Kanji - Level 8 - Kanji

Question 1

答

Answer 1

Answer
Radicals: 竹 bamboo + 合 suit
“Does the bamboo shirt suit me?” you ask… but nobody will answer.
Reading: こた
You pull out a quarter (こた) and offer it to whoever will give you an answer.

Question 2

反

Answer 2

Anti
Radicals: 厂 cliff + 又 stool
The stool is in the cliff. If someone has a stool deep inside a cliff, they are most likely pretty anti society, hiding away like that.
Reading: はん
Turns out, when you go to this guy and pull off his beard, he’s Han (はん) Solo, the anti-hero from Star Wars! What is Han doing here, so hidden away? He’s obviously hiding from Jabba because he doesn’t want to get frozen in carbonite again.

Question 3

君

Answer 3

Buddy
Radicals: ヨ wolverine + 丿slide + 口 mouth
A wolverine is going down a slide into your mouth. Why is he going into your mouth, though? You’re opening it really wide, because you’re screaming “BUDDY!!! You’re so excited to see your wolverine buddy-pal again. You thought he was dead.
Reading: くん
As you’re about to embrace your buddy wolverine, a raccoon (くん) tackles the wolverine off the slide, preventing your mouth embrace.

Question 4

局

Answer 4

Bureau
Radicals: 尸 flag + 𠃌 cape + 口 mouth
Your nation’s flag sits on top of a caped mouth. This is the symbol for the “Bureau of Secret Things.” It’s a special department of your government made to keep things hidden.
Reading: きょく
The bureau’s best-kept secret is cloaking devices that cloak you (きょく) with the press of a button.

Question 5

買

Answer 5

Buy
Radicals: 罒 net + 貝 shellfish
There are some shellfish in a net that you can buy. You can’t just buy loose shellfish. You can only buy the ones that are in the net, bagged up and ready for your money.
Reading: か
You decide to buy as many shellfish as you can fit in your car (か). You keep buying until your car is completely full of shellfish before you stop. Cars are totally a realistic unit of measure.

Question 6

雲

Answer 6

Cloud
Radicals: 雨 rain + 云 cloud
A rain cloud is still a cloud! It’s probably going to rain on you soon though, so I hope you have a jacket or an umbrella.
Reading: くも
You lie down and try to figure out what the clouds are shaped like. The first cloud is shaped… like a cool mom (くも). She’s wearing high pants, and holding a kid on each hip, but she’s also listening to the latest music and using slang. Huh. You look to the next cloud and see… wait, another cool mom?

Question 7

楽

Answer 7

Comfort
Radicals: 白 white + 冫ice + 木 tree
The white ice tree is a magical tree. When you eat its ice flowers it gives you incredible amounts of comfort, ease, and pleasure.
Reading: らく, がく
You want more of this. You gather as much as you can, and create an entire rack (らく) at your store with this tree. You sell out immediately, and have to refill your rack.

Question 8

数

Answer 8

Count
Radicals: 米 rice + 女 woman + 夂 winter
In the winter, the woman has to go through all the rice and count each individual grain. Once she’s counted all of them, she’ll have an amount / number so that she can split them up accordingly.
Reading: すう
Why are you so low on rice? It’s because someone sued your farm and took everything you owned. So, you had barely enough rice (or not enough).

Question 9

決

Answer 9

Decide
Radicals: 氵tsunami + 人 person + ユ hook
You have at your disposal a tsunami and a hook to assassinate this person. Which weapon will you choose. Decide now!
Reading: けつ
To remember the reading けつ we always use the word “ketsup.” It’s a special mix of ketchup and catsup (yum!)
You finally decide. You’re going to go with the tsunami… but not just any tsunami. You’ll kill him with a tsunami of ketsup (けつ).

Question 10

絵

Answer 10

Drawing
Radicals: 糸 thread + 会 meet
Using just thread meeting the paper (with a little ink on the end) you create a masterpiece of a drawing (or a painting).
Reading: え
You tell someone that you drew this drawing only using a thread. Their response? “EH?!?!?” (え)

Question 11

住

Answer 11

Dwell
Radicals: ｲ leader + 主 master
The leader of the masters gets to choose the place they dwell. So they reside in a huge mansion on the top of the mountain, surrounded by all the other masters in their smaller dwellings.
Reading: じゅう
She needs this big place to dwell so she has somewhere to store all of her jewels (じゅう). Masters always have lots of fancy, expensive things, and she has jewels.

Question 12

電

Answer 12

Electricity
Radicals: 雨 rain + 田 rice paddy +乚 umbrella
You’re standing in the middle of a rice paddy in the rain with an umbrella. You’re standing here because there’s nothing else that’s very tall around you. You want to get hit by electricity (aka lightning) to show that it exists.
Reading: でん
After the electricity hits you, you feel your face. In it is a huge dent.

Question 13

森

Answer 13

Forest
Radicals: 木 tree
This kanji is just the tree radical three times. Just based off this, you should be able to figure it out. This kanji means “forest.”
Reading: もり
One tree? No. Two trees? Not enough. I want more (もり) trees, please!

Question 14

助

Answer 14

Help
Radicals: 且 top hat + 力 power
With top hat power, you’re able to help anyone.
Reading: じょ
The person you help with your top hat power? It’s Jo-Anne (じょ).

Question 15

馬

Answer 15

Horse
Radicals: 馬 horse
The horse radical and the horse kanji are exactly the same! Huzzah!
Reading: ば, め
You are looking at a horse. It’s looking at you. You try making horse noises at it, to get a reaction. Instead of reacting with a normal horse noise, it just makes sheep noises: “Baaa,” (ば) it says. “Baaaaa.”

Question 16

間

Answer 16

Interval
Radicals: 門 gate + 日 sun
There’s a gate that the sun goes through at a regular interval. There is an interval of time in the sense that the sun goes through it at the same time every day. And there is an interval of space in the sense that it has to go through the space between the gate posts.
Reading: かん, けん
This method of keeping track of intervals of time was invented by the great Khans of Mongolia, specifically the most famous Khan of all: Genghis Khan (かん).
Genghis Khan has had a huge impact on the world as we know it, especially the Eurasian continent of the past, so he’s going to come up a lot from now on. Be prepared to get very familiar with him and his friends!

Question 17

場

Answer 17

Location
Radicals: 土 dirt + 易 easy
Dirt makes it easy to identify your location. If you know that, you can go from place to place.
Reading: じょう
Knowing your location from dirt is quite a feat! Who taught you that? It was Jourm (じょう), the big local farmhand. Despite being a bit weird, he does really know his dirt and can tell you the place from which any dirt came.

Question 18

医

Answer 18

Medicine
Radicals: 匚 cage + 矢 arrow
You’re in a cage and you’ve been shot by an arrow. Obviously things are looking pretty bad. You need some medicine if you hope to live.
Reading: い
When we need to remember the sound い we use the word “Eagle.”
You need your medicine really bad. Then, you look up. There’s an eagle (い) flying overhead. He has a package. It’s medicine! You’re saved!

Question 19

朝

Answer 19

Morning
Radicals: 十 cross + 日 sun + 月 moon
There’s a cross sticking out the top of the sun and another cross sticking out the bottom. The moon is off to the right. That’s because it’s the morning, which is when the sun and moon switch over. Those crosses are making sure the sun stays high in the sky for the rest of the day.
Reading: あさ
Every morning you have Asahi (あさ) beer for breakfast.

Question 20

番

Answer 20

Number in a series
Radicals: 釆 sickle + 田 rice paddy
You have to sickle the rice paddy today because it’s your turn. This kanji also means number in a series, which is a lot like a turn. For example, you’re number 3, so your turn will be number 3.
Reading: ばん
This turn-based rice sickle system is a contest as well! But, you are disappointed to find out that you have been banned(ばん) from the game because of the performance enhancing steroids you’ve been taking.

Question 21

所

Answer 21

Place
Radicals: 戸 door + 斤 axe
You’re taking an axe to a door. You’re absolutely crazy. “I HATE THIS PLACE!!” you keep yelling as you smash in the door.
Reading: しょ
You finally break through the door and jump in. Inside is a great circus show (しょ). There are elephants, tightrope walkers, bears on unicycles, and more! The greatest show on earth, but why is it here at this place?

Question 22

池

Answer 22

Pond
Radicals: 也 alligator + 氵tsunami
The poor alligator was taken far inland by a tsunami. Now his only source of water is a tiny pond that barely fits his body, and doesn’t even provide much food.
Reading: ち
The worst part about this pond is that the only thing for the alligator to eat is cheese (ち). Cheese may be yummy for humans, but alligators hate it. They’d rather eat the cow the cheese came from. Sadly, this pond is full of cheese.

Question 23

究

Answer 23

Research
Radicals: 穴 hole + 九 nine
You dig nine holes for your research. You should always do research with nine variables so you can compare them and so there’s an uneven number.
Reading: きゅう
You are researching cucumbers (きゅう)!

Question 24

道

Answer 24

Road
Radicals: ⻌ scooter + 首 neck
Aim the scooter’s neck at the road! Scooters are only meant for driving on streets and paths, and if you go the wrong way, you’ll probably break your own neck!
Reading: どう
To remember the reading どう we use the word “doughnut.”
You’re traveling down this road so fast that you don’t see the giant doughnut (どう) that’s rolling toward you until the last minute. You crash into it, and both you and the doughnut go tumbling down. Ahg, your neck!

Question 25

役

Answer 25

Service
Radicals: 彳loiter + 殳 weapon
You loiter around with a weapon because you’re currently doing your service and duty to your country. You’re standing guard outside, waiting just in case something will happen.
Reading: やく, えき
You’re about halfway through your service, when a yak (やく) walks by. It stops directly in front of you and grunts. “Excuse me, Mr. Yak, but it’s my duty to escort you away from my country.”

Question 26

研

Answer 26

Sharpen
Radicals: 石 stone + 开 lantern
A stone lantern is an excellent way to sharpen anything, even in the dark. Your knives, your forks, your spoons, and even your sword.
Reading: けん
Why did you sharpen your blade? Because you are about to do battle with Ken (けん), the famous samurai warrior.

Question 27

身

Answer 27

Somebody
Radicals: 自 self +丿slide
The self radical is a bit modified, with things sticking out, but that’s because it’s falling down a slide.
Sure, it’s yourself who’s tumbling down the slide… at least that’s how it feels to you. Who are you? What are you? All you know is you’re somebody, but you don’t know who that somebody is.
Reading: しん
You’re falling down this metaphorical slide… And then you hit somebody… and you hit them really hard. On your metaphorical shin (しん). You split it in half and it’s at a right angle. The pain is incredible (shins have a lot of nerves!). It may have been broken, and you may not be able to walk correctly again… metaphorically speaking, that is.

Question 28

者

Answer 28

Someone
Radicals: 耂 coffin + 日 sun
A coffin has been left out in the sun for too long. When dead bodies are out in the sun like this, they really begin to decompose. You are wondering who this person is, though. You can’t tell because it’s fallen apart too much. You look on the coffin. There’s a label, but it only says “someone.”
Reading: しゃ
To remember the sound しゃ we use “shaman.”
It’s time you open the coffin and check. Maybe there’s more answers in there. There’s no way this person could just be “someone.” You lift the lid, and sure enough, you’re able to figure out who it is. It’s a shaman (しゃ), dressed in full shaman garb.

Question 29

支

Answer 29

Support
Radicals: 支 branch
The branch radical and the branch kanji are the same! This kanji also means support. To remember it, think about a tree with lots of branches. The branches support each other and the trunk of the tree. If you were to climb the tree, the branches would be able to support your weight too!
Reading: し
You’re happily sitting on this branch, letting it support all this weight, when a sheep (し) starts to climb the tree. A very, very big sheep. Uh oh… no no, sheep. If you get on this branch it won’t be able to support all this weight!!!

Question 30

話

Answer 30

Talk
Radicals: 言 say + 舌 tongue
Say it with your tongue. If you do, you’ll be able to talk. You’ll be able to speak.
Reading: わ
If something uses their tongue, it will be able to talk and speak. To prove this, you teach a walrus (わ) to use its tongue, and lo and behold, it speaks to you!

Question 31

投

Answer 31

Throw
Radicals: 扌fingers + 殳 weapon
In your fingers is a weapon, so you throw it. Maybe you’re angry and you threw the weapon at a person you don’t like. Maybe you’re a pacifist and you threw it away so no one else could use it. Either way, when you have a weapon in your fingers you have to throw it.
Reading: とう
You throw your weapon away because you’re about to enter とうきょう and there are no weapons allowed there. There is, however, a big pile of thrown away weapons by the border, which is where you’re throwing yours right now.

Question 32

対

Answer 32

Versus
Radicals: 文 writing + 寸 measurement
You want to take a measurement of what you’re writing to make sure it’s long enough to hand in to your professor, when you realize it’s the opposite of what you should be doing. You don’t measure writing, you check things like word count and page numbers. Now it’s going to be you versus the teacher on who determines how long this thing you’re writing should be.
Reading: たい
You let your nerves get the better of you and right when it’s about to be you versus your professor, you hand him a new tie (たい). Is this also the opposite of what you should be doing? Probably, since it’s bribery. But no one can say no to a tie, right?