Kanji - Level 18 - Kanji

Question 1

告

Answer 1

Announce
Radicals: 丿slide + 土 dirt + 口 mouth
Saying you’re going to slide the dirt out of your mouth is just another way of saying you’re going to announce something. All that information is the dirt, and to announce that dirt you just slide it on out of your mouth. How’s that for a visual?
Reading: こく
Now that you’re about to announce something important, you should maybe get it nice and smooth in your mouth so the dirt can slide out easier. So take a big gulp of Coke (こく). Coke is just like, the dirt of soda anyway, you know?

Question 2

達

Answer 2

Attain
Radicals: ⻌ scooter + 幸 happiness
For happiness, a scooter is the best way to attain it—plural scooters would be even better. Everyone loves a good scooter. And as they say, the path to attaining happiness is littered with plural scooters.
Reading: たつ
If you can’t attain a scooter, attaining a tattoo (たつ) of one is the next best thing. Might as well get two tattooed on because plural is always better. This is a surefire way to attain happiness. Get a tattoo.

Question 3

焼

Answer 3

Bake
Radicals: 火 fire + 尭 gambler
In a dangerous fire, a gambler will always try to bake something before fleeing to safety. It could be his own house on fire, and the gambler would still use the free heat source to get some baking done. Maybe he’s gambling that those baked goods will offset the cost of a new home…
This kanji also means burn, because that’s what happens when you expose something to a lot of heat.
Reading: や
He used to bake for the Yankees (や). Baseball cakes, bat baguettes, that kind of thing. A career-ending kitchen injury forced him to retire. That’s when he developed a gambling problem. But he still likes to bake whenever the Yankees are on TV.

Question 4

借

Answer 4

Borrow
Radicals: ｲ leader + 昔 long ago
Long ago, a great leader thought to borrow something precious from you. This leader did not return the thing he borrowed, and now he will pay.
Reading: しゃく
In your rage, you decide to find this leader, take back what’s yours, and in return, borrow the leader’s life. So you found him, grabbed him, and then threw him into a dirt shack (しゃく) where you shock him and do other terrible things to him.

Question 5

弓

Answer 5

Bow
Radicals: 弓 bow
The bow radical and the bow kanji are exactly the same!
Reading: きゅう
You have a bow in one hand and in the other… a cucumber (きゅう). You’re going to shoot this cucumber with this bow into the salad you’re making. Many people don’t know this, but this makes your cucumbers taste better.

Question 6

脳

Answer 6

Brain
Radicals: 月 moon + ⺍ grass + 凶 treasure chest
Nestled in the light of the moon in the grass is a treasure chest that you can see with your brain. You close your eyes, and you can see the spot, but it’s kept deep in your brain, and you have to use its power to find it.
Reading: のう
If you can unlock the secrets of your brain you’ll have powers like Nostradamus (のう). Nostradamus was able to look inward at his own hidden brain treasure chest and see the future, so maybe you can be like him too.

Question 7

飴

Answer 7

Candy
Radicals: 食 eat + 台 machine
What do you eat like a machine? Candy!
Reading: あめ
This candy in particular is just drops of hardened, clear sugar that looks like 雨 (あめ) drops.

Question 8

胸

Answer 8

Chest
Radicals: 月 moon + 勹 prison + 凶 treasure chest
In a prison on the moon lies a treasure chest containing a golden chest piece. This mighty chest armor will grant you protection from nearly any attack, for it is imbued with moon magic.
Reading: むね
Where is this chest armor from? It’s from the moon. Now how would you say that if you were Canadian? It’s from the moon, eh (むね). Right, this here chest armor is from the moon, eh.

Question 9

繋

Answer 9

Connect
Radicals: 車 car + 殳 weapon + 糸 thread
You’ve got a car, a weapon, and some thread lying around. So of course you decide to connect them all together.
Reading: つな
There’s only one reason you’ve connected all this together: Tuna (つな) fishing. Obviously!

Question 10

喫

Answer 10

Consume
Radicals: 口 mouth + 生 life + 刀 sword + 大 big
In your mouth you put your life on the line by putting in a sword that is big. You put it all the way down there, so you consume it.
Reading: きつ
The “consume a sword” illusion came with a cheap magic kit (きつ) you had.

Question 11

等

Answer 11

Equal
Radicals: 竹 bamboo + 寺 temple
The bamboo temple is equal to all of the other non-bamboo temples. Just because it’s made of bamboo doesn’t make it any less special and spiritual.
Reading: とう
The bamboo temple is also an equal distance away from the other temples in とうきょう. When you look at a map of とうきょう temples, you can measure them out and they’ll all be perfectly equal.

Question 12

枚

Answer 12

Flat object counter
Radicals: 木 tree + 夂 winter
In the winter, one can use a sliced up tree as a flat object counter. Since it’s winter, all the leaves have fallen off the tree, so it’s easy to cut into slats. These slats can be used as counters for flat objects, such as these slats.
Reading: まい
While trying to count these slats of wood, a whole bunch of mice (まい) show up and start climbing all over the tree. This will not do, so you take two slats and start smashing and flattening all the mice. Now that the mice are flat too, you can also use them as a flat objects counter. Good job, mice.

Question 13

忘

Answer 13

Forget
Radicals: 亡 death + 心 heart
The death of your heart will cause you to forget all of the most important things. People think memories are kept in your brain, but that’s not true. Your heart is where all of your most precious memories are kept, and when it dies, you forget them all.
Reading: ぼう
When someone forgets everything they’re left with only one thing to do: go bowling (ぼう). Bowling is easy, and there’s nothing to forget. You pick up a ball. You drop it. Everything else is automatically taken care of.

Question 14

苛

Answer 14

Frustration
Radicals: 艹 flowers + 可 lip ring
Using flowers to make a lip ring is always going to end in frustration.
Readings: いじ, いら, さいな
After some frustration, you made your flower lip ring. Now you look like an Egyptian (いじ) pharaoh. Because all ancient Egyptian monarchs wore flower lip rings (historical fact)!

Question 15

訓

Answer 15

Instruction
Radicals: 言 say + 川 river
You say stuff to a river, giving it instruction. This river is a new river so it needs you to say things, giving it instruction on what to do. Otherwise the river wouldn’t know how to behave.
Reading: くん
While giving instruction to the river, you see a small boat coming down it. Inside the miniature boat is a raccoon (くん) captain and his raccoon crew. The raccoon captain is instructing them, “Stroke! Stroke!”

Question 16

種

Answer 16

Kind
Radicals: 禾 grain + 重 heavy
If a grain seems extra heavy, you know it’s a different kind. Not all types of grains are the same. So when you feel the heavy type, you know it isn’t the same as the light kind.
Reading: しゅ
You sort all of the different kinds and types by putting them in the right chutes (しゅ). They slide away, probably to some big type-based piles you can’t see.

Question 17

報

Answer 17

News
Radicals: 幸 happiness +卩 stamp + 又 stool
You want to share happiness with people so you stamp stools with the news. Now when people want a report of all the happy things going on, they can just look down before they sit.
Reading: ほう
You research and report the news from home (ほう). Only after, once all of the news is stamped onto the stools, do you leave your home.

Question 18

句

Answer 18

Paragraph
Radicals: 句 paragraph
The paragraph radical and the paragraph kanji are exactly the same!
Reading: く
You have to write an entire paragraph about a topic, so you choose cookies (く).

Question 19

許

Answer 19

Permit
Radicals: 言 say + 午 noon
Say it at noon. That’s the only time I will allow you to say it. That’s the only time I will permit you to say it. Other than that, no saying anything. Noon is your window.
Reading: きょ
Where do these archaic horrible rules exist? The smaller version of Kyoto, Little Kyoto (きょ). Normal Kyoto is just fine. This smaller one is where a group of people went to create their own little town with their own dumb rules.

Question 20

可

Answer 20

Possible
Radicals: 可 lip ring
With a lip ring, anything is possible. Having a lip ring grants you the power to conquer any obstacle, achieve any goal. As long as it’s a passable lip ring, that is. If it isn’t good enough, it isn’t possible to be passable.
Reading: か
Since anything and everything is possible with your new passable lip ring, you use it to get a new car (か). You go to the car dealership and ask for a free (passable) car. The manager is impressed with your lip ring and gladly hands over the keys to the latest model of your favorite car. Not bad.

Question 21

僧

Answer 21

Priest
Radicals: ｲ leader + 曽 mask
A religious leader wearing a mask could be either a monk or a priest. You don’t know, their face is covered by a mask!
Reading: そう
This monk or priest is wearing a mask to protect their soul (そう). You aren’t a monk or a priest, so they don’t want your not-religious-enough eyes to dirty their soul.

Question 22

禁

Answer 22

Prohibit
Radicals: 木 tree + 示 jackhammer
Killing two trees with a jackhammer is expressly prohibited. Don’t get me wrong, you can rip up one tree with your jackhammer, but not two.
Reading: きん
The person who decided to prohibit jackhammering two trees is the King (きん) of England. He’s the only person who’s able to prohibit certain things, so it had to be him.

Question 23

静

Answer 23

Quiet
Radicals: 青 blue + 争 conflict
Conflict in blue water is made quiet by the muffling power of water. Under this blue water is a great conflict between two sea monsters, but on the surface it appears peaceful and quiet as the water prevents sound from rising above the surface.
Reading: せい
As you watch below the quiet water, every once in a while a saber (せい) breaches the surface and quietly slices back down.

Question 24

座

Answer 24

Sit
Radicals: 广 canopy + 人 person + 土 dirt
There are two people under a canopy on the dirt. What are they doing? It’s a thing called sitting. They’re using the dirt as a seat for their butts.
Reading: ざ
You shake your head. People can’t just sit on dirt, you think to yourself. There must be a wizard (ざ) around here trying to trick you. You certainly aren’t going to be tricked into taking a seat by this wizard.

Question 25

煙

Answer 25

Smoke
Radicals: 火 fire + 覀 helicopter + 土 dirt
You have a fire going on some dirt when a helicopter flies overhead. This causes smoke from the fire and the dirt to spread everywhere! It’s in your eyes, your mouth, your ears! The smoke gets in your lungs and you can’t breathe. Why helicopter, why!
Reading: えん
The smoke is too much and you realize this is the end (えん) for you. You’re gonna die here!

Question 26

汽

Answer 26

Steam
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 气 energy
The water from a tsunami can create a lot of energy when made into steam. Steam power used to be all the rage back in the day. Steam comes from water, water comes from tsunamis, so logically, tsunamis are a great source of energy.
Reading: き
In order to contain this steam energy and store it for later, you lock it up in a box with a key (き). That way the energy can be used at a later time. Provided you don’t lose the key, that is.

Question 27

叩

Answer 27

Tap
Radicals: On your mouth is a stamp that you tap, strike and slap to create a beat! The stamp looks like a little drum, but you’re really just hitting your mouth for fun (the stamp was an excuse to make it seem normal).
Reading: こう
As you tap and strike your own mouth, こういち comes dancing into your bathroom. “Hey now, this looks fun, can I try tapping my mouth too?” he asks. “Sure,” you say, and offer him a stamp.

Question 28

喉

Answer 28

Throat
Radicals: 口 mouth + ｲ leader + 矢 arrow + ユ hook
Into your mouth the leader shot an arrow with an attached hook so that they’d be able to see into your throat.
Reading: こう
From your throat you hear a voice. Not yours, but one you recognize. It’s こういち! What’s that rascal doing down in your throat?

Question 29

類

Answer 29

Type
Radicals: 米 rice + 大 big + 頁 geoduck
A big geoduck loves to eat rice of every type, kind, and category. It doesn’t matter what kind of rice it is, this big geoduck will eat it.
Reading: るい
While eating every type and kind of rice from every category, the big geoduck has become even bigger. Its body is ruined (るい). It’s painfully obese. This geoduck has eaten itself into ruin.

Question 30

洗

Answer 30

Wash
Radicals: The previous tsunami gave everything in this town a good wash. There are many Laundromats in this town so when the previous tsunami hit, all of the detergent mixed with the water and gave everything a good wash.
Reading: せん
All the Laundromats in town are owned by centaurs (せん), and they got a good wash as well. Being half horse, centaurs have a lot of hair that needs washing. Luckily, the soap tsunami gave them a good wash too.

Question 31

禅

Answer 31

Zen
Radicals: ネ spirit + 単 simple
You want your spirit to be simple so you practice Zen Buddhism. Zen is all about meditating and letting earthly things go. There’s nothing more simple for your spirit than being Zen.
Reading: ぜん
The reading for this kanji is Zen (ぜん), just like the Zen in Zen Buddhism. Pretty easy to remember, no? Just remember that the reading is the same as the meaning. It’s easy!