Kanji - Level 3 - Vocab Flashcards
少し
A little
Kanji: 少 few + し
This word is a single kanji with hiragana attached, though there is no specific clue as to what type of word it is. That means you can usually guess it’s a noun, adverb or na-adjective (in this case it’s a noun / adverb). The meaning of this word is pretty much the same as the kanji, though, making it fairly easy. The kanji meaning for 少 is few, and the meaning of the vocab form is a little or a few.
Reading: すこし
Did you know that this word created an English word you probably already know? Have you ever heard someone say “just a skosh”? That’s 少し! Hopefully you know this English word and therefore know this Japanese word as well.
アメリカ人
American person
Kanji: ア + メ + リ + カ + 人 person
The アメリカ part is pretty easy so long as you know katakana. It’s the word for “America.” You know that 人 means “person,” so you can figure out that America + Person = American person.
Readings: あめりかじん, アメリカじん
Often times, when two kanji come together to form a kanji compound (or jukugo), you use the on’yomi readings. This is similar to that, though instead of another kanji it’s a foreign word. This pattern works with almost any country as well. Just add 人 to a country name and you’ve described the people who live there. You’ll see more of these before you’re finished here.
And since 人 has two on’yomi readings, here’s a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:
Americans absolutely love their jeans (じん), it’s a well-known fact!
リンゴ
Apple
Kanji: No kanji (hooray!)
Ringo (リンゴ) just ate your apple! You were about to take a bite, and he grabbed it. What is Ringo doing snatching apples? Surely he can afford his own.
Did you know that Ringo Starr once appeared in a Japanese TV commercial for apple juice? That might help you remember this word, too!
リンゴ is also commonly written in hiragana, and even in kanji, but you’ll probably see it in katakana the most.
Readings: リンゴ, りんご
矢
Arrow
Kanji: 矢 arrow
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
Reading: や
The reading for this word is the same as the one you learned when learning the kanji.
〜台
Big machine counter
Kanji: 台 machine
This counter is used with some kind of machine or device, usually a fairly large one (so nothing itty bitty). Cars are a good example of this. But it can also be used for things like computers, which were once the size of rooms, but are now nice and small. Thanks technology!
Reading: だい
The reading is the same as the one you learned with the kanji. Be sure to omit the 〜 in your answer as it is only a placeholder for a number.
イギリス人
British person
Kanji: イ + ギ + リ + ス + 人 person
イギリス means “Great Britain” or “United Kingdom.” So what is a “Great Britain person?” You guessed it — a British person, or Brit.
Readings: いぎりすじん, イギリスじん
Often times, when two kanji come together to form a kanji compound (or jukugo), you use the on’yomi readings. This is similar to that, though instead of another kanji it’s a foreign word. This pattern works with almost any country as well. Just add 人 to a country name and you’ve described the people who live there. You’ll see more of these before you’re finished here.
And since 人 has two on’yomi readings, here’s a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:
As with all words for nationalities, the 人 here is pronounced じん. All nationalities, including Brits, love jeans (じん)!
市
City
Kanji: 市 city
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
Reading: し
The reading for this word is the same as the one you learned when learning the kanji.
コーヒー
Coffee
Kanji: No kanji (hooray!)
コーヒー is the katakana version of the English word coffee.
Just watch out for the second syllable, which changes to ヒー in Japanese.
Reading: コーヒー
牛
Cow
Kanji: 牛 cow
The kanji and the word are the same. This word is a bit broader than cow though, and can also be used to be bull and ox.
Reading: うし
Since this word is made up of a single kanji, it uses the kun’yomi reading. Here’s a mnemonic to help you to remember it:
You’re leading the cows around the field. To get them to move, you yell out “USH, USH, USH!” (うし) because you have a speech impediment and want to say “MUSH MUSH MUSH.” Go ahead and say this out loud, yelling it if you can.
戸口
Doorway
Kanji: 戸 door + 口 mouth
Do you remember the words 出口 (exit) and 入り口 (entrance) from previous levels? The 口 can be a doorway of some kind. This word is literally “door mouth” but I bet you can figure out that this actually means doorway.
Reading: とぐち
The reading for this one is mixed. You get the kun’yomi readings for both kanji, even though it’s a combo (jukugo) kanji. Since 戸’s only reading is the kun’yomi reading you should know it. Also, you should know the kun’yomi reading for 口 as well from level 1. That means as long as you remember that this is a kun’yomi fest over here, you should be able to read this word. Also watch out for the rendaku (also known as sequential voicing). That just means the く becomes the voiced ぐ.
生ビール
Draft beer
Kanji: 生 life + ビ + ー + ル
You just learned the vocab 生, meaning fresh. Combined with the katakana word for beer makes this draft beer or unpasteurized beer.
Note that while in a lot of countries, “draft beer” refers only to beer that’s drawn from a keg, 生ビール can also refer to unpasteurized canned or bottled beer, giving it a shorter shelf-life, but also keeping it fresh.
Reading: なまびーる
Be careful to use kun’yomi for 生 here. Other than that, as long as you know your katakana, you should be good to go!
山びこ
Echo
Kanji: 山 mountain + び + こ
You know that 山 means mountain. Add the hiragana びこ to the end and this gives you echo. That’s because bee children (bee 子) love echos, especially mountain echos! Imagine baby bees buzzing as loudly as they can and hearing their voices echoing back at them through the mountains.
As the kanji suggests, 山びこ is generally used to describe the echo you get if you shout in the mountains. To decribe other types of echo, you can use the katakana word エコー.
By the way, there is actually a kanji for the second part of this word, but it’s so rare that it’s usually written in kana!
Reading: やまびこ
You learned this kanji reading when you learned the vocabulary 山.
元パートナー
Ex-partner
Kanji: 元 origin パ + ー + ト + ナ + ー
Your origin partner is a partner you had originally, but don’t have anymore. In other words, this is your ex-partner or former partner.
Like in English, this word is fairly formal, and it covers any kind of ex-partner, including business and romantic partners.
Readings: もとぱーとなー, もとパートナー
This uses the kun’yomi of 元 and then it’s just kana, so you should know how to read this!
太い
Fat
Kanji: 太 fat + い
This is a single kanji with an い on the end, meaning you know it’s probably an adjective. What’s the adjective form of the fat? It’s the same: fat.
Reading: ふとい
This is the kun’yomi reading of the kanji (because it’s a single kanji, all alone with hiragana attached). The part you have to remember is the ふと portion. Let’s use a mnemonic.
The fat guy looked down and couldn’t see his foot (ふと).
父
Father
Kanji: 父 father
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well. This is the polite and humble form of father. You use this when you’re talking about your own father to other people, especially if you aren’t very close to them.
Reading: ちち
The reading for this word is the same as the one you learned when learning the kanji.
お父さん
Father
Kanji: お + 父 father + さ + ん
This word begins with an honorific (お), making whatever comes after it more elevated. Then there’s 父, which you know means father. Lastly, we have the honorific name ender さん. So this is a nice way to say father. You use it when you’re talking to your own dad or talking about him with friends. You can also use this when you’re talking about your friends’ dads.
In more formal settings, you’ll want to use 父 (pronounced ちち) to talk about your own dad and お父様 to talk about someone else’s dad. Don’t worry, you’ll learn that last kanji in a few lessons. Until then, it’s pronounced, おとうさま.
Reading: おとうさん
The part you have to learn to read is the 父 portion. This uses the kun’yomi, which you didn’t learn when doing the kanji.
Imagine you are taking your venerable father to とうきょう. He’s always wanted to go and this is the trip of a lifetime! Imagine walking through the streets of Tokyo with your Dad, taking in all the sights.
少ない
Few
Kanji: 少 few + な + い
This word has a single kanji with hiragana attached, ending in a い. This means you know it’s an adjective. What is the adjective form of few? It’s also few.
Reading: すくない
The reading for this one is fairly difficult, as it’s the kun’yomi reading (you can tell it’s kun’yomi because of all the hiragana attached). You have to remember the すく part to remember the reading of this word. Think of it this way:
You have a few of something. This something is suckers (すく). Imagine putting all (three-ish) of them in your mouth at once. How does it taste? Can you taste the flavors from each of the few?
五台
Five machines
Kanji: 五 five + 台 machine
As long as you know both of the individual kanji meanings, you should be able to put together this one to get five machines.
Reading: ごだい
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on’yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you’ll know how to read this as well.
外人
Foreigner
Kanji: 外 outside + 人 person
An “outside person” is a foreigner. This word is fairly common, though it’s not super polite, either. It’s okay most of the time, but it can be used derogatorily depending on the situation. The more polite version is 外国人 (outside country person) but you won’t learn that until you learn the kanji for 国.
Reading: がいじん
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on’yomi readings from the kanji. Since 人 has two on’yomi readings, here’s a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:
Who’s the foreigner? Well obviously the guy wearing jeans (がいじん)!
フランス人
French person
Kanji: フ + ラ + ン + ス + 人 person
フランス is “France.” So what is a “France person?” That would be a French Person.
Readings: ふらんすじん, フランスじん
Often times, when two kanji come together to form a kanji compound (or jukugo), you use the on’yomi readings. This is similar to that, though instead of another kanji it’s a foreign word. This pattern works with almost any country as well. Just add 人 to a country name and you’ve described the people who live there. You’ll see more of these before you’re finished here.
And since 人 has two on’yomi readings, here’s a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:
As with all words for nationalities, the 人 here is pronounced じん. Like people of all other nationalities, a French person loves their jeans (じん) too!
生
Fresh
Kanji: 生 fresh
Normally a single kanji alone like this would mean the same thing as its parent kanji, but in the case of 生 it’s a little different (but still related). When you think of something that has life, it’s fresh or raw. Think sashimi or sushi, for example. You want that to be as close as possible to life as you can, so you eat it when it’s fresh and raw. This word can also be used to describe a live event, like a concert or sporting event.
You’ll see this word at the beginning of other words. For example, 生たまご is “raw egg.”
Reading: なま
This uses one of the kun’yomi readings. Here’s a mnemonic to help you remember it:
After eating raw fish, my yoga teacher and I say namaste (なま) to the sushi chef, bowing low to show our appreciation.
友人
Friend
Kanji: 友 friend + 人 person
A person who is a friend is just that, a friend!
Note that 友人 is a more formal word that’s often used in professional settings.
Reading: ゆうじん
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on’yomi readings from the kanji. Since 人 has two on’yomi readings, here’s a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:
All your friends are youths in jeans (ゆうじん)! Every single one. If any of your friends is not a youth in jeans, they’re simply not your friend, I’m afraid.
毛
Fur
Kanji: 毛 fur
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
Reading: け
Since this word is made up of a single kanji, it should use the kun’yomi reading. When learning the kanji, you didn’t learn that reading, so here’s a mnemonic to help you with this word:
Look down! You’re holding something covered in fur. It’s a furry kettle (け)! It’s the weirdest kettle you’ve ever seen, but presumably it keeps the water hot for much longer.
少女
Girl
Kanji: 少 little + 女 woman
A little woman is a girl or a young lady. This word is generally used to describe someone who’s between the ages of about five and eighteen.
Reading: しょうじょ
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on’yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you’ll know how to read this as well.
半
Half
Kanji: 半 half
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
Reading: はん
Since this word is made up of a single kanji, it’s supposed to use the kun’yomi reading. But, there is no useful kun’yomi reading for this kanji, so even the single kanji vocab word version uses the on’yomi reading, which you’ve already learned!
半分
Half
Kanji: 半 half + 分 part
You have half a part. Half a part is still half, right?
Reading: はんぶん
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on’yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you’ll know how to read this as well.
心
Heart
Kanji: 心 heart
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
Reading: こころ
Since this word is made up of a single kanji, it should use the kun’yomi reading. When learning the kanji, you didn’t learn that reading, so here’s a mnemonic to help you with this word:
Imagine a giant heart sitting in a rowing boat. It’s also drinking cocoa. Focus on all three of these parts and associate them into one story / memory. Once you’ve done that, sing the “cocoa row” (こころ) song! I don’t know what that song is, but I want you to make one up and actually sing it, out loud. If you do, I bet you won’t forget this word’s reading too easily.
こんにちは
Hello
Kanji: No kanji (hooray!)
Connie Chihuahua (こんにちは) says hello. Connie Chihuahua is an amazing talking chihuahua. She can only say “hello”, but that alone is pretty impressive.
こんにちは is a formal way to say “hello”. It’s generally used during the daytime, from late morning to early evening. Watch out for the は on the end, which is always pronounced わ.
Reading: こんにちは
大切
Important
Kanji: 大 big + 切 cut
Think back to the old old olden days. Back when decisions were made with swords. A big cut is going to be important. Just imagine a couple samurai squaring off, then charging, then making one big cut. It’s the most important thing they’ll do in their lives (if they live!).
Reading: たいせつ
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on’yomi readings from the kanji. Since 大 has two on’yomi readings, here’s a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:
It’s extremely important to keep your ties in sets (たいせつ). If you don’t arrange them neatly in sets, the tie police might just come knocking at your door and take you with them!
