Kanji - Level 29 - Kanji Flashcards
略
Abbreviation
Radicals: 田 rice paddy + 各 kiss
You see a rice paddy and you give it a kiss before granting it the abbreviation, RP. The rice paddy isn’t too fond of this abbreviation, so you kiss it again to soothe it.
Reading: りゃく
Mnemonic
The rice paddy still refuses to accept this abbreviation despite your kisses. Therefore, you are forced to take the rice paddy and hang it from a torture rack (りゃく) until it agrees to accept the abbreviation.
積
Accumulate
Radicals: 禾 grain + 責 blame
Grains get blamed for how much they accumulate. If the grains accumulate too much then they make more work for the farmers. If they accumulate too little, then they’re starving the people. Ugh, grains just can’t win with you people. They’re blamed for everything.
Reading: せき
Now the grains have accumulated a ton, they’re overflowing in their grain sacks, and the farmer freezes and says, “Now those are some sexy (せき) grains.”
添
Append
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 天 heaven + 小 small + 丶 drop
There’s a tsunami in heaven and you take a small drop of water and append it to the tsunami. Now the tsunami is big enough to destroy all of heaven. The small drop that you appended to the tsunami was just enough to push it over the edge, reaching full destruction capability.
Reading: てん
Just after you append the small drop of water to the tsunami, it grows ten (てん) stories high. Before it was only nine, but since you appended that drop, the tsunami is now a full ten stories tall.
宴
Banquet
Radicals: 宀 roof + 日 sun + 女 woman
Under a roof, but still in the sun, a woman is laying out a fabulous banquet. The woman doesn’t want anyone to burn from the sun, but banquets are best outside, so she’s set up a roof to protect her and her guests.
Reading: えん
Unfortunately, the banquet roof comes crashing down right before the guests arrive, and it ends (えん) before it can start.
板
Board
Radicals: 木 tree + 反 anti
If you’re anti-tree, you won’t mind if I turn all of them into boards! Hahaha!
Readings: ばん, はん
Turning every tree you could lay your eyes on into boards has gotten the attention of the Tree Lovers Association. “Banned (ばん), BANNED, I say!”, they shouted at you.
壊
Break
Radicals: 土 dirt + 十 cross + 罒 net + 衣 clothes
You set up a net on a cross to wash your clothes in the river, when a huge wave of dirt smashes into it, breaking the whole thing and sending your clothes tumbling down the river.
Reading: かい
You angrily search to see what caused your clothes washing machine to break and you see some kayaks (かい) upriver. The people in the kayaks are jumping around, kicking dirt up, which is what broke your stuff.
督
Director
Radicals: 上 above + 小 small + 又 stool + 目 eye
Above you on a small stool is the eye of the one who will direct and supervise you at work. He’s really high above you, so all you can see is the glint of his supervising eye. But you can hear him shouting directions clearly, telling you exactly what to do.
Reading: とく
A man who can direct others so well must be Tokugawa (とく) Ieyasu. Sure enough, when he finally comes down off his stool you see that he’s the ghost of Tokugawa Ieyasu!!! That explains why you could only make out the ghostly gleam of his supervising eye before.
乾
Dry
Radicals: 𠦝 morning + 𠂉 gun + 乙 nose
In the morning, you use a gun on your nose to make it dry.
Reading: かん
This technique for a nice dry nose was invented by Genghis Khan (かん)! Well, not him, but someone who worked under him. You see, he had a bit of a damp nose problem.
診
Diagnose
Radicals: 言 say + 𠆢 hat + 彡 hair
They say to wear a hat to cover your hair if your doctor diagnoses you with hair loss. It’s the best option, folks.
Reading: しん
You just had the doctor diagnose you with hair loss. How terrible! You stumble out of the room, dumbfounded. Not paying attention, you bang your shin (しん) on the table. Your shin really hurts. What an awful day.
寄
Draw near
Radicals: 宀 roof + 奇 odd
Under this roof someone odd is trying to draw near to you. You back up, but they continue to draw near anyway.
Reading: き
They continue to draw near until you can’t take it anymore. You run out from under the roof, slam the door closed, and lock it with a key (き).
僚
Colleague
Radicals: ｲ leader + 尞 charcoal
A good leader will use charcoal to mark her colleagues. Sometimes if leaders aren’t around all the time, people will get rebellious and act badly toward people who can get them in trouble. So when you mark them with charcoal you know that someone close with your leader is around and you should probably stop being a butt.
Reading: りょう
You have to be good around her colleagues, because if you aren’t your row (りょう) boat permit will be taken away. Row boating is the only fun you ever get to have, besides learning kanji. So act as best you can around the leader’s colleagues so you don’t lose your row boat rights.
娘
Daughter
Radicals: 女 woman + 良 good
A woman who is good is my daughter. My daughter is a good woman, I guarantee it.
Reading: むすめ
Your daughter, on the other hand, is not a good woman. Your daughter looks like a moose who may (むすめ) not be able to find its way out of a wet paper bag. Your daughter looks like a moose who may lose its way without a map. Your daughter looks like a moose who may do lots of stupid things.
欧
Europe
Radicals: 区 district + 欠 lack
A district that lacks things will be in Europe.
Reading: おう
Europe is lacking so much because their 王 (おう) keeps taking everything.
杯
Cup of liquid
Radicals: 木 tree + 不 not
A tree is not a cup of liquid or a counter for cups. Don’t get them mixed up. The last time you tried making a cup out of a tree to count your throat got filled with splinters when you used it. There wasn’t even any liquid in it.
Reading: はい
Another way to remember the counter for cups using a cup of liquid would be by creating and memorizing a haiku (はい) about them. Aren’t haikus useful?
恐
Fear
Radicals: 巩 saw + 心 heart
A saw cuts into your heart and you are filled with fear. Well, you were filled with fear before the saw reached your heart too, but now that the saw is cutting into your heart, you’re feeling more fear than ever.
Reading: きょう
Even more so than your fear of dying, you are filled with the fear that you’ll never get to vacation in きょうと. You always wanted to take a trip to きょうと, but if you die from this saw wound to the heart, you’ll never get the chance to go.
