Wanikani Kanji Level 1 Flashcards
上
ABOVE
On’yomi じょう
Radical CombinationトToe 一 Ground
You find a toe on the ground. It’s weird, because it’s above the ground, not where toes belong.
This toe belongs to the local clumsy farmhand, Joe (じょう).
下
BELOW
On’yomI か (common reading)
げ (下 as げ. That’s the problem with really common kanji - too many readings)
Radical Combination
一Ground + トToe
You keep digging (looking for toe) and digging around it, but it’s huge. Turns out, you found yourself a car (か)
下
BELOW
Radical Combination
一Ground + トToe
On’yomI か (common reading) げ
(下 as げ. That’s the problem with really common kanji - too many readings)
You keep digging (looking for toe) and digging around it, but it’s huge. Turns out, you found yourself a car (か)
大
BIG
On’yomi たい, だい
Radical - The big radical and the big kanji are exactly the same!
There’s this big guy (that’s how you remember the radical, remember?), and he’s wearing a huge Tie Dye (たい, だい) shirt.
工
CONSTRUCTION, INDUSTRY
On’yomi こう, く
Radical - same
This kanji also means industry, which is what construction is, if you think about it. It’s all part of the construction industry.
Jaered Koichi Croes is the founder of Tofugu, LLC (we make Tofugu and WaniKani
Hint: When you see 工 in a kanji, it will often take the こう reading. Remember that, because it comes up quite a bit!
八
EIGHT
On’yomi はち
Radical Combination ハ Fins
This isn’t exactly the same as the fins radical, but it’s close. Sometimes this will happen (where we have to use a slightly “modified radical” version of the original), so it’s good to understand that now, early on. In this case, we have fins. How many fins? Eight fins.
After you count and smell all eight of your fins, it’s time to put them away. You open a large hatch (はち) and put them in. This is where you keep your fins, always putting in eight at a time because that’s what the boss wants.
入
ENTER
The kanji and the radical are the same
On’yomi にゅう
Turns out, after you enter the teepee (you’ll remember that the radical is a teepee with a big entrance to it), you’re given a new (にゅう) one! Now you have two teepees!
GT SAYS - 入力 nyu yoku = enter
山
MOUNTAIN
Mnemonic
The mountain radical and the mountain kanji are the same.
On’yomi さん
Think about mountains talking to each other, calling each other by their names and adding the Japanese name-ender san (さん) to each of their names. “Hello, Everest-san.” “Oh hi, Fuji-san.”
口
MOUTH
On’yomi こう, く
Anyways, remember that whenever you see こう, think こういち. (KOSHI the developer(
Everyone agrees, (こういち)’s mouth is his best feature. You stare at it lovingly as he whispers sweet kanji readings to you.
The mouth radical and the mouth kanji are exactly the same!
九
NINE
Radical Combination 九 - same
Readings On’yomi く, きゅう
Mnemonic
Although this kanji has two on’yomi to learn, the pronunciations of those two on’yomi are very similar, so that should make them easier to remember.
When you were nine your favorite foods were cookies (く) and cucumbers (きゅう). Yum yum!
一
ONE
On’yomi いち, いつ
Radical Combination
一 Ground
Mnemonic
Lying on the ground is something that looks just like the ground, the number One. Why is this One lying down? It’s been shot by the number two.
From the wound comes a fine powder (obviously coming from the special bullet used to kill One) that causes the person it touches to get extremely itchy (いち).
人
PERSON
Radical Combination 人 Person
On’yomi にん, じん
Mnemonic
Only one person at Nintendo (にん) complained about the new jeans (じん) policy, and that person was you.
力
POWER
Radical Combination 力 Power
On’yomi りょく, りき
Mnemonic
Who has the most power of anyone? It’s the Power Rangers. They are battling their arch enemy Ricky (りき). They defeat him and lock (りょく) him up, so that he can’t hurt anyone ever again.
GT sounds like yoku not lock
GT also calls power - chikara
川
River
Radical Combination 川 River
Readings
((On’yomi せん))
++ Kun’yomi かわ
Nanori None
Nanori None
Mnemonic
You’re standing next to a river that’s actually used as a car wash (かわ).
HINTS
Imagine standing by the river, watching all those cars floating by. They start off really dirty, but the river washes them all clean.
七
Seven
Radical Combination
七 Seven
On’yomiしち +++++
Kun’yomi なな, なの
Mnemonic
You know this kanji means Seven, so let’s use that to remember the reading too. Seven is a lucky number, usually, but this time it wasn’t so good.
Seven percent is all she got on her test after she cheated (しち) on it.
