Kanji - Level 17 - Kanji Flashcards
是
Absolutely
Radicals: 日 sun + 正 correct
The sun is correct, absolutely. The mighty sun is never wrong. It is absolutely correct, always.
Reading: ぜ
Then, a zeppelin (ぜ) flies in front of the sun, blocking it out. Absolutely, the sun cannot ignore this transgression. Therefore, the sun corrects the zeppelin’s evil ways by frying it with sunshine and bringing it to the ground.
結
Bind
Radicals: 糸 thread + 吉 good luck
You use a thread for good luck by binding two fingers together. You tie them nice and tight.
Reading: けつ
After you bind your fingers, the good luck starts pouring in. Literally. Suddenly ketsup (けつ) starts pouring down from the heavens.
底
Bottom
Radicals: 广 canopy + 氏 clan + 一 ground
Under a canopy your clan digs in the ground, trying to get to the bottom. They want to build a nice home your entire clan can live in, but they need to get to the bottom before they’ll start building.
Reading: そこ
Suddenly someone down in the hole shouts that they’ve reached the bottom, but it’s full of water and they’re all soaked (そこ)!
因
Cause
Radicals: 口 mouth + 大 big
Your big mouth is the cause of all your problems.
Reading: いん
Your big mouth causes all of your friends and family to move to an inn (いん) so they don’t have to live near you and hear you talk anymore.
詳
Detailed
Radicals: 言 say + 羊 sheep
They say sheep are detailed creatures. I mean, I never thought sheep were very detailed, but that’s what they say.
Reading: しょう
The reason these sheep are so detailed is that they are trying to impress the Shougun (しょう). If they’re fancy enough, perhaps the Shougun won’t kill them for their meat and make their wool into clothing.
識
Discerning
Radicals: 言 say + 音 sound + 戈 drunkard
If you sound like a drunkard when you say things, people will not think of you as a discerning person. “AWh yeah, that game is greatttt,” you say in your drunken slurs. But, really, it sounds like you think all games are great, which isn’t all that discriminating of you at all.
Reading: しき
So, we’ve figured out that your drunken utterances are not very discerning. But let’s think about someone who is discerning. You’re sitting next to an extremely chic (しき) individual, and boy do they sound like they know what they are talking about. Maybe it’s because they’re not drunk like you. They are so chic and have such discerning taste!
劇
Drama
Radicals: 虍 tiger + 豕 pig +刂 knife
A tiger kills a pig with a knife in this new drama about the animal kingdom! The tiger and pig used to be friends when they were younger, but now they’re bitter enemies and the tiger just stabbed the pig right in the chest with a knife.
Reading: げき
This drama is being put on by Gecki (げき), your childhood pet gecko. Gecki is playing all the parts, because as true drama fans know, one-gecko-shows are the highest form of art.
干
Dry
Radicals: 干 dry
The dry radical and the dry kanji are the same!
Reading: かん
You need to dry Genghis Khan (かん). He hates being wet, all of the Mongols do, so your job is to dry his entire body. And his clothes, and his horse. In fact, when it rains, you have to ride next to him keeping him dry by holding an umbrella above his head.
敗
Failure
Radicals: 貝 shellfish + 夂 winter
A shellfish that can’t live through winter is a failure. Any proper shellfish would survive through the winter, so this is quite an embarrassing defeat.
Reading: はい
The best way to avoid failure is to say a little haiku (はい) to distract you from the cold. In fact, this can work in any situation where you’re afraid of defeat. Say a haiku aloud, it will calm your nerves and warm you from the inside.
渉
Ford
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 歩 walk
A tsunami is coming, and you want to walk over it, so you have to ford it. You don’t walk across a tsunami, you wade across it.
Reading: しょう
Your ability to ford this tsunami impresses everyone who witnesses it, especially the Shougun (しょう). Now that you’ve taught him a tsunami can be forded, he’s going to start sending his troops through them instead of waiting for them to pass.
果
Fruit
Radicals: 果 fruit
The fruit radical and the fruit kanji are exactly the same! Bodacious!
Readings: か
They sell fruit at the store, and you need to drive your car (か) to get there. A car is the fastest way to fruit.
官
Government
Radicals: 宀 roof + 㠯 bear
Under this roof is a bear who works for the government. If you saw a bear out in the wild you might be afraid and try to run, but if you see a bear inside a building under a roof, don’t be scared! It’s just a government bear.
Reading: かん
The first government that allowed bears was set up by Genghis Khan (かん). He was all about conquering people and then using them as efficiently as possible. He discovered that bears are incredibly useful in government buildings as government workers.
署
Government office
Radicals: 罒 net + 者 someone
This net is for someone who works in a government office. You’ll also take someone from a political office.
Reading: しょ
Government office and political office people put on the best shows (しょ). That’s why you want to capture someone from there with your net.
察
Guess
Radicals: 宀 roof + 祭 festival
If you’re on the roof of the festival you’ll have to guess what’s actually going on below you. You can kind of see that there are rides and maybe food? It smells like food. But you have to guess on the specifics because you’re above it and not in it.
Reading: さつ
You were trying to guess by leaning over the edge of the roof, but you almost slip, and sat (さつ) down instead.
堂
Hall
Radicals: 龸 viking + 口 mouth + 土 dirt
A Viking will empty his mouth of all its dirt in the great hall. They all get together in some kind of public chamber and dish all the dirt (literal and figurative) that they’ve got.
Reading: どう
While the Vikings gather to spill the dirt in their hall, they also stuff their faces with doughnuts (どう). Ah yes, Vikings love to eat doughnuts when they talk trash.
