Kanji - Level 1 - Vocab

Question 1

上

Answer 1

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?

Question 2

大人

Answer 2

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!

Question 3

一人

Answer 3

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!

Question 4

人工

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

下

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

大きい

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

八

Answer 7

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!

Question 8

八つ

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

入り口

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

大した

Answer 10

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?

Question 11

山

Answer 11

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!

Question 12

口

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

ふじ山

Answer 13

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!

Question 14

九

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

九つ

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

一

Answer 16

One
Kanji: 一 one
As is the case with most vocab words that consist of a single kanji, this vocab word has the same meaning as the kanji it parallels, which is one.
Reading: いち
When a vocab word is all alone and has no okurigana (hiragana attached to kanji) connected to it, it usually uses the kun’yomi reading. Numbers are an exception, however. When a number is all alone, with no kanji or okurigana, it is going to be the on’yomi reading, which you learned with the kanji. Just remember this exception for alone numbers and you’ll be able to read future number-related vocab to come.

Question 17

一つ

Answer 17

One thing
Kanji: 一 one + 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 one plus つ. So, this one is one thing.
Reading: ひとつ
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).
So, you have one thing. What one thing do you have? You have one of He-Man’s Toes, aka a single He-Toe (ひと). So what’s the thing you have only one of? You have one He-Toe. Imagine He-Man walking around with one missing toe, trying to find you so he can get it back. At least you’ll be able to run faster than him now.

Question 18

人

Answer 18

Person
Kanji: 人 person
When a vocab is a single kanji all alone, it usually has the same meaning as its kanji parent. That goes for this vocab word as well. Person is person.
Reading: ひと
When a vocab is a single kanji with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji), it usually uses the kun’yomi reading. Since you don’t know the kun’yomi reading for this kanji yet, let’s use a mnemonic to learn it.
What does a person hate more than anything? They hate extreme heat (ひと). You can always put on more clothes to stay warm, but when the heat gets too high, you can only take off so much.

Question 19

下さい

Answer 19

Please give me
Kanji: 下 below + さ + い
You know that the kanji 下 means down and that さい sounds like the word “sigh.” You need to ask someone for something, so you look down, sigh, and say please give me that thing. You’re ashamed that you have to ask. But you still need it. Please, please give it to me!
We only use this kanji version of ください when we’re asking for something, that’s why it’s “please give me.” If you’re just saying “please” you don’t need the kanji at all!
Reading: ください
The reading for this word is an exceptional reading. You just have to be able to recall the くだ part, though (since さい is already there in the form of the hiragana). So, think about why you have to be polite to this misbehaving kid. Turns out, if you don’t, he has the power to initiate a Coup d’état against you and your family, who runs the government. Just imagine yourself thinking over and over “Okay… I have to be nice to this kid. If I don’t… he’ll initiate a Coup d’état… and that would ruin my family…” You’re walking on thin ice, here.

Question 20

人口

Answer 20

Population
Kanji: 人 person + 口 mouth
The amount of people with mouths (that you have to feed) is the population that you have to feed.
Reading: 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:
Here at Tofugu, we measure population in jeans (じん). Each of us has just one pair of jeans, so if you know the jean count you know the population.

Question 21

力

Answer 21

Power
Kanji: 力 power
When a vocab word is made up of a single kanji and that’s it, it almost always takes the meaning from its parent kanji. So, this vocab word also means power.
Reading: ちから
When a vocab word is a single kanji all alone with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji), it usually uses the kun’yomi reading. You didn’t learn the kun’yomi reading with the kanji, so for this vocab word, we’ll use a mnemonic.
The most powerful man in the world. All his power came from his cheek (ちから). Imagine him blowing up his cheek like a giant balloon, then unleashing his power on you. Thwap thwap thwap thwap.

Question 22

川

Answer 22

River
Kanji: 川 river
When a vocab is made up of a single kanji with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it will usually take the same meaning as the kanji it comes from. So, from that you know that this word means river.
Reading: かわ
You’re in luck - the reading you learned with the kanji is the same as the one you have to learn for this vocab!

Question 23

七

Answer 23

Seven
Kanji: 七 seven
When a vocab is alone with no okurigana (that’s hiragana attached to a kanji) it usually has the same meaning as the kanji too. That goes for this word as well. So, if you know the kanji’s meaning (seven) you’ll know the vocab’s meaning (seven).
Readings: なな, しち (lesser-known)
Most single-kanji all-alone vocab words like this use the kun’yomi reading. Numbers are an exception to this rule. That being said, four and seven are exceptions to this exception to the rule (because the on’yomi readings sound too much like the word for “death”). You should learn both readings for this word, though we’re going to go with なな for the main one here. You can remember that because you had seven nanas after you.

Question 24

七つ

Answer 24

Seven things
Kanji: 七 seven + 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 seven plus つ. So, this one is seven things.
Reading: ななつ
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 seven of? The seven things that you have are seven Nanas (なな). These are your grandmas, cloned. Just think, “It’s lucky to have seven nanas. They can all cook my favorite foods for me!” What’s more, you have one nana for every day of the week, so you’ll get your favorite food every day.

Question 25

大きさ

Answer 25

Size
Kanji: 大 big + き + さ
In Japanese, さ on the end of a word is often the equivalent of “-ness” in English. In other words, if you replace the い on the end of an い-adjective with さ, you have a noun. In this case, the adjective is 大きい (big) and the noun 大きさ means “bigness”, aka size.
Reading: おおきさ
When a vocab has okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it is probably going to be the kun’yomi reading. Since you learned the on’yomi reading with the kanji 大, we’ll have to use a mnemonic to remember this word.
When you saw the size of (pick something surprising), you said “おお *#$@!” Really imagine something surprising. Say the おお part out loud, as well. Think about the size of whatever you’re looking at, too, and how big it is.

Question 26

十

Answer 26

Ten
Kanji: 十 ten
When a vocab is alone like this with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it tends to steal its meaning from the kanji it came from. That means this vocab word also means ten.
Reading: じゅう
When a vocab is alone and consists of a single kanji like this, usually it uses the kun’yomi reading for the kanji. But, numbers are an exception and they use the on’yomi reading (which you learned when you learned the kanji). That means you know that this word’s reading is じゅう already.

Question 27

三

Answer 27

Three
Kanji: 三 three
When a vocab is a single kanji and alone like this, it usually steals its meaning from the parent kanji. That goes for this word too, making the meaning of this word three.
Reading: さん
When a vocab is alone like this with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it usually uses its kun’yomi reading. Numbers are an exception, though, and use the on’yomi reading. You learned the on’yomi reading when you learned this kanji, so you already know that the reading for this vocab is さん.

Question 28

三人

Answer 28

Three people
Kanji: 三 three + 人 person
You have the kanji for three and person. Common sense will tell you what this word is. It’s three people.
Reading: さんにん
This is a jukugo (kanji compound) 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:
Apparently, there are three people working as Santa-san at Nintendo (さんにん)! It’s a big company, so obviously they need three Santas.

Question 29

三つ

Answer 29

Three things
Kanji: 三 three + 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 three plus つ. So, this one is three things.
Reading: みっつ
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 three of? The three things that you have are actually three versions of yourself. “Who is the real one?” you ask yourself. “It’s me!” “Wait, no, it’s me!” Just remember that there are three of you, and they’re all saying “me me me me me” to try and prove that they’re the real you.

Question 30

入る

Answer 30

To Enter
Kanji: 入 enter + る
This vocab word has okurigana, which is the hiragana part that comes after the kanji. When a vocab’s okurigana makes an “う/oo” sound (in this case, we have a る), it’s often going to be a verb. So in this case, the kanji 入 is enter. The vocab 入る is to enter. We’re just taking the kanji and using it in a verb!
Reading:はいる
When a vocab is a single kanji with okurigana, chances are it’s going to be the kun’yomi reading, which you don’t usually learn in the kanji (you usually learn the on’yomi reading). So, let’s learn the kun’yomi reading for this word using its meaning.
When you enter the room, what do you do? You say “Hi” (はい) to everyone to the point of absurdity. “Hi there. Oh hi Frank. Oh hi there Susan. Oh hi there lamp.”

Question 31

上げる

Answer 31

To lift something
Kanji: 上 above + げ + る
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means above and this verb is related to that meaning. It means to lift something or to raise something. It’s a transitive verb, meaning that you do something to something else. You raise something. Like your hands!
Reading: あげる
Since this word has okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) you know that it’s probably going to use the kun’yomi reading, which you didn’t learn with the kanji. Here’s a mnemonic to help you:
You want to lift something, and that something is aardvark (あ) above your head. Why? Because even though aardvarks have long tongues, they can’t reach the ants in the trees. But when you raise this aardvark it can get at those yummy ants!

Question 32

下げる

Answer 32

To lower something
Kanji: 下 below + げ + る
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means below so the verb version of that is when you put something below you. It’s to lower something. It can also mean to hang something, such as a lamp from the ceiling.
This is a transitive verb, which means that the verb is done by one entity onto another. In other words, you lower something. Like your impossibly high expectations for yourself. Take it easy!
Reading: さげる
Since this word has okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) you know that it’s probably going to be the kun’yomi reading, which you didn’t learn with the kanji. Here’s a mnemonic to help you:
You want to lower something. In this case, it’s a tree, so you need a saw (さ). Lower the tree to the ground gently while you slowly saw it down!

Question 33

力いっぱい

Answer 33

With all one’s strength
Kanji: 力 power + いっぱい
You’ve hopefully already learned that 力 means “power”. You might have also heard the word いっぱい, because it’s used a lot in conversation. It has a few meanings (you’ll learn more of them later) but the important one here is “full” or “a lot”. Put these two words together and you have full power, with all one’s strength, and as hard as one can. Remember this one with all your strength!
Just a side note: いっぱい can also be written in kanji, which you’ll learn later on! However, in simple words like this one it’s usually written in kana.
Reading: ちからいっぱい
力 uses the same reading as you learned with the vocabulary. That’s because this is basically two separate words stuck together.

Question 34

女

Answer 34

Woman
Kanji: 女 woman
When a kanji is alone and doesn’t have any okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it’s usually going to take the same meaning as the kanji it comes from. So in this case, you know that this word means woman.
But watch out! Using 女 on its own can often come off as blunt and disrespectful, especially in casual chats. We’ll introduce you to neutral equivalents soon!
Reading: おんな
When a word is a single kanji with no okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it tends to use a kun’yomi reading. You didn’t learn the kun’yomi reading when you learned the kanji itself, so let’s use a mnemonic to remember the vocab word.
There’s a woman in front of you. Who is she? She’s Mona (おんな) Lisa!

Question 35

二つ

Answer 35

Two things
Kanji: 二 two + 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 two plus つ. So, this one is two things.
Reading: ふたつ
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).
So what thing do you have two of? The two things that you have consist of one foot and another foot (ふた). Remember from the on’yomi how you had two knees (for the reading に)? Now look further down your leg at one foot then over to the other foot. Two foot!

Question 36

二人

Answer 36

Two people
Kanji: 二 two + 人 person
When you have two and person and then put them together, what do you get? You get a pair or two people.
Reading: ふたり
The reading for this word is quite strange. If you know 二つ’s reading, you can use that to remember the 二 part (ふた). But, the り that is the 人 is a total exception, something you won’t see too often (though you may have seen it in 一人). If you can use the reading of 一人 (aka if you’ve learned it already) then definitely use that. If not, do your best to remember the reading on your own. It’s a strange one that doesn’t connect to much else.

Question 37

二

Answer 37

Two
Kanji: 二 two
When a vocab word is a single kanji without okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) it usually has the same meaning as the kanji it’s spawned from. If you know the kanji meaning you’ll also know the vocab meaning. It’s two!
Reading: に
When a vocab word is a single kanji with no okurigana, it usually uses the kun’yomi reading. Numbers are an exception to this. Numbers use the on’yomi reading, which you’ve already learned by learning the kanji’s reading! How nice!