Kanji - Level 4 - Vocab Flashcards
他人
Another person
Kanji: 他 other + 人 person
When you have an other person, you really have another person.
他人 has a sense of unfamiliarity or distance, and suggests that the person isn’t well-known, or is different from you or a specific group of people. It doesn’t usually mean “another person” in the sense of an additional person, or another person distinct from the one you’re talking about.
Reading: たにん
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:
Another person just stole your taco and your Nintendo (たにん). This complete stranger just walked up and took your taco and your Nintendo console straight out of your hands. Yoink.
早々
As soon as
Kanji: 早 early + 々repeater
Essentially you have the kanji 早 twice, because 々 is just a repeater kanji. When you have something early twice, it obviously has some kind of urgency to it. You’ll need to take an action as soon as you finish whatever it is you’re doing there.
Readings: そうそう, はやばや
The reading is just the on’yomi readings (which you learned with the kanji) twice in a row.
大気
Atmosphere
Kanji: 大 big + 気 energy
If there is a big energy it’s going to fill up the atmosphere! Think about big energies you feel in the atmosphere: thunderstorms, tornadoes, the aurora borealis. Just remember, this is the atmosphere in the sky, not the atmosphere in a fancy restaurant.
Reading: たいき
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:
Imagine an atmosphere consisting entirely of ties and keys (たいき), floating around. The ties are getting tangled together, and the keys keep bashing you on the head. Bring back the normal atmosphere, this one’s horrible.
赤ちゃん
Baby
Kanji: 赤 red + ち + ゃ + ん
ちゃん is the honorific you put on a child’s name. So, who is this mysterious child you’re calling red? When a baby is born, what color are they? You got it, they’re all red. And, because you want to be nice and cute you add ちゃん to that. That’s why あかちゃん is a baby.
Reading: あかちゃん
If you know the reading of the kanji 赤 you should know the reading of this too.
竹
Bamboo
Kanji: 竹 bamboo
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well!
Reading: たけ
Since this word is made up of a single kanji, it should use the kun’yomi reading which is also the reading you associated with the kanji, earlier.
竹の子
Bamboo shoot
Kanji: 竹 bamboo + の + 子 child
What is bamboo’s child? That would be a baby bamboo. Because “baby bamboo” doesn’t really make sense, we’ll instead call this word bamboo shoots.
When this is written as 竹の子, the bamboo shoots are probably still growing in the ground. If they’re picked and cooked and ready to eat, the pronunciation is the same, but it’s usually written in other forms, such as タケノコ.
Reading: たけのこ
If you know the readings of the kanji for 竹 and the vocabulary for 子 you should be able to read this word as well.
太字
Bold letter
Kanji: 太 fat + 字 letter
What do you think a fat letter is? If I were to guess, I’d say a bold letter.
Reading: ふとじ
The reading for this one is a bit odd. The 太 uses the ふと from ふとい (kun’yomi) and the 字 is just the normal on’yomi reading for “letter.” You have to remember this weird mismatched reading pair on your own, I’m afraid. Perhaps if you think about how fat letters don’t really fit with the rest of the text, kind of like how the readings of both kanji also don’t fit in it will help?
少年
Boy
Kanji: 少 few + 年 year
Someone of few years is someone who’s young. But, back in the day the Japanese and Chinese tended to favor the boys, so this one means boy, usually a young boy. Sorry girls! Use your irritation at this kanji to remember it better.
Reading: しょうねん
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.
虫
Bug
Kanji: 虫 insect
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well. This word is actually more general than the English words insect and bug, though. It covers things like worms and spiders, too, so in that sense it’s more like creepy-crawly.
Reading: むし
Since this word is made up of a single kanji, it should use the kun’yomi reading, which is also the reading you learned when you learned this kanji!
年内
By the end of the year
Kanji: 年 year + 内 inside
Inside the year means by the end of the year. In other words, before the end of this year, or within the year.
Reading: ねんない
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.
子牛
Calf
Kanji: 子 child + 牛 cow
You have a child cow. What do you think a child cow is? Probably a calf or a baby cow.
Reading: こうし
Since you should know the readings of the words 子 and 牛 from the previous level, you should be able to read this word too even though it’s using the kun’yomi readings for the kanji.
平気
Calm
Kanji: 平 flat + 気 energy
You have a flat energy. What kind of energy would be a flat one? Probably a cool or calm one. You’d also tell people about this flat energy by saying you are all right or just okay.
Reading: へいき
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.
車
Car
Kanji: 車 car
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
Reading: くるま
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:
You visit your mom who lives inside of a car. It’s sad, and you feel bad. The first thing that pops out of your mouth is: “Cool Room, Ma (くるま) because you don’t know what else to say about your ma’s living situation.
Be sure to sort of cut off the last letters of the first two words… something like “coo’ roo’ ma!” Sad thing is, there is only one room in this car your mom calls home.
中央
Center
Kanji: 中 middle + 央 center
The middle of the central… that is really, really in the center if you ask me (and is very central as well). This is one of those “overdid it on the meaning” words.
Reading: ちゅうおう
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.
字
Character
Kanji: 字 character
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
Reading: じ
You only learned one reading for the kanji that makes up this word, and it’s the same as the reading for this word (of course). That means you should already know the reading.
耳
Ear
Kanji: 耳 ear
The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.
Reading: みみ
Since this word is made up of a single kanji, it should use the kun’yomi reading which is the reading you learned with the kanji. So you should be able to read this word already.
早い
Early
Kanji: 早 early + 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 early? It’s also early.
Reading: はやい
The reading for this word is the kun’yomi reading, which you did not learn when you learned the kanji. You have to remember the はや portion to be able to read this word. In order to do that, here’s a mnemonic:
You’re fast! You’re early! Your chop comes down onto your opponent’s neck so quickly! As you chop him, you yell “はや!”
元気
Energy
Kanji: 元 origin + 気 energy
What is the origin of your energy? It is your health. This word also means energy, and when it’s used as an adjective it means healthy or energetic.
Reading: げんき
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.
名人
Expert
Kanji: 名 name + 人 person
A person whose name is known (because he’s famous?). Why is this person’s name known? Why is this person famous? It’s because they are an expert / master at something. How else does someone become famous or well-known? That’s pretty much it, even if they’re just an expert at being an idiot.
Reading: めいじん
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:
Did you know that every expert has their own pair of May jeans (めいじん)? A true master of anything has a specific pair of jeans they wear only in the month of May. That’s what makes them so good at what they do.
気分
Feeling
Kanji: 気 energy + 分 part
Part of your energy is your feeling or your mood. Just think of it like you’re breaking up your energy into parts. One part is sugar giving you energy. Another part is your happiness. So, when you combine these together you get the total: your mood!
Reading: きぶん
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.
花火
Fireworks
Kanji: 花 flower + 火 fire
The flower fire… what looks like flowers on fire? That would be fireworks. Totally makes sense, right?
Reading: はなび
The readings for the kanji that make this word are the kun’yomi readings, where fire’s ひ changes to び. You already learned the kun’yomi reading for 花 when you learned the kanji, so it’s only a matter of remembering to use the kun’yomi for 火. If you do, you should be able to read this word.
先ず
First of all
Kanji: 先 previous + ず
The kanji means previous. This is an adverb version of that word. It’s a little thing you can begin sentences with. You can’t start your sentences with “previous” but you can start it with “First of all” or “to start with.”
This is usually written without kanji though, so keep that in mind.
Reading: まず
Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun’yomi reading. In fact, the reading for this word is very rare, and kind of an exception. We’ll use a mnemonic that uses both the kanji part and the hiragana attachment part.
First of all and to start with, you have to make it through this maze (まず).
一年生
First year student
Kanji: 一 one + 年 year + 生 life
You’d maybe think this just means one year of life, but it actually means first year student. A second year student is a 二年生, and so on. Just think about how crazy the Japanese are about school. You can see why school is life, and not life itself, making this vocab word “first year student.”
Reading: いちねんせい
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.
五百
Five hundred
Kanji: 五 five + 百 hundred
When you have five hundreds you also have five hundred.
Reading: ごひゃく
This word uses the on’yomi readings for both kanji, so you should be able to read it already!