Level 16-1

Question 1

係

Answer 1

Connection
N/A
On’Yomi:
けい
Kun’Yomi:
かか.わる

Meaning Mnemonic
A psychic leader can pick a thread up off the ground and make a connection with the person that it came from. This leader is very powerful, so even a thread is enough for them to make a psychic connection with the person who was wearing the thread.
Additional Info:
Imagine you are this leader and you just picked up this piece of thread from the ground. You get a jarring psychic connection with the owner of the thread. Your head spins, your heart races, and your hands tremble. Picture this happening to you as you pick up the thread from the ground.

Reading Mnemonic
As you develop this psychic connection with the owner of the thread, you can tell that he is currently eating a cake (けい). Since the connection is so strong, you feel like you are eating the cake as well. It’s vanilla strawberry.
Additional Info:
Because the connection is so strong, you feel like you too are eating the cake. You taste the fluffy and creamy vanilla strawberry flavors washing over your tongue. Imagine yourself eating this delectable cake. It’s fantastically delicious.

Question 2

保

Answer 2

Preserve
guarantee
On’Yomi:
ほ
Kun’Yomi:
たも.つ

Meaning Mnemonic
The mouth of a tree leader is all about trying to preserve the trees. In fact, he guarantees that he will preserve the trees if it’s the last thing he does.
Additional Info:
Basically, a tree leader is someone who stands up for trees. Mostly he talks, but that can be a powerful skill to have.

Reading Mnemonic
He chains himself to a tree to keep the lumberjacks out. Unfortunately, the lumberjacks just take a giant back hoe (ほ) and tear this tree leader and the tree he’s attached to in half.
Additional Info:
What a terrible scene. Focus on the fact that they’re using a horrible, modified back hoe. It’s more like a weapon than a back hoe, and they show no mercy at all.

Question 3

典

Answer 3

Rule
N/A
On’Yomi:
てん
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
If you play music with your fins, one rule is that you must be a fish. You can’t play music using fish fins that don’t belong to you. That’s the rule. And it’s also rude.
Additional Info:
Imagine a fish playing music using his fins. What kind of a song is it? Imagine it in your head as you see a sign with the fish fin rule on it.

Reading Mnemonic
There’s also a rule in place to limit the amount of fish fin musicians. No more than ten (てん) are allowed to gather and play their music together. That’s the rule. No more than ten.
Additional Info:
Picture a group of ten (as per the rule) fish playing music with their fins. Now the song can be louder and more intricate. Imagine it playing in your head.

Question 4

冒

Answer 4

Dare
N/A
On’Yomi:
ぼう
Kun’Yomi:
おか.す

Meaning Mnemonic
When the sun gets in your eye, I dare you to stare at it. I dare you to look right at the sun. I dare you.
Additional Info:
Looking at the sun straight on hurts. It’s bad for your eyes and burns your brain. Imagine how painful it is to stare at the sun.

Reading Mnemonic
After you’ve blinded yourself from the dare of looking at the sun and losing sight in each eye, the guy dares you to go bowling (ぼう). You’re blind now, so bowling will be quite the challenge.
Additional Info:
Picture yourself bowling without the power of sight. It would be awfully difficult to do well. You’d just have to concentrate really hard on the sound of the pins and determine where you need to throw the ball.

Question 5

冗

Answer 5

Superfluous
unnecessary, uselessness
On’Yomi:
じょう
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
You just had your forehead smashed into the table for being superfluous. You know you aren’t supposed to say unnecessary things but you did it anyway. It really hurts, but you deserved it. There’s even a mark in the table where your head hit it. Ouch.
Additional Info:
Imagine how much it would hurt to have your forehead slammed into a table. A lot. It would hurt a lot. Now imagine the pain on your head too. Think about the lesson you learned… don’t be superfluous.

Reading Mnemonic
The person who smashed your forehead into the table was none other than Joseph (じょう) Stalin. Joe here hates people who are superfluous. You’re lucky Joe didn’t kill you.
Additional Info:
Imagine the pain and emotional distress from having your forehead bashed into a table. You can’t just let it slide, so you harbor a grudge against Joseph Stalin for the rest of your life. Get really, really angry at Joe.

Question 6

危

Answer 6

Dangerous
N/A
On’Yomi:
き
Kun’Yomi:
あぶ.ない

Meaning Mnemonic
Keeping a snake in an enclosure by a cliff is both dangerous for you as well as the snake. It’s dangerous for you because the snake is incredibly poisonous, and it is dangerous to the snake because the enclosure isn’t very secure and the snake might fall down off the cliff to its demise.
Additional Info:
Imagine this cliff with the enclosed snake. The cliff itself was scary enough because it’s quite steep and dangerous. The danger is further compounded by the shoddily enclosed dangerous snake. It’s a scary place to be.

Reading Mnemonic
The enclosure that the dangerous snake is enclosed in is locked with a key (き). Unfortunately, the key has been lost, so the enclosure is no longer as secure as it used to be.
Additional Info:
How could someone lose the key to such an important lock? They should probably have a new key made before that dangerous snake decides to escape its enclosure. Imagine how frightened you would be knowing that there was an incredibly dangerous and venomous snake on the loose.

Question 7

取

Answer 7

Take
N/A
On’Yomi:
しゅ
Kun’Yomi:
と

Meaning Mnemonic
There’s an ear just sitting on a stool. Nobody’s watching, so, you just take it.
Additional Info:
Feel the rush of stealing something (even though it’s a weird something, admittedly). Start walking away quickly. You don’t want to get caught!

Reading Mnemonic
You see a security guard heading straight towards you. Your heart begins to beat faster. You have to hide the ear you took. You’re not wearing any shoes, so you stick it onto your toe (と).
Additional Info:
Feel it stuck onto your toe. Can you hear anything with it? How does it feel there?

Question 8

品

Answer 8

Product
article, goods, products
On’Yomi:
ひん
Kun’Yomi:
しな

Meaning Mnemonic
The products radical and the product kanji are exactly the same! Productive!
Additional Info:

Reading Mnemonic
As you try to sell these products, you finally get a buyer. It’s a Hindu (ひん). She walks in and buys your products on the spot!
Additional Info:
Then another Hindu person walks in your store and buys some. Then another… What are all these Hindu people doing buying your products, you wonder? When you ask them, they tell you “it’s a cultural thing.”

Question 9

喜

Answer 9

Rejoice
delighted, pleased, happy
On’Yomi:
き
Kun’Yomi:
よろこ

Meaning Mnemonic
If beans cross your mouth, you’ll surely rejoice. Beans taste great when you eat them with your mouth and once they cross the threshold of your lips. Rejoice! The beans have arrived.
Additional Info:
If you like beans, great – if you don’t, pretend that you do. Imagine how joyful you become when eating beans and feel the happiness and rejoicefulness you get when eating these beans with your mouth.

Reading Mnemonic
But really, if you don’t like beans – yo’ loko (よろこ). (Loko means “crazy” in Spanish. You loko! (crazy)). You must be crazy to not rejoice in the glory that is beans. They so good yo’ loko if you don’t like beans. You crazy.
Additional Info:
Okay, so yo’ loko might be stretching it a bit here but just imagine someone with a Spanish accent tell you how crazy you are for not liking beans. Yo’ loko, son!

Question 10

存

Answer 10

Suppose
N/A
On’Yomi:
そん, ぞん
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
If a narwhal manages to stick a child with its horn, I suppose that narwhal is going to jail. Even a narwhal is not safe from the long arm of the law. If you stick a child with something pointy, that child is going to die. That’s called murder. I suppose this narwhal is going to the big house.
Additional Info:
Imagine this murder happening. The narwhal flies out of the water gloriously, water splashes onto your face in a fabulous mist and before you know it the child next to you has been stuck by the narwhal. He is dying.

Reading Mnemonic
The child getting stabbed is your son (そん). You can’t believe this is happening. For some reason, you thought it would be safe to walk into the Narwhal Danger Zone (ぞん). Obviously, it wasn’t, and the narwhal was waiting.
Additional Info:
Of course, this is traumatic. Feel the trauma and imagine this happening to your son. I suppose it was a bad idea to stand in the danger zone.

Question 11

守

Answer 11

Protect
N/A
On’Yomi:
す, しゅ
Kun’Yomi:
まも.る

Meaning Mnemonic
You have to get the measurement of the helmet to make it fit your head. If it doesn’t fit properly, it can’t protect you properly.
Additional Info:
Alternately, you can just put a measured helmet on, and go to battle, using it to protect you from all the enemies. Even better, imagine yourself naked except the helmet you have on. It’s your only protection.

Reading Mnemonic
The helmet you got for your head, though, did not protect. Imagine getting hit, and it splitting in half. In half a daze, the first thing you think is that you’re going to sue (す) the helmet company for their shoddy helmets.
Additional Info:
Go ahead and imagine yourself in court, actually suing the helmet company. Listen to the proceedings, listen to the judge, and get a verdict. How did you fare? Did you get a lot of money for suing the helmet company, which was supposed to protect you?

Question 12

専

Answer 12

Specialty
N/A
On’Yomi:
せん
Kun’Yomi:
もっぱ.ら

Meaning Mnemonic
Applying a measurement to a cross and sticking it in the ground of a rice paddy has become your specialty. You’ve been practicing measurements on crosses and sticking them into rice paddies all your life and you’ve become quite well known for your rice paddy cross measurement abilities. You’re famous.
Additional Info:
Visualize this skill being your specialty. Over the years you’ve gotten many splinters from the work. Imagine having tons of splinters in your hands. Such is the price one pays for specialized perfection.

Reading Mnemonic
Hearing of your amazing specialty and cross measurement abilities, a centaur (せん) from a far off land recruits you for a job. The centaur’s father has just passed away and the centaur wants you to measure out a cross in his rice paddy as part of the funeral ceremony.
Additional Info:
Picture yourself at a centaur funeral. Tons of centaurs standing around and stamping their hooves as you make your measurement and stick a cross into the ground.

Question 13

幸

Answer 13

Happiness
N/A
On’Yomi:
こう
Kun’Yomi:
しあわ.せ

Meaning Mnemonic
Your best friend こういち has a lid on his head after eating all the spicy food and now he is filled with happiness. The lid is on こういち’s head because he ate all the spicy food out of the pot headfirst, so the lid ended up atop his noggin. But now that all the food is gone, こういち is filled with happiness because his tummy is full and he really loves spicy foods.
Additional Info:
Imagine こういち’s happiness. See him sitting on the floor with a dumb grin on his face, licking his chops after his satisfying meal.

Reading Mnemonic
Who is overflowing with happiness? It’s こういち. こういち has tons of happiness because he ate all the spicy food and it was magnificent.
Additional Info:
こういち likes spicy foods. Imagine him eating the spiciest food in the world, ever. こういち’s face looks so joyful, so full of happiness.

Question 14

弁

Answer 14

Dialect
speech
On’Yomi:
べん
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
In a pile of twenty dialects, speech will be difficult. There’s twenty dialects you have to deal with here. A massive pile of dialects, so many accents and styles of speech. You’re going to have a hard time getting everyone to understand you and understand everyone in return.
Additional Info:
Imagine trying to talk to twenty different people with twenty different dialects of your native language. Imagine what all of them sound like as you talk to them and how you must alter your own speech to accommodate.

Reading Mnemonic
With all these dialects about, coherent speech is impossible. You decide to give up on it and just hand out bento (べん) boxes to everyone. Bentos make for a lovely lunch, and everyone loves and enjoys eating bentos. Bento boxes to the rescue!
Additional Info:
Imagine eating a whole pile of bento boxes. What’s your favorite part of a bento? Imagine eating so much of it that you aren’t even capable of speech anymore. Taste the tasty bento box food in your mouth.

Question 15

急

Answer 15

Hurry
N/A
On’Yomi:
きゅう
Kun’Yomi:
いそ.ぐ

Meaning Mnemonic
Wolverine’s heart enclosure is failing – hurry, we need to fix it! He’s been stabbed and his adamantium heart enclosure is falling apart. We need to repair it with more adamantium. Hurry! There isn’t much time.
Additional Info:
Hearts are important to everyone. Imagine if your heart was failing on you. It wouldn’t be pleasant. Would you want everyone to dawdle and putter around when they were fixing you up? No! You want them to hurry!

Reading Mnemonic
As Wolverine struggles to stay alive, he starts to hallucinate. What does he see? Cute (きゅう) rabbits. They’re the cutest rabbits anyone has ever seen ever. Is this normal for Wolverine? No. He’s seriously messed up. We need to hurry and get his adamantium fixed, like, pronto.
Additional Info:
How ridiculous would Wolverine be, fantasizing about cute rabbits. Imagine knowing his cute rabbit secret. Doesn’t seem like such a tough guy anymore, now does he?

Question 16

政

Answer 16

Politics
government
On’Yomi:
せい
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
That’s correct, winter is the time for government and politics. Elections start to creep up around winter time, so there’s lots of politics and government to talk about. That’s correct.
Additional Info:
Imagine all this politics and government talk as you shiver outside in the winter cold. You’re freezing and you’re bored.

Reading Mnemonic
Just when you thought politics and government talk couldn’t get any less interesting, Hard Gay busts out from nowhere shouting, “Sei (せい), sei, sei!” Hooray, life is interesting again. Thanks, Hard Gay! Sei, sei, sei!
Additional Info:
Imagine how much more interesting government talk and politics would be if Hard Gay was involved. Just picture it.

Question 17

曜

Answer 17

Weekday
day of the week
On’Yomi:
よう
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
As the sun rises over the hills, the ferocious wolverine stalks a turkey on a weekday morning. The wolverine hunts turkeys for a living, but on the weekends, he likes to play racquetball at the local gym. That’s why the turkey is getting hunted on a weekday.
Additional Info:
You’ve probably seen those nature shows like on National Geographic. Think back to one of those shows where the hunter stalks its prey and leaps out in slow motion to do the murder. Now imagine this scene with the wolverine leaping out at the turkey. The wolverine howls a bloodcurdling shriek as the turkey lurches in agony, feathers flying everywhere as the wolverine sinks its teeth into flesh.

Reading Mnemonic
This wolverine has a strange palate, however. It likes to turn its turkey into turkey yogurt (よう). After the hunt every weekday, the wolverine spends the evening turning the turkey meat into a strange, thick and chunky, turkey yogurt.
Additional Info:
Imagine eating this turkey yogurt. It tastes pretty much exactly how you would expect. Chunks of turkey meat mixed with thick and creamy yogurt. It tastes like mushy Thanksgiving. Imagine eating this every day of the week.

Question 18

書

Answer 18

Write
writing
On’Yomi:
しょ
Kun’Yomi:
か.く

Meaning Mnemonic
Why would you try to take a brush to the sun? It’s almost too obvious, because you want to write something down.
Additional Info:
Just imagine yourself sitting on the sun, writing back to your friends and family with a brush. For someone who can visit the sun, it’s really weird that you are writing with a brush like this, but you’re doing it just the same.

Reading Mnemonic
What did you write about? You were writing about this amazing circus show (しょ)you just watched on the sun. You didn’t expect there to be any shows here, but turns out you were wrong!
Additional Info:
Think of your favorite live shows and imagine them on the sun. Also imagine yourself writing back to your friends and family about said shows.

Question 19

治

Answer 19

Cure
heal
On’Yomi:
じ, ち
Kun’Yomi:
なお.す, なお.る

Meaning Mnemonic
Taking a pile of tsunami water to the mouth is an old Japanese remedy to cure insomnia. Japan gets piles and piles of tsunamis and the best way to drink water is with your mouth. Drinking a whole lot of it will cure your sleeplessness.
Additional Info:
Imagine yourself not being able to sleep and you need something to cure it. So you take a face full of tsunami water. You’re cured! Feel the tsunami getting your face all wet as you try and drink as much as you can.

Reading Mnemonic
Alternative ways to cure insomnia are either praying to Jesus (じ) or eating your weight in cheese (ち). For a surefire way to cure it, eat your weight in cheese, drink a tsunami, and pray to Jesus.
Additional Info:
Imagine being so desperate for a cure that you do all these things. Taste the taste of cheese in your mouth as you pray to Jesus for sleep.

Question 20

浴

Answer 20

Bathe
N/A
On’Yomi:
よく
Kun’Yomi:
あ

Meaning Mnemonic
A tsunami hits a valley, filling it up with water. Lucky for you, you’re a giant, so you just lay down in the valley and use it to bathe.
Additional Info:
Sure, there’s a lot of water in the valley, but you’re big too. It’s the perfect place for you to bathe… and good thing too, you’re getting smelly.

Reading Mnemonic
Of course, people live around here. When you lay down in the valley of water to bathe, you’re raising the water level in the valley even more, crushing people and houses. When you do this they all scream AHHHHH (あ)!
Additional Info:
It’s not so peaceful anymore. It’s just one constant scream of AHHHH while you try to bathe. Imagine this irritating you. Your bath is ruined by these dumb little people.

Question 21

留

Answer 21

Detain
N/A
On’Yomi:
る, りゅう
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
If you swing your sword around in a rice paddy and create a pile of dead bodies, a group of police officers will come and detain you. Murdering people with a sword is bad, especially in a rice paddy. The pile you’ve created is a bit off though, the murdered bodies are all mechanically altered cyborgs (because the radical for pile in this kanji is altered a bit). But yeah, you’re going to get detained for sure.
Additional Info:
Imagine yourself swinging this sword around in a murderous fashion. You’ve created a pile of dead bodies. How do you feel?

Reading Mnemonic
You’re Ryu (りゅう) from Street Fighter and you thought you’d found a loophole (る) in the system to avoid getting detained. You figured if you murdered cyborgs and not actual people you wouldn’t get in trouble. Well, it’s not a loophole, Ryu. You’re getting detained.
Additional Info:
Imagine yourself as Ryu. Ryu with a sword. You’re chopping to your right and shooting hadokens to your left. Awesome.

Question 22

真

Answer 22

Reality
N/A
On’Yomi:
しん
Kun’Yomi:
まっ

Meaning Mnemonic
If a pope spends all day calculating pi, he’s going to lose touch with reality. He should be focusing on his popish duties, but instead he is doing maths. Silly pope! Calculating pi isn’t your job! Looks like somebody needs a reality check.
Additional Info:
Picture yourself manually calculating pi. You’d probably give yourself a headache right? Imagine concentrating so hard on calculating pi that your head starts to hurt. In reality, math is hard, especially for popes.

Reading Mnemonic
The pope started out using his fingers and toes to keep track of pi digits, but there were too many so he started using the many hairs on his shins (しん). Yeah, it’s kind of weird, but the pope has hairy shins. In reality, it’s pretty useful in this case.
Additional Info:
Imagine the pope sitting down, his pope robe hiked up with his shins exposed, counting the hairs on his shins to help calculate pi. He looks ridiculous! He’s totally lost touch with reality. Laugh at him! Point and laugh!

Question 23

笑

Answer 23

Laugh
N/A
On’Yomi:
しょう
Kun’Yomi:
わら

Meaning Mnemonic
Bamboo heaven is a place for laughing. Bamboo is a very jolly plant, and they love to laugh. Even after death in bamboo heaven, the bamboo continue to laugh joyfully. Bamboo heaven is truly a place of laughter.
Additional Info:
Imagine yourself as a bamboo plant, laughing in heaven. What are you laughing about? Chuckle to yourself as you remember this kanji.

Reading Mnemonic
There’s actually a war a goin’ on up in that there bamboo heaven, y’know? Ye might not have heard of it with all that there laughin’ a goin’ on, but there definitely be a war a (わら) goin’ on up in bamboo heaven, y’hear? The bamboo are scared so that’s why they be laughin’ so much. They nervous.
Additional Info:
Now picture these bamboo again up in bamboo heaven, and remember this strange accent to remember that the bamboo plants up in bamboo heaven are laughing with nervous laughter at this bamboo war that’s a goin’ on up there.

Question 24

箱

Answer 24

Box
N/A
On’Yomi:
None
Kun’Yomi:
はこ

Meaning Mnemonic
Having a keen eye for woodworking, you can tell that the bamboo from that tree over there will make an excellent box. Boxes made from bamboo trees are very sturdy and fashionable. You have an eye for fashion as well, you see.
Additional Info:
At some point in school, you most likely had some sort of woodshop class to take. Remember back to those times and imagine yourself crafting a bamboo box out of a bamboo tree you felled yourself. Don’t forget to wear eye protection though! Wouldn’t want anything to happen to those valuable eyes of yours.

Reading Mnemonic
While working on building this box, you’ve managed to inhale a lot of woodchips. As a result, after the box is finished, you hack (はこ) up a ball of woodchips, much like a cat would hack up a furball. Gross.
Additional Info:
Imagine how awful hacking up woodchips would be. You’d get splinters and scrapes all along your throat and the inside of you mouth. It would be very painful. Imagine that pain.

Question 25

荷

Answer 25

Luggage
N/A
On’Yomi:
か
Kun’Yomi:
に

Meaning Mnemonic
The lip ring wearing leader of the Flowers Gang does not carry his own luggage anywhere. He is so powerful, respected, and feared that people always carry his luggage for him wherever he goes. You might not think a leader of a gang called the Flowers would be intimidating, but he is.
Additional Info:
Picture this lip ring wearing gang leader. He’s clad in studded leather and has a big flower embroidered onto the back of his jacket. It’s a big thorny rose. Imagine him in your head, hear the sound of his leather outfit as he strides along unencumbered by luggage.

Reading Mnemonic
Remember that giant thorny rose on the lip wearing leader’s back? The thorns coming out of it are real, and they’re as sharp as needles (に). You wouldn’t want to prick your finger on them. They’re super pointy and he uses them to defend his luggage.
Additional Info:
Imagine how much it hurts to get pricked by a needle, especially on your finger. Picture this happening to you now. Not comfortable, is it?

Question 26

証

Answer 26

Evidence
proof
On’Yomi:
しょう
Kun’Yomi:
あかし

Meaning Mnemonic
What I say is correct 100%. You may use it as evidence in this murder case.
Additional Info:
Picture yourself saying something. You’re solving the crime. What you say is the evidence itself because you know everything.

Reading Mnemonic
You give up the evidence to the detectives. Then, to top it off you take them to the culprit, the shogun (しょう) who confesses his crime as proof that what you say is true.
Additional Info:
Listen to the shogun blubbering away as he confesses his crimes. He can’t deny what he’s done!

Question 27

辞

Answer 27

Quit
N/A
On’Yomi:
じ
Kun’Yomi:
や.める

Meaning Mnemonic
When your tongue becomes too spicy for you to bear, it’s time to quit the jalapeno eating contest. You’ve been eating them for three hours now and the spiciness from the peppers is really burning your tongue. Throw in the towel, it’s time to quit the contest.
Additional Info:
Imagine eating these hot peppers. Your mouth is on fire. Your tongue is burning up. It’s so spicy. Taste the spice on your tongue. It’s too much to bear. You must quit this contest.

Reading Mnemonic
There’s only one contestant left who hasn’t quit. It’s Jesus (じ)! Jesus is impervious to spiciness on the tongue. So talented, this Jesus fellow.
Additional Info:
Picture Jesus scarfing down jalapeno peppers. Watch him as he eats them in all their spiciness. Jesus doesn’t quit when things get spicy, and neither should you.

Question 28

遠

Answer 28

Far
N/A
On’Yomi:
えん
Kun’Yomi:
とお

Meaning Mnemonic
Why’d you put the zombie on the water slide? Because you want to send it far away from you.
Additional Info:
Watch it slide off into the distance. It’s a HUGE water slide, so it goes really far.

Reading Mnemonic
I mean, REALLY far away. TOO (とお) far even. It’s too far, so far that the water slide loops back around the entire world and he lands right back next to you again.
Additional Info:
That really is too far, isn’t it? A shorter water slide would have been better, methinks. Oops, no more time to think, the zombie is trying to eat you. Run!

Question 29

門

Answer 29

Gates
gate
On’Yomi:
もん
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
The radical for gate and the kanji for gates are the same!
Additional Info:
Know your radicals or you won’t be allowed to pass.

Reading Mnemonic
You’re standing in front of some gates. You can’t get through them, but on the other side you hear all kinds of loud moans (もん). Are those zombie noises? Is this gate to keep the zombies out, or in?
Additional Info:
They start pounding on the gate, and it begins to budge. Focus in on their moaning noises, because that’s the reading of this kanji, but also feel the fear as well. When you start moaning too, it seems to calm them. Go ahead and pretend you’re in front of this gate, and moan out loud for me a bit. Uwhhhhhh. Muhehwhhhhhhh.

Question 30

関

Answer 30

Related
connected
On’Yomi:
かん
Kun’Yomi:
None

Meaning Mnemonic
The gate of heaven goes hand in hand with the notion of heaven, but horns are not connected or related to the aspect of heaven at all. Horns are more connected to that other place down below. Definitely not related to the gate of heaven at all.
Additional Info:
Imagine you have horns and you’re standing at the gate of heaven. This isn’t the place for you, what are you doing here? Imagine the scorn the gatekeeper has for you and your horns. You don’t belong!

Reading Mnemonic
The gatekeeper of heaven shouts that you are not related or connected to heaven in any way shape or form. He then goes on to throw a can (かん) right at your horned head. A can! How rude of this gatekeeper, throwing cans at people.
Additional Info:
Imagine being hit in the head with a can. It’d sure smart, regardless of whether or not you have horns. Imagine taking a can to the noggin as you’re chased from the gate of heaven.

Question 31

阪

Answer 31

Heights
slope
On’Yomi:
はん
Kun’Yomi:
さか

Meaning Mnemonic
A devil butcher who is afraid of heights will be sure to stay away from steep downward slopes. This particular devil has chosen butchery as a profession, because he’s too scared to stand around and maintain the pit of hell. Heights scare the devil butcher, and the slope down to hell is a steep one. Very scary.
Additional Info:
Imagine you are this butcher devil who is very afraid of heights. You’re standing on a very steep slope and the drop is terrifying. Imagine your terror as you fear falling from this great height.

Reading Mnemonic
You know who isn’t scared of any sort of heights or steep slopes? Han (はん) Solo, that’s who. Han Solo may be a handsome devil, but he’s no wussy devil butcher who’s afraid of heights. Han Solo is a manly man.
Additional Info:
Imagine you are Han Solo. You fly around the galaxy and do all sorts of crazy things up in the sky so heights don’t bother you at all. You are Han Solo and you are very brave.