Kanji - Level 15 - Kanji

Question 1

紀

Answer 1

Account
Radicals: 糸 thread + 己 oneself
The thread you weave together to tell others about oneself is the account of your life. It’s your very own narrative, tying everything you’ve been through together.
Reading: き
You take this account and lock it with a special key (き). You only give this key to people you really trust, so they can read the account of your life and truly understand you.

Question 2

軍

Answer 2

Army
Radicals: 冖 forehead + 車 car
You run into someone’s forehead with your car. The big forehead you hit is Kim Jong Un’s. You know that now you’re going to have the whole North Korean army coming after you.
Reading: ぐん
The army is after you. Each army soldier has a gun (ぐん) and they want to use these guns of theirs to shoot you dead! You killed their leader with a car and now they’re gonna get you back with a gun!

Question 3

秋

Answer 3

Autumn
Radicals: 禾 grain + 火 fire
Grains look like they’re on fire in autumn. They all turn red and orange and brown, the colors of fire. It’s also fun to set grains on fire in Autumn, since it’s getting colder.
Reading: あき
As the grains burn, and the season changes to autumn, imagine them yelling out in pain: “ACK (あき)!”

Question 4

信

Answer 4

Believe
Radicals: ｲ leader + 言 say
You say to your leader, “Believe and trust in me, I’m responsible.” The leader doesn’t think you can handle your duties, so this is why you said this to him. You want him to believe and trust you. You can handle this task.
Reading: しん
To show you are serious as you say, “Believe and trust in me, I’m responsible,” you kneel down on each shin (しん). You have shin splints, so it hurts a bit, but you do it anyway to show how serious you are.

Question 5

岩

Answer 5

Boulder
Radicals: 山 mountain + 石 stone
A mountain stone is probably going to be a really big stone. We’re talking about a boulder here.
Reading: いわ
“Boulder!!!” yells a voice from behind you. “Eek, wha…?” (いわ) you reply. You look up to see a boulder falling off the cliff above you. “Eeeeeek! Whaaaat!?,” you shout again, running and screaming this time.

Question 6

仏

Answer 6

Buddha
Radicals: ｲ leader + ム private
Your private leader is Buddha. You don’t feel the need to tell everyone. But when you’re alone you give your time to Buddha and let him lead your life.
Reading: ぶつ
Your private Buddha is a little different than other people’s idea of him. Your Buddha is wearing boots (ぶつ). They’re big and rubber, and they look fabulous on him.

Question 7

建

Answer 7

Build
Radicals: 廴 yoga + 聿 brush
Your magic yoga brush lets you build what’s in your mind’s eye.
Reading: けん
You build a bridge. Immediately after, someone is climbing up onto it. It’s Ken (けん) the samurai. He waves at you and says, “Did you build this? The craftsmanship is amazing.”

Question 8

猫

Answer 8

Cat
Radicals: 犭animal + 艹 flowers + 田 rice paddy
If you see an animal among the flowers in a rice paddy, chances are it’s a cat. Cats love rice paddy flowers, almost as much as they love catnip.
Reading: ねこ
Wait a minute… This cat is pretty odd looking. You take a closer look, seeing it is missing its neck (ねこ). You go to pet it, but it’s super sensitive about that area of its head, which is basically a face connected to a body…

Question 9

変

Answer 9

Change
Radicals: 赤 red + 夂 winter
If the snow in winter was red instead of white, that’d be a strange change wouldn’t you say? White snow is normal, red would just be strange. Can you imagine what it would be like if the winter snow changed to the color of red?
Reading: へん
You know what else is a strange thing to change? The color of a hen (へん). Hens are already red, so we’d change them to another color, like purple. That would be a pretty strange color for a hen, right?

Question 10

晴

Answer 10

Clear up
Radicals: 日 sun + 青 blue
The sun is out, the sky is blue, things have begun to clear up!
Reading: は
Now that it’s starting to clear up you can’t help but laugh. “Ha (は)! Ha ha ha!” you laugh up into the sky. The sun feels great on your face, making you feel lively! And that blue sky ain’t too shabby either.

Question 11

築

Answer 11

Construct
Radicals: 竹 bamboo + 巩 saw + 木 tree
You saw down a bamboo tree to construct and build a building. Bamboo trees are great for construction, so you saw down a bunch of bamboo trees to build this new building.
Reading: ちく
As you construct and build this building, you hear a strange cheeping noise. Suddenly a chick (ちく) pops out of one of the bamboo pieces you are building with. Then another, and another. You’re surrounded by chicks!

Question 12

勇

Answer 12

Courage
Radicals: マ mama + 男 man
When a mama stands with a man, it gives him courage.
Reading: ゆう
A man needs courage to stand up to all the youths (ゆう) of the world. They are too numerous and difficult to understand. It’s scary, but the man has courage thanks to his mom.

Question 13

泣

Answer 13

Cry
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 立 stand
If you stand in front of a tsunami, you’re going to cry. That tsunami is going to hit you hard, and rip you right off the ground on which you stand. Who wouldn’t cry?
Reading: な
Do you know the only way to stop yourself crying after a tsunami? That’s right, nachos (な)! Nachos are the only proven way to cheer people up after being hit by a tsunami.

Question 14

司

Answer 14

Director
Radicals: 𠃌 cape + 𠮛 creeper
A creeper inside of a cape, who are they? They’re the director of a movie. They try to look all mysterious, but you know it’s just so people go see their movies and think they’re cool. Really they’re just a creep deep down.
Reading: し
The director is currently directing a movie about sheep (し). He keeps petting them and talking to them like they’re humans.

Question 15

区

Answer 15

District
Radicals: 匚 cage + メ treasure
This cage with treasure in it is actually a map of the district the treasure is in.
Reading: く
There is one district you’re interested in, and that’s the cookie (く) district.

Question 16

英

Answer 16

England
Radicals: 艹 flowers + 央 center
There are many flowers in the center of England. It may seem rainy and gray at first, but if you walk right to the center you’ll see all the flowers that grow there in the center of the country.
This kanji also means English, which is pretty similar to England. Just imagine all the people of England walking to the center, where the flowers are, and speaking English to them to help them grow.
Reading: えい
You keep walking to the very central center of England and see a giant acorn (えい) planted in the middle of the ground. This acorn is the source of all the flowers and life in England.

Question 17

丈

Answer 17

Height
Radicals: 丈 height
The height radical and the height kanji are the same!
That said, there’s a secondary meaning to this kanji of ten feet. So, when you think of height, think of that height as being ten feet tall.
Reading: じょう
When you think of height, think of our huge farmhand friend, Joe (じょう). He’s a big guy, and he has a lot of height to him. In fact, he’s ten feet tall.

Question 18

夫

Answer 18

Husband
Radicals: 夫 husband
The husband radical and the husband kanji are the same. How useful, unlike some husbands, I’d imagine.
Readings: ふう, ふ
What do all husbands love? Food (ふう)! Can you hear your future husband? He’s saying, “Fooooood! FOOOOOD!” like some kind of food craving zombie.

Question 19

福

Answer 19

Luck
Radicals: ネ spirit + 畐 scarecrow
When a spirit decides to live in your scarecrow, you’ll be granted good luck and good fortune. Crows won’t hang out in your farm. Everything you grow will become large and delicious. But not everyone is so lucky that a spirit will decide to live in their scarecrow. So maybe the luck was in you all along!
Reading: ふく
You want to check the scarecrow to make sure your recent luck is coming from it, so you kick it. “F*** (ふく) you!” it yells. Oh yeah, there’s a spirit in there.

Question 20

飯

Answer 20

Meal
Radicals: 食 eat + 反 anti
If you’re anti-eat your meal will just sit in front of you, uneaten. Food is meant to be eaten! Stop trying to fast and take a bite.
Reading: はん
As you stare at the meal, Han (はん) Solo appears before you and takes a bite! This is what happens if you don’t eat your food, someone else will eat it.

Question 21

計

Answer 21

Measure
Radicals: 言 say + 十 cross
If you want to say how big a cross is, you have to measure it. You can’t say the size of something without measuring it first.
Reading: けい
You need to measure this cross but all you have is a cake (けい). Good enough! I’m sure all cakes are exactly the same size, so they’re a reliable unit of measure.

Question 22

法

Answer 22

Method
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 去 past
Tsunamis in the past changed the methods and laws of today.
Reading: ほう
These methods and laws affected your own home (ほう) the most.

Question 23

晩

Answer 23

Night
Radicals: 日 sun + 免 excuse
The sun has an excuse for disappearing at night. The sun gets really tired, same as anyone else – so when night rolls around the sun excuses itself and goes to sleep. It’s a valid excuse.
Reading: ばん
Unfortunately, you also have a history of overworking yourself, so you’ve been outright banned (ばん) from showing up at night.

Question 24

昼

Answer 24

Noon
Radicals: 尺 shrimp + 日 sun + 一 ground
The sun rises from the ground, and on top of it is a giant shrimp. It doesn’t do anything except for every day right at noon, when it tells you the time. “Hey guyz, it’s noon, mmk?”
Reading: ひる
At noon, the shrimp also puts on its high heels (ひる) to get ready for the evening, where it wants to make sure it looks good for the other shrimp he/she meets later on.

Question 25

払

Answer 25

Pay
Radicals: 扌fingers + ム private
Your fingers are private, no one can see them unless they pay! And you decide if what they pay is enough to get a peek.
Reading: はら
If someone tries to look without paying, that’s harassment (はら)! Nobody gets to see something of yours without proper payment, but more importantly, your consent!

Question 26

毒

Answer 26

Poison
Radicals: 生 life + 毋 window
To throw life out the window, use poison.
Reading: どく
If anything’s worse than poison it’s doing Sudoku (どく) puzzles.

Question 27

昨

Answer 27

Previous
Radicals: 日 sun + 乍 key
With the right key you can unlock the sun to yesterday, or a previous day. The sun is in charge of the day changes, so if you use a key to unlock it, you can control the flow of time and return to yesterday, or a previous day in the past. Behold the power of the sun.
Reading: さく
Time traveling to a previous time, like yesterday, can be rough on the body. As such, you wear a small sack (さく) to hold your valuables while you’re ripped through the sands of time. The sack keeps your important stuff from getting lost. The sack holds your key to the sun as well.

Question 28

帰

Answer 28

Return
Radicals:刂 knife + ヨ wolverine + 冖 forehead + 巾 towel
A knife got stuck in Wolverine’s forehead, and he has a towel wrapped around it to stop the bleeding, but he really needs to return home.
Reading: かえ
Wolverine wants to return home, but he can’t drive himself because there’s a knife in his forehead and lots of blood, so he asks his friend the car elephant (かえ) to take him. Car elephant is just an elephant mutant that has a car on his back.

Question 29

式

Answer 29

Ritual
Radicals: 弋 ceremony + 工 construction
To construct a whole ceremony, you can’t just make it up on the spot. That is not a ceremony. A ceremony has a past. A ceremony is done a certain way because that’s the way it’s always been done. In short, to build a ceremony, you have to create a ritual first. Then, the ritual can be constructed into a bigger, more lavish ceremony.
This kanji also means equation for some reason. Just think of a ceremony that involves doing math and coming up with equations. How strange would that be? Pretend you’re at this ceremony.
Reading: しき
So, you’re at a ritual, but not just any old ritual. This is a full-blown ceremony and it’s incredibly chic (しき). Imagine just how chic it is. Give it a shot – I’ll let you come up with the chicness this time (it’s good practice).

Question 30

列

Answer 30

Row
Radicals: 歹 yakuza +刂 knife
Take your yakuza knife and put it in a row with the others.
Reading: れつ
Should we put them in a row? Let’s (れつ) put them in a row!

Question 31

浅

Answer 31

Shallow
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 㦮 bar
If you visit a bar after a tsunami, you’ll be hanging out in shallow water. After a tsunami, you want to relax with a drink at the bar. Unfortunately, tsunamis cause floods, and the bar floor is immersed in shallow water.
Reading: あさ
What beer are you drinking at this bar while standing in shallow water? You’re drinking Asahi (あさ), the beer of the salaryman. Asahi is super dry, so it takes your attention away from the shallow water a bit.

Question 32

単

Answer 32

Simple
Radicals: 単 simple
The simple radical and the simple kanji are the same!
Reading: たん
One of the most simple things in the world is getting a tan (たん). All you have to do is stand outside long enough. It doesn’t matter what skin type you have or what the weather is like. Eventually, if you stand out there long enough, you’ll get a tan.

Question 33

技

Answer 33

Skill
Radicals: 扌fingers + 支 branch
You can branch out your fingers. It’s your special skill that requires some good techniques. Your fingers branch out into smaller fingers and you can hold things really well. You can type super-duper fast. And you can win any tickle fight. These are skills you have thanks to your branching fingers.
Reading: ぎ
Unfortunately, these skills are too much for the normal skill-less people to handle and they pull out the guillotine (ぎ). I guess they’re going to chop off your skillful fingers because they’re kinda scary.

Question 34

坂

Answer 34

Slope
Radicals: 土 dirt + 反 anti
This is anti dirt. The dirt is becoming not dirt as it goes on, forming a… slope! Really what is the air above a slope but anti dirt?
Reading: さか
You need to know these kinds of things about slopes if you want to play soccer (さか). Soccer is pretty slope-intensive. You really have to know how to read their dirt and anti dirt to really get good.

Question 35

匹

Answer 35

Small animal
Radicals: 匚 cage + 儿 legs
In the cage there are some legs. They are the legs attached to a small animal.
Reading: ひき
You look up through the cloth, and see a hairless cat. This small animal is hairless, but most surprisingly is covered in hickies (ひき).

Question 36

春

Answer 36

Spring
Radicals: 𡗗 spring + 日 sun
When you see the spring sun you know it’s finally the spring season.
Reading: はる
When the spring season comes around, it makes you want to laugh: “HAR (はる) HAR HAR!” you yell.

Question 37

術

Answer 37

Technique
Radicals: 行 go + ホ angel + 丶drop
There go some angels with drops on their shoulders. Carrying drops like that requires technique. It’s a real art.
Reading: じゅつ
Angels are so good at this because they are trained in ninjutsu (じゅつ), or the “ninja techniques.” Everyone knows that ninjas are great at carrying drops on the go!

Question 38

寺

Answer 38

Temple
Radicals: 寺 temple
The temple radical and the temple kanji are exactly the same! Brilliant.
Reading: てら
Someone died. You ask how this person died, the person who’s getting buried by the temple. The priest/monk says it was in a tragic terror (てら) attack.