Level 10-1 Flashcards
最
Most
N/A
On’Yomi:
さい
Kun’Yomi:
もっと
Meaning Mnemonic
If you sit on a stool with your ear pointed at the sun, most likely you’ll be getting a sunburn. For some reason, you put no sunscreen on your ear, and decided to sit out on a stool. This is most unusual of you.
Additional Info:
It is very, very hot outside. You can feel the heat on all of your body, especially your ear. Feel the heat and pain from the sun as your ear slowly starts to redden, itch, and burn. It’s not pleasant.
Reading Mnemonic
When you get back inside and look at your ear in the mirror and see how red it is, you let out a big sigh (さい). This is the most embarrassing thing to happen to you in days! This sunburn is terrible. Sigh…
Additional Info:
I’m sure you’ve had at least one bad sunburn in your life. Imagine how painful and uncomfortable it is. Trying to sleep with it, people slapping it - it’s very annoying and definitely something to sigh about. Picture yourself sighing at this terrible experience and actually sigh as you do it.
業
Business
N/A
On’Yomi:
ぎょう
Kun’Yomi:
None
Meaning Mnemonic
If a sheep is having trouble trying to eat a fish with spikes on its fins, then the sheep probably has no business trying to eat it in the first place. Don’t sheep usually eat like, grass and stuff? What is this sheep doing trying to eat a fish with spikes on its fins? What silly business this is.
Additional Info:
Imagine this crazy sheep. Why is it trying to eat this fish? This sheep is blood crazed. Blood crazed for fish meat, especially the meat from fish with spikes on their fins. This crazed sheep means business.
Reading Mnemonic
What’s this? The sheep is also trying to eat some gyoza (ぎょう) dumplings! Where will this sheep’s madness end? First spikey finned fish and now gyoza? This is some crazy business.
Additional Info:
Imagine you’re at an Asian style restaurant and you just ordered a big plate of gyoza dumplings. Next thing you know, this crazy sheep busts through the front door and starts devouring all your gyoza! Where did this sheep come from and why does he love gyoza so much!?
横
Side
N/A
On’Yomi:
おう
Kun’Yomi:
よこ
Meaning Mnemonic
The tree marked with a yellow X on the side of the house is going to get cut down. You’ve marked it with a yellow X so the hired help knows which tree to cut down. There are a lot of trees on the side of the house, but the tree marked with a yellow X is the only one in danger of causing damage to your roof in the event of a storm.
Additional Info:
Picture the scene of a woman with a chainsaw cutting down this tree marked with a yellow X. Hear the sound of the chainsaw buzzing and the grinding of wood as it meets the side of the trunk. It’s very loud. Woodchips go flying everywhere.
Reading Mnemonic
Wait, that woman with the chainsaw is Yoko (よこ) Ono! Yes, the same Yoko Ono who’s married to John Lennon of the Beatles. What’s she doing chopping down trees on the side of your house? Who can say. Silly Yoko.
Additional Info:
Now picture the same scene as before only imagining Yoko Ono wielding that chainsaw. Maybe she’s dancing. Maybe there’s some Beatles music playing in the background. Either way it’s a strange sight – remember it.
歌
Song
sing
On’Yomi:
か
Kun’Yomi:
うた
Meaning Mnemonic
If you lack a lip ring (or two in this case) it’s going to make it way easier for you to sing a song.
Additional Info:
Imagine a song with lip rings. Then imagine one without. Sing them, pretending you have lip rings. It doesn’t work as well.
Reading Mnemonic
You’re singing a song with all these lip rings in your mouth and you sound terrible. You’re on the side of the road singing. People are freaking out. Finally, someone drives into you with their car (か).
Additional Info:
Imagine yourself getting hit by this car. All the air flies out of you as you sing your song. You think “I shouldn’t have tried to sing a song with all these lip rings…”
算
Calculate
calculation
On’Yomi:
さん
Kun’Yomi:
None
Meaning Mnemonic
If you get stabbed in the eye twenty times with bamboo, you’re going to have a hard time beginning to calculate where anything is. Taking a bamboo shoot to the eye is no pleasant experience, especially if done twenty times. You’d be blinded for sure. And a newly blinded person is going to have one heck of a time calculating where everything is without the power of sight.
Additional Info:
Imagine getting jabbed with a bamboo shoot. Now imagine getting jabbed in the eye with a bamboo shoot. It’s going to hurt. Try and calculate exactly how painful this would be and imagine it happening to you.
Reading Mnemonic
Do you know how Santa-san (さん) punishes naughty boys and girls in Asia? He doesn’t give them coal, Santa-san tortures them with twenty bamboo jabs to the eye. Yikes. Do you know how Santa-san calculates who is naughty and who is nice? By their school grades, of course.
Additional Info:
Picture this evil Asian Santa-san, clad in blood red garments and brandishing pointed bamboo shoots in each hand. He’s a cold and calculating madman! You’d better start studying! Santa-san is watching!
終
End
finish
On’Yomi:
しゅう
Kun’Yomi:
おわ.り
Meaning Mnemonic
Having to wear two sets of winter threads is a pretty good indicator that autumn has come to an end. Once it’s cold enough that you have to wear two sets of winter threads, it’s definitely winter.
Additional Info:
Imagine being so cold that you have to wear twice the amount of winter clothes as usual. It’s freezing. Brr. Feel your body shiver and your teeth chatter. Now you can’t wait for winter to end and spring to begin.
Reading Mnemonic
You are a shooter (しゅう), a hired gun. You have to shoot someone to fulfill your contract, but you’re so cold, you can’t shoot straight. You wish winter would end so you could shoot again like normal.
Additional Info:
Imagine yourself as a shooter with a sniper rifle. Look down the scope and try to aim it at something, even though you are shivering violently. This would be very frustrating. It’s almost impossible to hit your mark.
線
Line
N/A
On’Yomi:
せん
Kun’Yomi:
None
Meaning Mnemonic
If someone falls overboard while you’re white water rafting, you can use a long piece of thread as a life line. Sure it might be thin, but a line of thread is better than nothing. Throw them a line and drag them back aboard! Those white water rapids are vicious.
Additional Info:
Imagine you’re the person who fell overboard. The white water is rushing violently and it is deathly cold. Feel the water and freezing temperature on your skin. But look! Someone has thrown you a line of thread! You’re saved!
Reading Mnemonic
The person who threw you that line of thread is actually a centaur (せん). How kind of him. After you are safe you hop on the centaur’s back and ride around to get the wind to dry you off.
Additional Info:
Coming out of the rushing water, this centaur is like an angel sent from heaven. He’s just saved your life. Imagine the happiness and gratitude you feel towards this centaur as you are pulled to safety by that line of thread.
習
Learn
N/A
On’Yomi:
しゅう
Kun’Yomi:
なら.う
Meaning Mnemonic
Examining the white feathers of a dove can help you learn more about them. Studying the feathers of a bird is a great way to learn what they’re all about. What better place to start than with the white feathers of a dove?
Additional Info:
Think of all the wonderful things feathers can be used for. Imagine yourself laying on a featherbed, or laying your head on a feather pillow. It’s very soft isn’t it? Except when one of those little white feathers pokes through and tickles you. That’s the worst.
Reading Mnemonic
To study these white feathers and learn more about them, you’ve collected a ton of feathers in a lab room. To get all these feathers, you hired a shooter (しゅう) to shoot down all the doves in the area. The shooter shoots them all, and you get all the feathers you need.
Additional Info:
See this shooter taking joy in his job as he helps you collect feathers so you can learn about doves. Hear the gun firing as dove after dove drops from the sky, the shooter laughing maniacally all the way.
聞
Hear
N/A
On’Yomi:
ぶん
Kun’Yomi:
き.く
Meaning Mnemonic
If you press your ear up to a gate, you’re likely to hear what’s going on on the other side. The other people on the other side won’t know you are listening to their conversation because you are so sneaky and clever. They’ve no idea you’re on the other side of the gate hearing every word they say.
Additional Info:
I’m sure you’ve pressed your ear up against a wall, door, or gate at sometime to hear what’s going on on the other side of it. Remember back to a time you did this and how sneaky you felt listening in on people without them knowing. You sneaky frood, you.
Reading Mnemonic
From the other side of the gate, you hear one of the people on the other side start to play a song on a recorder. You recognize the song as “Hot Cross Buns (ぶん).” You haven’t heard this song in a long time. “Hot cross buns… hot cross buns~”
Additional Info:
I’m sure many of you were forced to play the recorder in school at some point and were made to play the song known as hot cross buns. Picture yourself playing this song and remember the melody when you see this kanji.
葉
Leaf
leaves
On’Yomi:
None
Kun’Yomi:
は, ば
Meaning Mnemonic
From generation to generation of flowers and trees, a common leaf shape is passed down. Every generation of oak tree has shares the same leaf shape just as every generation of carnation flower has shared the same leaf shape.
Additional Info:
Imagine a great big family reunion of trees and flowers spanning generations and generations of plants. They’d have no problem identifying common family members because of their shared leaf patterns and shapes. Picture these trees and flowers being overwhelmed with joy at seeing their long lost relatives.
Reading Mnemonic
You are the greatest tree type of them all, though, and your leaves are the best. You laugh at all the other trees: “HA HA HA!” you say.
Additional Info:
Choose your favorite type of tree. Imagine the leaves of that tree. Now compare them to fellow trees. How terrible are they? So bad you laugh.
親
Parent
N/A
On’Yomi:
しん
Kun’Yomi:
おや, した.しい
Meaning Mnemonic
If you see a tree that you want to stand under to take a break while hiking, a good parent will stand under the tree with you. This is a kind and caring parent who can see that you are tired and want to relax by standing in the shade of this tree.
Additional Info:
Imagine that you’re on a long mountain hike and so far you’ve been hiking all in the sun with no shade. Feel the sun beating down on your back, the sweat getting in your eyes. Finally you see a tree to seek refuge under. It’s like an oasis in a desert. You’re saved!
Reading Mnemonic
Once you get closer to the tree, you and your parent see that it has some pretty crazy roots coming out of it. While making your way into the shade, you manage to bang your shin (しん) on one of these roots. Your shins already hurt from walking so much, and this is just icing on the cake.
Additional Info:
Busting your shins on things really hurts. I’m sure you’ve hit your shins on coffee tables and the like all your life. Remember that pain and think how much worse it would be banging your bare shins on pointy tree roots after you’ve been hiking all day in the hot sun. Not enjoyable.
語
Language
N/A
On’Yomi:
ご
Kun’Yomi:
かた.る
Meaning Mnemonic
Can you say the word mouth in five different languages? Probably not. But if you could say the word mouth in five different languages, people would certainly find you to be an accomplished linguist!
Additional Info:
It’s always impressive when someone know a second language (like you! You’re learning Japanese!), but it’s even more impressive when they know five. Imagine how proud you would be knowing English, Japanese, and three other languages. You’d be one cool linguistical frood.
Reading Mnemonic
You know what you don’t need to know five languages for? Playing a game of go (ご). Go is played by all sorts of people the world round, and you don’t need to speak at all during the game. So stop studying language and get out there and play some go!
Additional Info:
Imagine playing go against someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you. The game itself is the same, but he keeps muttering things in a language you don’t understand. What could he be saying?
読
Read
N/A
On’Yomi:
どく
Kun’Yomi:
よ
Meaning Mnemonic
A feudal samurai can say the word pi, but he cannot read it as he is illiterate. If he was nobility instead of a samurai, there would be a much better chance for him being able to read the word pi as well as say it. He’s pretty good at fighting though, so nobody faults him for his inability to read.
Additional Info:
When you picture a samurai do you picture a scholarly man who reads books and stuff? No, probably not. You picture a manly man who spends too much time fighting to worry about silly things like reading. Picture this samurai in your mind and his disinterest with learning how to read.
Reading Mnemonic
Other than saying the word pi, fighting, and not bothering to read, this samurai also enjoys playing with a yo-yo (よ). Playing with a yo-yo is much more fun than learning how to read, duh.
Additional Info:
See this samurai playing with his yo-yo, giggling and smiling like a child. Someone asks him if he wants to learn how to read, so he hits them in the face with his yo-yo. Yo-yo good, reading bad.
調
Investigate
N/A
On’Yomi:
ちょう
Kun’Yomi:
しら.べる
Meaning Mnemonic
If you hear somebody say something, and you’re completely alone, it’s probably a ghost and you should investigate to see if your house is haunted. Ghosts say stuff all the time, and if you hear a ghost say something, chances are your house is haunted. You should probably investigate just to be sure though.
Additional Info:
It’s nighttime. It’s dark. You’re in bed. Imagine you hear strange whispers in the night. It’s really creeping you out. The house creaks, and you can hear strange noises that sounds like a ghost saying things to you. It’s horrifying.
Reading Mnemonic
The next morning as you’re eating breakfast you hear the ghost say, “Murder Mrs.Chou (ちょう)… Murder… Mrs. ChooOoOuuUUuuUuu~” This scares you half to death. Once you regain your composure, you vow once and for all to investigate the source of this ghost’s nonsense and solve the issue once and for all.
Additional Info:
Why does the ghost want you to kill Mrs. Chou? Sure she’s evil and all, but murder? Dang. You fantasize about killing Mrs. Chou for a moment before you realize that’s not the solution. But first things first, you need to investigate this ghost issue of yours.
起
Wake Up
N/A
On’Yomi:
き
Kun’Yomi:
お
Meaning Mnemonic
If you run into a cobra, no matter who you look at, someone is going to wake up. If the cobra is asleep (let’s imagine that), and you run into the cobra, it will jump up, awake in an instant.
Additional Info:
Imagine running into a cobra as it sleeps. It will probably bite you for waking it up. Imagine the cobra in a little night cap too.
Reading Mnemonic
When you step on the cobra, causing it to wake up, it bites you. You scream out a quick “Oh!” (お) because you’re startled and bitten.
Additional Info:
Then you say a more somber “oh…” because you realize what it means to be bitten by a cobra, especially this far away from a hospital. You like to run in the wilderness for some reason.
