’s usually going to use the kun’yomi. But, because this is a number (exception) it uses the on’yomi instead, meaning you already know the reading from when you learned the kanji!
八つ
Eight things
Kanji: 八 eight + つ
This word follows the “number of things” pattern where there’s a kanji for a number plus つ on the end. Whenever you see this, you know the word means “____ things.” Knowing that, as long as you know the kanji (which you do) you can figure out what number of things it is. For this one, it’s the kanji for eight plus つ. So, this one is eight things.
Reading: やっつ
Since all of the “number of things” words follow the same pattern (number + つ), you really just have to remember the part before the つ (and then remember that the つ is in all of these). All of the readings are kun’yomi, and since you only know the on’yomi reading for the kanji, we’ll have to use a mnemonic to remember them.
So what eight things do you have? You have eight yachts (やっつ). Go ahead and count them, drifting on the water. They’re beautiful. Also, be sure not to be confused by this particular reading mnemonic. It includes the つ, even though the つ is outside the reading you need to learn (just makes things easier for you overall). Since you can see the つ outside, it shouldn’t be too difficult for you.
入り口
Entrance
Kanji: 入 enter +り+ 口 mouth
A mouth that you enter is an entrance.
Reading: いりぐち
This word is really two separate words put together to form one, so let’s look at it in two parts:
The kanji 入 has り attached to it as okurigana (hiragana that comes after a kanji), so you can bet that 入り will use a kun’yomi reading for the kanji. You haven’t learned this reading yet, so here’s a mnemonic to help you:
The entrance you’re going through is really eerie (いり). It has cobwebs and creepy figures carved into it, and it just gives you a really eerie feeling.
Since 入り uses the kun’yomi, you can guess that 口 will follow suit. You learned this reading with the vocabulary, but the く in くち changes to ぐ due to something called rendaku. Think of it as an eerie entrance into the Gucci (ぐち) store.
大した
Great
Kanji: 大 big +し + た
した is the past tense form of する (which means “to do”). So, essentially this word is “did big.” What is something that “did big”? It’s something that’s great or considerable.
Reading: たいした
The reading for the 大 part is actually the on’yomi reading you learned when learning this kanji. Since 大 has two on’yomi readings, here’s a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:
When something’s great and important, you’d better wear a tie (たい) for it. No showing up without a tie to anything that’s a big deal, okay?
山
Mountain
Kanji: 山 mountain
A vocab made of a single kanji all alone with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) usually has the same exact meaning as the kanji it’s made from. So by that you know that this vocab’s meaning is mountain.
Reading: やま
When a vocab is a single kanji all alone with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it’s usually going to be the kun’yomi reading, which you didn’t learn when you learned the kanji. To remember this word’s reading we’ll use a mnemonic.
What are you doing going up into the mountains? You’re hunting for yams (やま). Go ahead, imagine yourself doing just that, climbing up the mountain (it’s hard work!) and then digging in the ground with your hands, then pulling up that sweet, delicious yam! Mmm!
口
Mouth
Kanji: 口 mouth
When a vocab is made up of a single kanji with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it’s generally going to have the same meaning as the kanji it came from. From that, you know this word’s meaning is mouth.
Reading: くち
When a vocab is made up of a single kanji with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it’s generally going to use the kun’yomi reading, which you did not learn from learning the kanji. To remember this word, you should use a mnemonic. With your mouth, make a “kuchi kuchi kou” (くち) sound. Go ahead, make it. Focus on your mouth and try to imagine each shape it makes while zooming in on it. You’re talking to a baby, which is why you’re making all these ridiculous noises. Also, instead of “coo” at the end, you’re saying “kou,” because that’s the reading of the kanji (こう).
くちくちこう！くちくちこう！ Sounds like something from Arrested Development, actually.
ふじ山
Mount Fuji
Kanji: ふじ + 山 mountain
Just look at this word. What do you think it means? That’s right - it’s a name (Fuji) plus the kanji for mountain. Put those together, and you have Mount Fuji. In English the “Mount(ain)” part comes first. In Japanese, it comes at the end, sort of like the name ender さん, ちゃん, and so on. You can add 山 to the end of any mountain’s name too, not just Mount Fuji.
Reading: ふじさん
Normally ふじ would be in kanji, but I wanted you to see this kanji use in action since it’s more useful than just being used on Mount Fuji. This is treated like a jukugo word (combo kanji word). In the case of jukugo, usually the on’yomi reading is used, meaning you just have to remember the on’yomi reading of 山. Luckily, you learned this when you were learning the kanji, so you should already know it!
九
Nine
Kanji: 九 nine
When a vocab is made up of a single kanji with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji), it often has the same meaning as the kanji it’s based off of. Same goes for the word 九, as well. It has the same meaning as its kanji counterpart.
Reading: きゅう
When a vocab is made up of a single kanji with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji), it usually uses the kun’yomi reading. Numbers are the exception, as you might already know. When they’re alone with no okurigana they’re the on’yomi reading, which you should already know from learning the kanji that makes up this word.
九つ
Nine things
Kanji: 九 nine + つ
This word follows the “number of things” pattern where there’s a kanji for a number plus つ on the end. Whenever you see this, you know the word means “____ things.” Knowing that, as long as you know the kanji (which you do) you can figure out what number of things it is. For this one, it’s the kanji for nine plus つ. So, this one is nine things.
Reading: ここのつ
Since all of the “number of things” words all follow the same pattern (number plus つ), you really just have to remember the part before the つ (and then remember that the つ is in all of these). All of the readings are the kun’yomi reading, which means we’ll have to use a mnemonic to remember them (you know the on’yomi reading of the kanji portion).
What thing do you have nine of? The nine things that you have are nine coconuts (ここの). Imagine yourself juggling nine coconuts in the air. Try counting them while you’re doing this, arriving at nine things. Once you’ve finished juggling with them, arrange them into a square on the ground. Three coconuts by three coconuts. Now you should remember how to read nine things.
