Let's Learn Japanese!

For a fun and educational activity, I thought I'd teach a bit of Japanese. Namely, I will be teaching the Chinese characters, or kanji as they are called in Japanese.

But first, an intro in the writing of kanji.

Rule 1: Every kanji should be the same size and balanced within a square.

Rule 2: Follow the basic stroke order.

• Write from left to right
  
• Write downward
  
• Draw strokes from the top to the bottom:
  

• Draw strokes from the left to the right:
  

• Draw a square in the following way:
  

• When there is a figure in the square, the line which closes the square is drawn last:
  

• When a stroke line passes through a square, draw that stroke last:
  

Rule 3: There are three basic ways to end a stroke: stop, stretch, and hook.

Other good things to know:
1. There are two types of readings for a kanji, the Japanese and Chinese readings. Japanese is mostly used when the kanji is used in a word without other kanji. Chinese readings are mostly used when two or more kanji are combined.

2. The way I'm writing the English translations (romaji), "ou" is a long "o" sound.

3. In romaji, two of a consonant beside a nasal (n or m) means the first one is pronounced as a short silence. In the kana, it is written as the small "tsu" character.

4. Pronunciation for the vowels: "i" as in "feet", "e" as in "set", "a" as in what the dentist tells you "say aaaah", "o" as in "ooooh my gosh!", and "u" as in "you" but unrounded (make more of a smiley lip instead of pursed like a kiss)

So, let's try a kanji!

日

いみ/meaning: sun ; day
くんよみ/Japanese reading: ひ/-び　[hi/-bi] , か [ka]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ニチ/ニ　[nichi/ni] , (ジッ) ([ji])   <- rare reading
かくすう/stroke count: 4

Example words:
日（ひ）[hi] the sun, a day
３日　（みっ・か）　[mik・ka] the 3rd day
日曜日　（にち・よう・び）　[nichi・you・bi] Sunday
日本　（に・ほん/にっ・ぽん）　[ni・hon/nip・pon] Japan

月

いみ/meaning: moon ; month
くんよみ/Japanese reading: つき　[tsuki]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ゲツ　[getsu] , ガツ [gatsu]
かくすう/stroke count: 4

Example words:
月　（つき） [tsuki] the moon, a month
１か月　（いっ・か・げつ）[ik・ka・getsu] one month
月曜日　（げつ・よう・び） [getsu・you・bi] Monday
１月 （いち・がつ）　[ichi・gatsu] January

Note that stroke 2 is a hook (the first we've seen so far!). The hook part of the stroke should face the start of the next stroke.

木

いみ/meaning: tree
くんよみ/Japanese reading: き　[ki]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: モク　[moku]
かくすう/stroke count: 4

Example words:
木　（き） [ki] a tree
木村　（き・むら） [ki・mura] Kimura (a Japanese surname)
木曜日　（もく・よう・び） [moku・you・bi] Thursday

山

いみ/meaning: mountain
くんよみ/Japanese reading: やま　[yama]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: サン/-ザン　[san/-zan]
かくすう/stroke count: 3

Example words:
山　（やま）　[yama] a mountain
山下　（やま・した） [yama・shita] Yamashita (a Japanese surname)
富士山　（ふ・じ・さん） [fu・ji・san] Mt. Fuji
火山　（か・ざん）　[ka・zan] a volcano

Note: Any mountain name "X" + "san" = Mt. X

川

いみ/meaning: river
くんよみ/Japanese reading: かわ/-がわ　[kawa/-gawa]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ---
かくすう/stroke count: 3


Example words:
川　（かわ）　[kawa] a river
ナイル川　（ないる・がわ）　[nairu・gawa] the Nile River
小川　（お・がわ）　[o・gawa] a brook, a stream

田

いみ/meaning: rice field
くんよみ/Japanese reading: た/-だ　[ta/-da]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: デン　[den]
かくすう/stroke count: 5

Example words:
田　（た）　[ta] a rice field
田中 （た・なか）　[ta・naka] Tanaka (a Japanese surname)
山田　（やま・だ）　[yama・da] Yamada (a Japanese surname)
水田　（すい・でん）　[sui・den] a rice field

Note: We have our first example word that combines 2 kanji we have learned! 山 and 田!

人

いみ/meaning: man ; person
くんよみ/Japanese reading: ひと　[hito]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ジン　[jin] , ニン [nin]
かくすう/stroke count: 2

人　（ひと）　[hito] a man, a person
１人　（ひと・り） [hito・ri] one person   (note the irregular pronunciation of 人)
日本人　（に・ほん・じん） [ni・hon・jin] A Japanese person
３人　（さん・にん）　[san・nin] three people

Note 1: any country name + jin means a person from that country. So フランス人　[furansujin] is a person from France ("Furansu" in Japanese)
Note 2: the typed version of this character looks different from the handwritten version, oddly. The off-centered one is the proper way of writing it. There is a Japanese saying that this character is written this way because people need to lean on and rely upon each other.

口

いみ/meaning: mouth
くんよみ/Japanese reading: くち/-ぐち　[kuchi/-guchi]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: コウ　[kou]
かくすう/stroke count: 3

Example words:
口　（くち）　[kuchi] a mouth
入口　（いり・ぐち）　[iri・guchi] an entrance
出口　（で・ぐち）　[de・guchi] an exit
人口　（じん・こう）　[jin・kou] population

Note: 入　and 人　are different characters. We have not learned 入 yet.

車

いみ/meaning: car
くんよみ/Japanese reading: くるま　[kuruma]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: シャ　[sha]
かくすう/stroke count: 7

Example words:
車　（くるま）　[kuruma] a car
電車　（でん・しゃ）　[den・sha]　a train
自動車　（じ・どう・しゃ）　[ji・dou・sha] a car, an automobile
自転車 (じ・てん・しゃ）　[ji・ten・sha] a bicycle

門

いみ/meaning: gate
くんよみ/Japanese reading: ---
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: モン　[mon]
かくすう/stroke count: 8

Example words:
門　（もん）　[mon] a gate
専門　（せん・もん） [sen・mon] a specialty, a major (in a university)

And with this kanji, we have completed our first 10 kanji! To be considered literate in Japan one must know 1,000 kanji, so we're now 1% literate! Woo!  

火

いみ/meaning: fire
くんよみ/Japanese reading: ひ [hi]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: カ　[ka]
かくすう/stroke count: 4

Example words:
火　（ひ）　[hi] fire
火山　（か・ざん）　[ka・zan] a volcano
火曜日　（か・よう・び）　[ka・you・bi] Tuesday
火事　（か・じ）　[ka・ji] a fire

水

いみ/meaning:　water
くんよみ/Japanese reading: みず [mizu]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: スイ　[sui]
かくすう/stroke count: 4

Example words:
水　（みず）　[mizu] water
水田　（すい・でん）　[sui・den] a rice field
水曜日　（すい・よう・び）　[sui・you・bi] Wednesday

金

いみ/meaning:　gold, money ; metal
くんよみ/Japanese reading: かね [kane]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: キン　[kin]
かくすう/stroke count: 8

Example words:
お金　（お・かね）　[o・kane] money
金　（きん） [kin] gold
金田　（かね・だ）　[kane・da] Kaneda (a Japanese surname)
金曜日　（きん・よう・び）　[kin・you・bi] Friday

Note: Placing the お　[o] before words denotes respect.

土

いみ/meaning:　ground ; earth, soil
くんよみ/Japanese reading: つち [tsuchi]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ド　[do]
かくすう/stroke count: 3

Example words:
土　（つち）　[tsuchi] the ground
土木　（ど・ぼく）　[do・boku] civil engineering
土曜日　（ど・よう・び）　[do・you・bi] Saturday

Hey look! We have now learned all the days of the week!

月曜日 [getsuyoubi] Monday
火曜日 [kayoubi] Tuesday
水曜日 [suiyoubi] Wednesday
木曜日 [mokuyoubi] Thursday
金曜日 [kinyoubi] Friday
土曜日 [doyoubi] Saturday
日曜日 [nichiyoubi] Sunday

On a cultural side note: The days of the week in most Asian countries (at least from what I've heard, since I've only learned Japanese I can't confirm the other languages) are named after the 5 base elements. This means the Asian 5 elements (not the Western 4), which include fire, water, earth, wood, and metal/gold. The other two days are named after the sun and moon to represent yin and yang.

In Western languages, the days of the week are named after the 7 celestial bodies that are visible with the naked eye. That means the sun (Sunday), moon (Monday), and the planets out to Saturn (Saturday).

子

いみ/meaning:　child
くんよみ/Japanese reading: こ [ko]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: シ　[shi]
かくすう/stroke count: 3

Example words:
子ども　（こ・ども） [ko・domo] a child
女の子 （おんな・の・こ） [onna・no・ko] a girl
女子学生　（じょ・し・がく・せい）　[jyo・shi・gaku・sei] a girl student

女

いみ/meaning:　woman ; female
くんよみ/Japanese reading: おんな [onna]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ジョ　[jyo]
かくすう/stroke count: 3

Example words:
女　（おんな） [onna] a woman
女の人　（おんな・の・ひと） [onna・no・hito] a woman
彼女　（かの・じょ） [kano・jyo] she (colloquially: girlfriend)

学

いみ/meaning:　study
くんよみ/Japanese reading: ---
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ガク/ガッ-　[gaku/ga-]
かくすう/stroke count: 8

Example words:
学生 （がく・せい） [gaku・sei] a student
大学　（だい・がく） [dai・gaku] a university
学校　（がっ・こう） [gak・kou] a school

生

いみ/meaning:　live ; birth
くんよみ/Japanese reading: い-きる [i-kiru]　, う-まれる [u-mareru]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: セイ　[sei]
かくすう/stroke count: 5

Example words:
生きる　（い・きる） [i・kiru] to live
生まれる　（う・まれる） [u・mareru] to be born
先生　（せん・せい） [sen・sei] a teacher
学生　（がく・せい） [gaku・sei] a student

先

いみ/meaning:　previous ; foregoing
くんよみ/Japanese reading: さき [saki]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: セン　[sen]
かくすう/stroke count: 6

Example words:
先 （さき） [saki] ahead
先生　（せん・せい） [sen・sei] a teacher
先月　（せん・げつ） [sen・getsu] last month

私

いみ/meaning:　private
くんよみ/Japanese reading: わたし [watashi], わたくし [watakushi]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: シ　[shi]
かくすう/stroke count: 7

Example words:
私　（わたし/わたくし）　[watashi/watakushi] I
私立大学　（し・りつ・だい・がく） [shi・ritsu・dai・gaku] a private university

Note: there are two different pronunciations of 私. The longer わたくし [watakushi] is formal, while わたし [watashi] is polite. Polite is what most Japanese use on a regular basis, while formal is used on certain occasions or when speaking with certain people (such as the CEO of the company you work for). As foreigners speaking Japanese, I recommend sticking to わたし [watashi]. It's polite, neutral, and will work for every occasion you'll come across if you visit Japan.

There are, of course, other ways of saying "I" that are informal. I don't believe it uses this kanji, however.

We have now completed 20 kanji! 2% literate!  

一

いみ/meaning:　one
くんよみ/Japanese reading: ひと-つ [hito-tsu]　, ひと [hito]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: イチ　[ichi]
かくすう/stroke count: 1

Example words:
一つ　（ひと・つ） [hito・tsu] one (thing)
一人　（ひと・り） [hito・ri] one (person)
一月　（いち・がつ） [ichi・gatsu] January
一年　（いち・ねん） [ichi・nen] one year

We're now into lesson 3: numbers.

二

いみ/meaning:　two
くんよみ/Japanese reading: ふた-つ [futa-tsu]　, ふた [futa]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ニ　[ni]
かくすう/stroke count: 2

Example words:
二つ　（ふた・つ） [futa・tsu] two (things)
二人　（ふた・り） [futa・ri] two (people)
二月　（に・がつ） [ni・gatsu] February
二年　（に・ねん） [ni・nen] two years

Note: The relative lengths of the two strokes are important.  Second stroke is longer than the first.

三

いみ/meaning:　three
くんよみ/Japanese reading: みっ-つ [mit-tsu]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: サン　[san]
かくすう/stroke count: 3

Example words:
三つ　（みっ・つ）　[mit・tsu] three (things)
三日　（みっ・か） [mik・ka] the third day, three days
三月　（さん・がつ） [san・gatsu] March
三年　（さん・ねん） [san・nen] three years

Note:Once again, the relative lengths of the strokes are important. Stroke 3 is the largest, stroke 2 is the smallest, stroke 1 in between.

四

いみ/meaning:　four
くんよみ/Japanese reading: よっ-つ [yot-tsu], よん/よ [yon/yo]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: シ　[shi]
かくすう/stroke count: 5

Example words:
四つ　（よっ・つ） [yot・tsu] four (things)
四日　（よっ・か） [yok・ka] the fourth day
四年　（よ・ねん） [yo・nen] four years
四月　（し・がつ） [shi・gatsu] April

Note: The Chinese reading シ [shi] also can mean "death", thus the Japanese added the よん/よ [yon/yo] pronunciation.  You wouldn't like having to go to the fourth story of a building if "four" sounded like "death" in your language, would you?  However, some words do still use the Chinese reading.  One to note is April, which is still pronounced [shigatsu].

Another note: In Asian countries 4444 is the equivalent to 666 in European countries. Four fours? That's a lot of death.

五

いみ/meaning:　five
くんよみ/Japanese reading: いつ-つ [itsu-tsu], いつ [itsu]
オンヨミ/Chinese reading: ゴ　[go]
かくすう/stroke count: 4

Example words:
五つ　（いつ・つ）　[itsu・tsu] five (things)
五日　（いつ・か） [itsu・ka] the fifth day
五月　（ご・がつ） [go・gatsu] May
五年　（ご・ねん） [go・nen] five years