Kanji - Level 26 - Kanji

Question 1

接

Answer 1

Adjoin
Radicals: 扌fingers + 立 stand + 女 woman
You stand with another woman and, with your fingers, adjoin yourselves together. You are united, you are one.
Reading: せつ
All of the women who are now adjoining together are in sets (せつ). Sets of two, of course. One woman with another woman, standing in unison.

Question 2

再

Answer 2

Again
Radicals: 一 ground + 冂 head + 土 dirt
Under the ground, a head covered in dirt emerges… again! It’s not the first time you’ve seen this buried head, nor is it the last. This dirt-covered head hides beneath the ground wherever you go, and keeps popping up to scare you again and again.
Readings: さ, さい
The dirt-covered head asks for help again and again, but you’ve only got a saw (さ). So you start digging with it, scraping the dirt away, until you see this head has the body of a cyborg (さい)!

Question 3

独

Answer 3

Alone
Radicals: 犭animal + 虫 insect
There once was an animal with an insect friend who felt very alone unless he was around. An animal and an insect are an unlikely pairing, but these two get along delightfully and hate to be alone without the other.
Reading: どく
One activity that the animal can never do alone is solve Sudoku (どく) puzzles. The insect always has to help him out with them, and together they are an unstoppable Sudoku solving team.

Question 4

獣

Answer 4

Beast
Radicals: 𭕄 grass + 田 rice paddy + 𠮛 creeper + 犬 dog
On the grass near a rice paddy sits a creeper that is some sort of a dog beast, a vicious animal. This creeper isn’t just a normal dog, it is more beast-like, more like a feral animal than domesticated pet.
Reading: じゅう
The beast is guarding its precious jewels (じゅう), which it buried in the grass or the rice paddy somewhere. If you don’t want the beast to think you’re coming to steal those jewels, you better keep your distance.

Question 5

菓

Answer 5

Cake
Radicals: 艹 flowers + 果 fruit
You take some flowers and some fruit and you make a cake out of it. It’s a very nice looking, flavorful cake. The fruit makes it taste great and the flowers make for great cake decorations.
Reading: か
You’re standing back, admiring your cake when you hear a car (か) engine revving and before you know it your cake has been run over. The car came out of nowhere and ran your cake right over, spraying fruit cake bits and flowers all over the place. Stupid car!

Question 6

討

Answer 6

Chastise
Radicals: 言 say + 寸 measurement
They say using a measurement device (like a ruler) is a good way to chastise someone. They do something bad? Chastise them by slapping their wrists, their feet, their eyes, ears, anything! They say something out of turn? CHASTISE THEM!
Reading: とう
You’re being chastised because you tried to say something in English in とうきょう. Everyone around you slowly turned around, eyes aflame and rulers in hand, ready to chastise you for uttering those forbidden words.

Question 7

故

Answer 7

Circumstance
Radicals: 古 old + 夂 winter
The old winter is to blame for today’s circumstance. It is the reason things are bad now.
Reading: こ
In reality, this circumstance was actually caused by a single 子 (こ), though. This kid went through town, destroying everything in their path.

Question 8

較

Answer 8

Contrast
Radicals: 車 car + 交 mix
Your new car doesn’t mix well with the other cars in your garage because its color is in stark contrast to the others. All of your other cars are pristine white in color, but this new car is a mix of lots of colors. It almost looks like a peacock or something it’s so colorful. Such a contrast.
Readings: かく, こう
What did I say this car looks like? Oh that’s right, a peacock (かく). This car looks like a peacock. It’s the color of a peacock and you’ll look like you’re peacocking when you’re out on the town driving it. It really is such a stark contrast to like, every other car out there.

Question 9

造

Answer 9

Create
Radicals: ⻌ scooter + 告 announce
“A scooter!” you announce. You are announcing this because you decided this is what you would create.
Reading: ぞう
But, a scooter has been created before. What is different about yours? The scooter you will create is specifically designed to keep zombies (ぞう) busy.

Question 10

創

Answer 10

Create
Radicals: 倉 warehouse +刂 knife
In your warehouse you use your knife to create. You keep old pieces of wood in your warehouse, and you use your knife to carve them into new things that only you could create.
Reading: そう
When you create it’s good for your soul (そう). It’s so freeing, in fact, that when you get really into your creating, sometimes you’d swear your soul was floating a little bit outside of your body. But every time you notice, it sinks back down. Hmm.

Question 11

励

Answer 11

Encourage
Radicals: 厂 cliff + 万 ten thousand + 力 power
The “Cliff of Ten Thousand Power” is where you go if you want to be encouraged.
Reading: れい
When you get there, it does encourage you. The cliff says “Hey, I encourage you to buy a ray (れい) gun.”

Question 12

激

Answer 12

Fierce
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 白 white + 方 direction + 夂 winter
A tsunami that is white, traveling in the direction of winter is a fierce and violent force of nature. This white tsunami is chasing after winter, and that’s why the tsunami is white—it’s a winter tsunami. It’s the most fierce and most violent kind of tsunami in existence.
Reading: げき
The tsunami is too fierce, too violent, and before you realize what’s happening, Gecki (げき), your beloved gecko, is lifted up and carried off into the air.

Question 13

占

Answer 13

Fortune
Radicals: 占 fortune
The fortune radical and the fortune kanji are exactly the same! But it also means occupy as well, so don’t forget that. Fortune and occupy both occupy the same radical.
Reading: せん
To occupy some free time you have, you go and get your fortune told at a fortune teller. Your fortune is that you’ll have an encounter with a centaur (せん) in the near future. Just then you realize that the fortune teller is actually a centaur! The fortune has come true!

Question 14

障

Answer 14

Hinder
Radicals: 阝building + 章 chapter
There’s a building standing in the way of the next chapter in your life, and it’s hindering you. It’s not like you couldn’t find another way around, but it’s definitely inconvenient.
Reading: しょう
Someone put this building here specifically to hinder you. They knew you were close to the next chapter of your life, and they wanted to hinder you really good. And there they are, sitting on a throne smirking. It’s the Shougun (しょう).

Question 15

我

Answer 15

I
Radicals: 我 ego
Your ego… it’s totally out of control. I mean, my ego isn’t out of control. I’m the greatest. That’s me. But your ego? Ugh, so out of control unlike my amazing ego.
Reading: が
I am the greatest in the world! I am no baby like you, that’s why. A baby who says “ga (が) ga ga ga!”

Question 16

徴

Answer 16

Indication
Radicals: 彳loiter + 山 mountain + 王 king + 夂 winter
A loitering mountain king in the winter is an indication or sign of something to come.
Reading: ちょう
When you spot a loitering mountain king in the winter, you know it’s an indication that soon Mrs. Chou (ちょう) will appear. It’s like a Groundhog’s Day kind of situation, but instead it means Mrs. Chou is about to come out, perhaps early for the season.

Question 17

授

Answer 17

Instruct
Radicals: 扌fingers + 受 accept
There are fingers reaching towards you asking you to accept to instruct them. They’re the fingers of students. And you’re the teacher. See them reach out for knowledge. They want to accept this knowledge into their hearts and brains. Instruct them!
Reading: じゅ
“Yes! I will instruct you, my dear students!” you cry, “I will instruct you on how to open a small juice (じゅ) box!” That’s right. These little kids need help learning how to open small juice boxes (small because kids are small).

Question 18

往

Answer 18

Journey
Radicals: 彳 loiter + 主 master
You loiter around your master until he departs on a journey. You have a lot more freedom to do things after your master has departed, so until that time you just loiter about looking busy and staying out of his way.
Reading: おう
Finally, it’s time for your master’s journey and he calls to you and says, “You are the 王 (おう) of the house now. Take care of everything while I’m gone.”

Question 19

鉛

Answer 19

Lead
Radicals: 金 gold + ハ fins + 口 mouth
You hold gold fins in your mouth while shopping for pencil lead at the store. This pencil lead store only accepts gold fins as payment, but your fins don’t fit in your pockets and you need your hands to carry the lead so the gold fins go in your mouth.
Reading: えん
You pay for your lead but the cashier puts it in your mouth where the gold fins were and… everything ends (えん).

Question 20

郵

Answer 20

Mail
Radicals: 車 car + 阝building
A broken car sits in a building. You need to get rid of it, so you put it in the mail. Or, depending on where you live, maybe you put it in the post.
Reading: ゆう
Who did you address this broken car mail (or post) to? You sent it to the youths (ゆう) of the world.

Question 21

針

Answer 21

Needle
Radicals: 金 gold + 十 cross
In a gold cross, you see a needle sticking out of it. The needle is right in the middle of the gold cross. If Jesus were on there, the needle would be sticking him right in the chest.
Reading: しん
You’re about to give up on the needle when it pops out and flies directly into your shin (しん). Ouch! Now you’re desperately trying to pull the needle out of your shin, but it really won’t budge this time. Maybe you should have minded your own business.

Question 22

従

Answer 22

Obey
Radicals: 彳 loiter + 丷 horns + 正 correct
If you see someone loitering around with horns on their head you’d be correct to obey and accompany them.
Reading: じゅう
If you obey the horned man you’ll end up with a ton of jewels (じゅう)!

Question 23

復

Answer 23

Restore
Radicals: 彳 loiter + 复 black hole
You loiter around a black hole, waiting for it to finish destroying and switch to restore mode. You were told all black holes finish eventually, and when they do you can press a button to restore everything back to the way it was.
Reading: ふく
Finally there’s nothing else for the black hole to eat so you hit the restore button…. but nothing happens. “Oh f**k (ふく) you!” you scream as you realize you were lied to.

Question 24

河

Answer 24

River
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 可 lip ring
During a tsunami, your lip ring is ripped off while you’re trying to cross a river. There was no other path to safety, you had to cross the raging river, but you lost your footing and smashed your face on a rock and lost your lip ring.
Reading: か
But why were you trying to cross this river anyway? Well your car (か) was on the other side of it, and you figured if you could get to your car you could outrun the tsunami and be safe. Too bad you fell and ripped out your lip ring though.

Question 25

貯

Answer 25

Savings
Radicals: 貝 shellfish + 宀 roof + 丁 street
You keep all of your shellfish under a roof down the street and it’s your savings. Shellfish used to be used as money way back, and these aren’t shellfish you’re spending, they’re ones you’re saving up for later.
Reading: ちょ
When you want to withdraw from your savings you force yourself to use chopsticks (ちょ) to pick up the shellfish. They’re especially slippery, hard to use chopsticks too, that way it’s really hard to take too much out of your savings.

Question 26

印

Answer 26

Seal
Radicals: 𠀉 comb + 卩 stamp
You take this comb, break the handle off, and use it to stamp your official seal of approval onto a document. It’s kind of a messy marking process, but it gets the job done.
Reading: いん
You need this seal to stay at an inn (いん). All inns require official paperwork, so you had to improvise and make a seal on the fly.

Question 27

振

Answer 27

Shake
Radicals: 扌fingers + 辰 landslide
You’re trying to use your fingers to cause a landslide so you have to shake the earth. You probably won’t succeed, but the best you can do is to shake your hands on the dirt as hard as you can. It looks like you’re trying to wave at the ground now.
Reading: しん
You think you finally got the earth to shake but when you look down it’s just your shins (しん). Darn you shins, I thought I made some progress. Hey wait… why won’t you stop?!

Question 28

怪

Answer 28

Suspicious
Radicals: 忄soul + 圣 tombstone
You see a soul floating around a tombstone acting suspicious. To be fair, if a soul is going to be anywhere, a tombstone is probably high up on the list, but this one seems like it’s doing something weird.
Readings: かい, け
You sneak around the tombstone to see what this suspicious soul is doing, and you realize it’s pretending to kayak (かい). The soul is sitting behind the tombstone, in a small kayak, moving its arms like it’s rowing through water.
Even more suspicious, the soul seems to be holding a kettle (け). Considering the soul is already dead, this doesn’t seem like something it will need.

Question 29

汗

Answer 29

Sweat
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 干 dry
The tsunami going down your dry face is just sweat.
Reading: あせ
The sweat isn’t just on your face, it’s also dripping down your a** (あせ).

Question 30

筆

Answer 30

Writing brush
Radicals: 竹 bamboo + 聿 brush
Out of bamboo, you make a brush – a writing brush. This is no ordinary brush, mind you. It is a brush specifically designed for writing elegant characters. And it’s made from bamboo!
Reading: ひつ
Once the writing brush hits (ひつ) that paper, it’s like you transform into a totally different person. All of a sudden you’re a master calligrapher, writing anything and everything in a most beautiful fashion. Once that brush hits the paper, it’s on!