Level 15-1 Flashcards
仏
Buddha
N/A
On’Yomi:
ぶつ
Kun’Yomi:
ほとけ
Meaning Mnemonic
You have a leader of a pile… or in this case, you have a leader that’s shaped like a pile. Do you know those little statues of Buddha that are sitting cross-legged on the ground, meditating? They kind of look like piles of something, neatly stacked up. So, the leader of piles is actually Buddha himself, because he sort of looks like a pile sitting there.
Additional Info:
Another way to remember this kanji meaning is by thinking of someone who claims to be the leader of a pile of arbitrary things. You ask him, “why are you the leader of this?” and he replies something abstract and thoughtful, like “because I am the leader of nothing, and something” … whatever the case may be, we know he’s Buddha because he can come up with neat sayings like that (but hopefully neater than mine).
Reading Mnemonic
Now you’re standing in front of Buddha. Everything looks good except… he’s wearing this absolutely ridiculous pair of boots (ぶつ).
Additional Info:
You’ll have to imagine the boots as being super strange… like, cowboy boots covered in pink feathers, or something like that. The stranger the better, because it will help you to remember the reading of this kanji, based off the meaning of this kanji.
信
Believe
trust
On’Yomi:
しん
Kun’Yomi:
しん
Meaning Mnemonic
You say to your leader, “Believe and trust in me, I’m responsible.” The leader doesn’t think you can handle your duties, so this is why you said this to him. You want him to believe and trust you. You can handle this task.
Additional Info:
Imagine yourself saying this to your leader. Say it out loud as you imagine saying it to a leader of some sort.
Reading Mnemonic
To show you are serious as you say, “Believe and trust in me, I’m responsible,” you kneel down on each shin (しん). You have shin splints, so it hurts a bit, but you do it anyway to show how serious you are.
Additional Info:
Picture yourself pleading with your leader to trust and believe in you. Imagine the hurt of your shins with the shin splints as you kneel. It hurts a lot, but it proves how serious you are.
列
Row
N/A
On’Yomi:
れつ, れ
Kun’Yomi:
None
Meaning Mnemonic
You’ve got yourself some bad ribs, I’m afraid. How many? Several in a row.
Additional Info:
Feel your bad ribs. They’re tender and bruised, and multiple of them are hurt in a row. Feeling the pain a bit will help you to remember this kanji’s meaning better too, so make sure you do that!
Reading Mnemonic
How’d you get these busted up ribs, all in a row? You were shot by someone with a ray beam. You remember it vividly. You were shopping, and someone busts in with a ray gun, shooting everywhere. As he’s firing, he keeps shouting “Let’s (れつ) Ray! (れ). Then, one ray hit you in the side, where it busted a row of ribs.
Additional Info:
Focus on the “let’s ray” part of this mnemonic. Make it a bit ridiculous the way he’s yelling it, several different ways.
区
District
ward
On’Yomi:
く
Kun’Yomi:
None
Meaning Mnemonic
The treasure is in a cage… that can only mean one thing - the treasure is in the zoo district of town!
Additional Info:
Hard part about memorizing this radical is that you have to focus in on the district part of the mnemonic, which doesn’t stand out as the other elements. Try to think of all the different districts a treasure in a cage could be located in… Think through all of them in your head, and narrow in on one particular district. Then, say the district name out loud, because that’s where you have to go.
Reading Mnemonic
What district do you want to go to? Obviously, the best district is the cool district.
Additional Info:
Imagine a district with all the coolest things in the world. What those things are depends on you, though. So, imagine these things, and feel like you’re in heaven. Coolest district evah’!
単
Simple
N/A
On’Yomi:
たん
Kun’Yomi:
None
Meaning Mnemonic
A witch doctor lives a simple life. A simple way of living is best for a witch doctor. The more simple their day to day life is, the more in tune with their witch doctor ways they are.
Additional Info:
See this witch doctor. He is dressed in simple clothes, has a simple home, and does simple things. Very simple he is.
Reading Mnemonic
This simple witch doctor spends a lot of time out in nature so he has developed a deep tan (たん). He tans easily, so it didn’t take long for him to develop a tan.
Additional Info:
Imagine the witch doctor again and how simple he is, only this time imagine him with a tan. He looks pretty good.
司
Director
N/A
On’Yomi:
し
Kun’Yomi:
None
Meaning Mnemonic
There’s a cloak over a mouth that’s on the ground. What happened here? Someone disolved, only leaving a few things behind (the mouth and cloak). You lift the cloak and find a badge, too. Turns out, it was the director of your company.
Additional Info:
Feel the surprise of this - you were just going to go talk to him and ask him something about work. What were you going to ask? What were you going to say to him when you saw him? Now it doesn’t matter… now it’s too late.
Reading Mnemonic
When we need to remember し we use “Sheen,” as in “Charlie Sheen.” - You wonder who could have done such a thing to your director. You look up and look at the people around you, searching for a guilty face. Then, your face comes on Charlie Sheen. He’s grinning wildly.
Additional Info:
Then, Sheen runs away, laughing hysterically. In your imagination, you should give chase, shouting his name the whole way.
坂
Slope
N/A
On’Yomi:
None
Kun’Yomi:
さか
Meaning Mnemonic
The devil’s grave is right before you. All that’s left is having to walk up this sharp slope to get there.
Additional Info:
Imagine how painful it is to climb up this steep slope. It’s long too… really long. Focus in on the slope / hill and think about how terrible this is. Your legs are burning and you feel like you’re going to collapse.
Reading Mnemonic
When you get to the top of the slope, you find something odd. A bunch of kids are playing soccer (さか), using the devil’s gravestone as a goal.
Additional Info:
Feel fear for the kids. You know that this is how you re-awaken the devil! You run over to stop the children from playing soccer, but it’s too late. The soccer-form of the devil has arisen, and a new soccer devil is born. “Want to play some soccer, kids?” he says, as he kicks their ball down the slope.
変
Change
strange
On’Yomi:
へん
Kun’Yomi:
か.*
Meaning Mnemonic
If the snow in winter was red instead of white, that’d be a strange change wouldn’t you say? White snow is normal, red would just be strange. Can you imagine what it would be like if the winter snow changed to the color of red?
Additional Info:
This strange change radical is a modified version of the red radical. Use that to remember it. It’s a strange change from the normal red radical.
Reading Mnemonic
You know what else is a strange thing to change? The color of a hen (へん). Hens are already red, so we’d change them to another color, like purple. That would be a pretty strange color for a hen, right?
Additional Info:
Imagine if hens were purple, or even other strange colors. It would be an unexpected change. Imagine this army of rainbow colored hens strutting around and clucking up a storm.
夫
Husband
N/A
On’Yomi:
ふう, ふ
Kun’Yomi:
おっと
Meaning Mnemonic
The husband radical and the husband kanji are the same. How useful, unlike some husbands, I’d imagine.
Additional Info:
Reading Mnemonic
To remember ふう, we use the word “fool.” - So, you have your husband… what are most husbands? They are fools (ふう). Also, more often than wives, husbands are caught fooling around, being cheaters. What fools.
Additional Info:
It’s pretty easy to associate husband and fools. Poor guys.
寺
Temple
N/A
On’Yomi:
None
Kun’Yomi:
てら
Meaning Mnemonic
The temple radical and the temple kanji are exactly the same! Brilliant.
Additional Info:
Reading Mnemonic
Someone died. You ask how this person died, the person who’s getting buried by the temple. The priest/monk says it was in a tragic terror (てら) attack.
Additional Info:
That’s too bad - feel sorry for the person and learn a little more about the terror attack, if it will help you to remember the reading of this kanji better.
岩
Boulder
N/A
On’Yomi:
None
Kun’Yomi:
いわ
Meaning Mnemonic
A mountain stone is probably going to be a really big stone. We’re talking about a boulder here.
Additional Info:
This kanji makes a lot of sense. Just follow the logic.
Reading Mnemonic
Although it doesn’t share the kanji, this boulder shares the reading of the first part of the famous “Iwajima” (where a big battle in WWII took place). Think of a big boulder. Now think of it plopped into the ocean to make an island. What island is it? It’s Iwajima (the historical spelling of Iwo Jima).
Additional Info:
Hopefully you know what / where Iwajima is. If not, do a quick history lesson to catch yourself up!
帰
Return
return home
On’Yomi:
き
Kun’Yomi:
かえ
Meaning Mnemonic
You have two face’s forehead with a wolverine attached to it and a couple of ribs off to the side. It’s obvious that he’s been beaten up really badly, and still has a wolverine chomping at him. After all this fighting, he realizes, he’s ready to return home.
Additional Info:
Who wouldn’t be ready to return home after such a beating? It’s all he wants. Imagine him on the ground with the wolverine on his forehead chewing away, and he reaches out to you asking you to help him to return home. “I just want to return home… please help me…”
Note that this kanji has to do with returning home, usually.
Reading Mnemonic
The best way for Two Face to return home is in a kayak (かえ). He’s right next to a river, so a kayak is definitely the way to go.
Additional Info:
Pretend you are Two Face, paddling down the river in your kayak to return home. Feel the breeze in your hair as you speed down the river, water spraying up onto your body.
建
Build
N/A
On’Yomi:
けん
Kun’Yomi:
た.*
Meaning Mnemonic
Big Bird, with a brush in hand, starts pounding in nails to build a new building on Sesame Street.
Additional Info:
Picture Big Bird working on this building. It’s hard going because he has to build a building with a brush. Go ahead and pick up a brush and help him out!
Reading Mnemonic
When Big Bird is all done, much to his surprise he has helped to build Sesame Street’s first Kentucky Fried Chicken. He looks in horror as men in suits grab him and pull him inside.
Additional Info:
Nobody on Sesame Street ever sees Big Bird again. Oscar the Grouch eats the leftovers thrown out. Cookie Monster just wants cookies.
式
Ritual
ceremony, equation
On’Yomi:
しき
Kun’Yomi:
しき
Meaning Mnemonic
To construct a whole ceremony, you can’t just make it up on the spot. That is not a ceremony. A ceremony has a past. A ceremony is done a certain way because that’s the way it’s always been done. In short, to build a ceremony, you have to create a ritual first. Then, the ritual can be constructed into a bigger, more lavish ceremony.
This kanji also means equation for some reason too. Just think of a ceremony that involves doing math and coming up with equations. How strange would that be? Pretend you’re at this ceremony.
Additional Info:
Ritual and Ceremony kind of mean the same things, sort of. Don’t worry too much if you mix them up a little - both will help you to remember the other. There’s a reason this kanji is made up of the ceremony radical already!
Reading Mnemonic
So, you’re at a ritual. Think of the most ridiculous ceremony you can think of. Give it a shot – I’ll let you come up with the ridiculousness this time (it’s good practice). When you think of your mnemonic, make sure to imagine it with a Sheikh (an Arabic leader). Have the sheikh do something ridiculous to help you to think of this sheikh (しき) and then remember this on’yomi.
Additional Info:
It’s good to practice making your own mnemonics up every once in a while. It’ll help you to add on to the mnemonics already here and make better ones more personal to yourself!
春
Spring
N/A
On’Yomi:
しゅん
Kun’Yomi:
はる
Meaning Mnemonic
The train is bringing the sun back to your part of the world. When the sun comes back, that means winter is over, and spring is about to begin!
Additional Info:
Imagine yourself waiting at the train station for the train to arrive with the sun. You and everyone else are really excited about it coming because it’s been a nasty winter.
Reading Mnemonic
When the sun finally arrives, springtime is here! You’re so happy. As the sun steps out of the train, you go to greet him. Like santa and his “ho ho ho,” the sun has his own laugh. He goes “Har (はる) har har” as he greets everyone in your town.
Additional Info:
Have everyone else greeting the sun also say “har har har” back, as if it’s some kind of ritual. Make sure you say it out loud as well while you’re imagining the sun giving you a fist bump.
