Level 4 Flashcards
百
Hundred
ON
ひゃく
meaning:
First, you gotta ask “why is this leaf growing out of the sun? The only possibility is if the sun cools down dramatically (that’s bad for us), so imagine that happening. The sun has gotten down to a very low hundred degrees Fahrenheit, cold enough for trees to grow on it.
reading:
You come across a computer terminal as you’re walking around the one hundred degree sun. You see on the screen a message asking “Would you like to hack (ひゃく) the sun into being warm again?” You hit the yes button, and a bunch of numbers fly across, processing something. Suddenly, the sun gets hotter and hotter, and you have to escape.
申
say humbly
Kun’yomi
もう
meaning:
There’s a cross in your mouth, so the things you say are very pious. Everything you say you say humbly.
reading:
When you think of saying humble things, think of the humblest man in the world. His name is Moe (もう).
男
man
On’yomi
だん
Kun’yomi
おとこ
reading:
Who da man? Dan’s (だん) the man.
先
previous
On’yomi
せん
Kun’yomi
さき, まず
meaning:
You’re about to go down a grave slide. This time you won’t make the same mistake you made with the previous grave slide you tried. In the previous slide, you went down so fast your legs got stuck in the grave. You could feel the bones and rotting flesh touching your shoe-less feet. That previous grave-slide was faulty.
reading:
To remember せん we use the word centaur.
At the bottom of the previous grave slide, there was also a centaur as well. He started slapping you around with his hooves as your legs are stuck in the ground, and all you can do is take the beating.
央
Central
ON:
おう
reading:
If you look at his head harder, you’ll notice that his head is shaped like a huge letter “O.”
去
past
On’yomi
きょ, こ
reading:
To remember the reading きょ, we’ll use “Little Kyoto”. This will differentiate きょ from きょう, which is regular sized Kyoto. Get it? Okay, so all these tombstones from the past are located in Little Kyoto (きょ). Each grave pile represents a Japanese immigrant that came to Little Kyoto and died :(
Alternatively, the reading can be こ as well. Just like Little Kyoto is a little Kyoto, it is also a child kyoto, like a 子 Kyoto, making it こ as well.
町
town
On’yomi
ちょう
Kun’yomi
まち
meaning:
The rice paddy is full of nails. That sucks. Why is the rice field full of nails? It’s part of a town that’s known for making nails, and they dump their nails in the rice field (because rice is worth nothing to this town).
reading:
Do you remember the kanji 丁? The on’yomi is also ちょう, and the kanji means “street.” The mnemonic for that one had to do with Mrs. Chou who was scattering nails all over the street. Oh, and guess what town that street is in? So who does that mean lives here? Yeah, it’s Mrs. Chou (ちょう).
氷
Ice
On’yomi
ひょう
Kun’yomi
こおり
meaning:
You have water already… and it’s pretty cold. All it takes is one cold drop of liquid nitrogen added to it to turn it into one big block of ice, just like that.
reading:
When you think of ice, I want you to think of someone frozen with ice. Do you know anyone named Corey (こおり)? Anyone famous named Corey, perhaps Corey Feldman? Imagine this Corey person frozen solid with ice.
号
number
On’yomi
ごう
reading:
When remembering the reading ごう, we use “Grandpa Koichi.” こう is こういち, so ごう is ごういち, aka “Grandpa Koichi” (ごう). So to help you figure out thesenumbers, you go and contact ごういち because he is so old and wise.
名
name
On’yomi
めい, みょう
Kun’yomi
な
meaning:
“What is the evening mouth? Imagine a mouth that’s up in the night sky. It’s just there, talking, and only comes out at night. It only appears in one area of the world (what area would you choose? Imagine yourself going to that place to see the “night mouth.”), and appears only one month out of the year (more on this in a second). The “evening mouth” is the most famous thing in the _____ area (this is the area you choose). He’s so famous that everybody knows his name (“Evening Mouth.”).
reading:
So, when does “Evening Mouth” appear? Turns out, “Evening Mouth” only comes out to talk in May (めい). You know this because it’s just starting to be spring, and when you look around (you’re watching “Evening Mouth” again) you see some spring flowers come up.
竹
bamboo
KUN:
たけ
reading:
There’s a little bamboo shrub sitting there, holding onto a lollipop. Because you’re bigger than the bamboo shrub, you just take (たけ) it from the bamboo, causing it to cry.
年
Year ねん
車
car
ON:
しゃ
reading:
When we need to remember the reading しゃ, we use “shaman”.
There’s a car. It’s the nicest car you’ve ever seen. Exquisite, beautiful. Wouldn’t you be surprised to learn it belongs to a shaman (しゃ)? Well it does. This shaman charges a premium for his shaman services so he can afford fancy cars like this.
写
copy
ON:
しゃ
KUN:
うつ.す, うつ.る
reading:
You finally decide on how you’re going to copy him. You hire a shaman (しゃ) and have the shaman perform a sacred shaman cloning ritual.
仕
doing
ON:
し
reading:
When remembering the reading し we use Charlie “Sheen.” - You go to visit the leader samurai who’s known for doing rather than waiting. You walk into his room, and he’s facing away from you. When he turns to face you, it’s Charlie Sheen (し) sitting there. He’s the samurai leader… what the!
