Kanji Vocabulary, week 40
Skipped a week there, eh. Oh well, what's wrong with pushing it a week further into 2010? Also: the first late post of the year. Don't worry though, this one's definitely a single and not the start of something enormous. These posts always take me longer to piece together, and worst of all, it doesn't even feel like anything's getting learned... Still, even mere shuffling though kanji is better than nothing.
Curious thing about having shaken the post backlog... It's harder to think of things to write about, haha. When I had everything planned out days in advance, it seemed obvious.
Recently I've been going over the 500 most common kanji in newspapers, on this page. It's not bad, in a sort of flashcard format; however, it's not informative enough in and of itself. Supplement that stuff with Jisho.org for good measure.
已: i. Sude(ni), nomi, hanahada, ya(mu). Stop, halt; previously, already, long ago. Very similar to 己 (onore, snake); tough to discern because of it... You know, they say you should avoid dealing with similar-looking kanji when learning them. It just confuses you, and interferes with the learning process... Demoralizes you, too. I remember a thread on 2ch.ru once, that had posters showing insanely similar kanji; made my head spin... Fortunately, those were very rare. The first few hundred kanji, by order of popularity, make up the bulk of all text and are overall sufficient.
証: jyou. Akashi. Certificate, evidence, proof. Has the 言 (gen) bushu, which suggests that it's a more abstract term with something to do with language, communication. 証人 (shounin) means "witness".
部: bu. -be. Class; bureau, department; part, portion, section. 本部 (honbu) means "headquarters".
内: dai, nai. Uchi. Among, between, inside, within; home, house. Obviously an important particle. Not so hard to remember, either... It's like a little guy (人) peeking out of a box (冂).
関: kan. Kaka(waru), karakuri, kanmeki, seki, -zeki. Barrier; connection, relation, involve; gateway. Curiously enough, it does look like someone or something going through a gate (gate is 門, mon).
通: tsu, tsuu. Kayo(u), too(shi/su/ri/ru), -too(ri), -doo(shi/ri). Avenue; commute, traffic, pass through. 通り (doori) is probably the most common word for "street". Curiously enough, "doori" might have been one of the earliest words in Japanese I heard - though it didn't catch on. It's because of Kimagure Orange Road, how they say "Kimagure doori"... Or am I confabulating?
決: ketsu. Ki(maru/meru), -gi(me), sa(ku). Decide, agree upon; appoint; fix. 俺の値段を誰が決めた? - "Ore no nedan wo dare ga kimeta?", "Who decided my worth?" (Skip to about 0:42).
最: sai, shu. Tsuma, motto(mo). Utmost, most, extreme. Watch enough anime and you're bound to hear "saigo" (final, last, parting moment), or "saikou" (supreme, excellent, the best), or "saika" (lowest, worst). Frequently uttered by energetic kids.
産: sen. Ubu-, u(mareru/mu), mu(su). Produce, output, yield, bear; childbirth, give birth; native; property, products. 共産 (kyuusan) apparently means "communism". Would "communist" (noun) be "kyuusansha", then? Hmm, apparently it's actually 共産主義者 (kyuusanshugisha). Quite a mouthful. Remember, kiddies - communism is a lie. Learn that lesson second-hand if possible.
総: sou. Su(bete), sube(te), fusa. All, full, general, total, whole, overall. Once again a common word... If you haven't heard an animu character say "subete" at some point in a dramatic speech, you're not paying attention.
Curious thing about having shaken the post backlog... It's harder to think of things to write about, haha. When I had everything planned out days in advance, it seemed obvious.
Recently I've been going over the 500 most common kanji in newspapers, on this page. It's not bad, in a sort of flashcard format; however, it's not informative enough in and of itself. Supplement that stuff with Jisho.org for good measure.
已: i. Sude(ni), nomi, hanahada, ya(mu). Stop, halt; previously, already, long ago. Very similar to 己 (onore, snake); tough to discern because of it... You know, they say you should avoid dealing with similar-looking kanji when learning them. It just confuses you, and interferes with the learning process... Demoralizes you, too. I remember a thread on 2ch.ru once, that had posters showing insanely similar kanji; made my head spin... Fortunately, those were very rare. The first few hundred kanji, by order of popularity, make up the bulk of all text and are overall sufficient.
証: jyou. Akashi. Certificate, evidence, proof. Has the 言 (gen) bushu, which suggests that it's a more abstract term with something to do with language, communication. 証人 (shounin) means "witness".
部: bu. -be. Class; bureau, department; part, portion, section. 本部 (honbu) means "headquarters".
内: dai, nai. Uchi. Among, between, inside, within; home, house. Obviously an important particle. Not so hard to remember, either... It's like a little guy (人) peeking out of a box (冂).
関: kan. Kaka(waru), karakuri, kanmeki, seki, -zeki. Barrier; connection, relation, involve; gateway. Curiously enough, it does look like someone or something going through a gate (gate is 門, mon).
通: tsu, tsuu. Kayo(u), too(shi/su/ri/ru), -too(ri), -doo(shi/ri). Avenue; commute, traffic, pass through. 通り (doori) is probably the most common word for "street". Curiously enough, "doori" might have been one of the earliest words in Japanese I heard - though it didn't catch on. It's because of Kimagure Orange Road, how they say "Kimagure doori"... Or am I confabulating?
決: ketsu. Ki(maru/meru), -gi(me), sa(ku). Decide, agree upon; appoint; fix. 俺の値段を誰が決めた? - "Ore no nedan wo dare ga kimeta?", "Who decided my worth?" (Skip to about 0:42).
最: sai, shu. Tsuma, motto(mo). Utmost, most, extreme. Watch enough anime and you're bound to hear "saigo" (final, last, parting moment), or "saikou" (supreme, excellent, the best), or "saika" (lowest, worst). Frequently uttered by energetic kids.
産: sen. Ubu-, u(mareru/mu), mu(su). Produce, output, yield, bear; childbirth, give birth; native; property, products. 共産 (kyuusan) apparently means "communism". Would "communist" (noun) be "kyuusansha", then? Hmm, apparently it's actually 共産主義者 (kyuusanshugisha). Quite a mouthful. Remember, kiddies - communism is a lie. Learn that lesson second-hand if possible.
総: sou. Su(bete), sube(te), fusa. All, full, general, total, whole, overall. Once again a common word... If you haven't heard an animu character say "subete" at some point in a dramatic speech, you're not paying attention.