Book Read Free

Speak and Read Japanese

Page 3

by Larry Herzberg


  払 The kanji has the “hand” radical扌on the left, with the outline of a nose on the right. When you pay college tuition or for a new car, it feels like we’re paying through the nose as we hand over the money!

  haru 春 / はる spring

  “Spring is haru (here)!” exclaim people in northern climes, when the weather starts to turn warm after a long, cold winter.

  春 The kanji shows plants coming out of the ground in the spring under the influence of the sun’s warmth, according to the Chinese etymological text Shuowen Jiezi.

  hataraku 働く / はたらく work

  If you really intend to work hard, you must hang your hat on a rack and get down to it.

  働 The kanji has the “person” radical亻on the left, since it is people who have to work a job, as opposed to animals. The phonetic on the right is the kanji 動, which means “to move.” 動 has the “energy” radical 力 on the right, since movement requires some amount of energy. Its phonetic on the left, 重, means “heavy,” and shows weights piled up. The phonetic contributes to the meaning, referring to moving something heavy. Work often involves moving heavy objects, especially for the vast majority of people in ancient China.

  hen 変 / へん strange

  The hen is a very strange animal to us humans, as we watch them strut around the barnyard.

  変 The kanji by itself means “change.” When things change, we often find the new reality strange. The radical on the bottom shows two hands, in this case acting to change something. The top part looks like a person standing straight with arms held defiantly to either side, determined to change something. This top part is actually a simplification after WWII in both Japan and mainland China of what was really a phonetic in the traditional kanji, 變. This has the “speech” radical 訁in between two silkworm cocoons. Perhaps this phonetic was even intended to contribute to the meaning, since silkworms undergo an amazing change from caterpillar to chrysalis to moth, and because people’s words are often so changeable.

  heta 下手 / へた bad/poor at something

  When you are poor at something, you tend to hate it.

  Literally: “lower/inferior-hand.”

  下 This kanji means “below; underneath” and here implies “lower” or “inferior” in ability. The vertical and slanted lines point downward from the horizontal stroke on top, which represents the ground.

  手 This kanji means “hand.” The three horizontal lines represent three of the fingers on a hand, with the vertical line representing the wrist.

  heya 部屋 / へや room

  When someone unexpectedly walks into your room, you might say “Hey, what are you doing in my room?!”

  Literally: “section of a house.”

  部 This kanji means “part; section.” It has the “city wall” radical on the right, which shows the outline of the building blocks of a city wall. The phonetic on the left is a distortion of the “speech” radical訁. A lot of talking goes on in rooms, after all.

  屋 This kanji means “house.” Although it is written with the “corpse” radical 尸, it should be thought of as the “doorway” radical 户 since the top stroke was accidentally omitted when the kanji was codified several millennia ago. Beneath the doorway is a bird nosediving down to the ground (土).

  hikimasu 弾きます / ひきます play a string instrument

  When you play the violin or viola, you end up with a hickey on your neck!

  弾 The kanji shows an archer’s bow on the left (弓), which depends on a taut bowstring to shoot its arrows. It is used to mean playing an instrument with strings, including the violin, viola, cello, and bass, as well as the piano, harp, and guitar. The phonetic 単 on the right by itself means “single.” After WWII it was slightly simplified from its original form, 單, which shows two mouths on top and a pitchfork on the bottom. It was meant to show assailing an enemy in single-hand combat with loud cries and a pitchfork, which was the nature of war in ancient times.

  hikooki 飛行機 / ひこうき airplane

  At the beginning of the 1900s, when a pilot would first go up in one of the early airplanes, people would point to him and exclaim “he’s kooky!”

  Literally: “flying-going-machine.”

  飛 The kanji looks like a bird ascending to the sky (升) on its two wings (飞). While the kanji actually does contain the pictograph for wing doubled, combined with the kanji 升 that means “to ascend,” the original pictograph actually portrayed the mythical phoenix in flight.

  行 The kanji seems to show an intersection of two roads. It actually depicts footprints. Hence the meaning of “to go.”

  機 This kanji meaning “machine” has the “tree” radical on the left, indicating that the earliest machines in China were made of wood. The phonetic on the right side, often found in kanji and pronounced ki in the onyomi, means “several.” It shows two silkworm cocoons on top (丝) and two halberds on the bottom (戈). A machine that could produce bolts of silk as well as weapons would be a remarkable machine, indeed!

  hima 暇 / ひま free time

  Hima got free time, but I don’t.

  暇 The kanji has the “sun” radical on the left, found in many kanji related to time, since before watches and clocks humans relied on the sun to tell the time of day. The phonetic on the right of the kanji looks like a person standing on the left and facing right toward a table on which is placed some drink they’re enjoying in their free time.

  hoka 他 / ほか another

  Rather than stick two coats on one hook, you can always put the second coat on another hook.

  他 The kanji has the “person” radical 亻on the left, since the original idea was any person other than the ones included in the conversation. The right side of the kanji is the word for “also” in Chinese. It’s presumed by etymologists to be the outline of a jar or pot, and was used because that word was a homophone with the word for “also.” The combination of the “person” radical with the kanji for “other” was intended to mean “and also that other person or people not here with us.” It came to mean simply “other.”

  homeru ほめる praise

  The ancient Greek poet, Homer, praises his hero, Odysseus, in his epic poem The Odyssey.

  hoomen 方面 / ほうめん direction

  Homing pigeons have an amazing ability to head in the direction of home.

  Literally: “place-surface.”

  方 This kanji means “place.” It looks like a square boat lashed to the shore. Since the boat is tied to the shore at a certain location, it came to mean “place.” According to the 2nd-century Chinese etymological text Shuowen Jiezi, it may well be a deliberate distortion of the Buddhist “swastika” 卍, which symbolizes that God is everywhere and in every place, north, south, east, west, above, and below.

  面 This kanji means “mask,” which is what it depicts. However, in kanji compounds it has come to mean “surface; side,” referring to which side something is facing.

  hon 本 / ほん book(s)

  We read books to hone our knowledge of a subject.

  本 The small horizontal line at the bottom of the “tree” radical 木 emphasizes the root of the tree. The actual etymology is that books are the root or origin of learning.

  hoohoo 方法 / ほうほう method; way

  Santa Claus, with his “ho, ho, ho,” has a special method for delivering all those presents around the world at Christmas.

  Literally: “square-way.”

  方 This kanji means “square.” It looks like a square boat lashed to the shore. Since a boat is tied to the shore at a certain location, the kanji also came to mean “place.” According to the 2nd-century Chinese etymological text Shuowen Jiezi, the kanji may well be a deliberate distortion of the Buddhist “swastika” 卍, basically square in shape, which symbolizes that God is everywhere and in every place, north, south, east, west, above, and below.

  hoshi 星 / ほし star

  When I wish on a star, I think, “Hope she will c
ome to love me.”

  星 The kanji on the top has the star that is our sun as the radical. The phonetic 生 on the bottom shows a plant coming out of the ground bearing a fruit or blossom and means “to give birth to.” The stars give birth to the planets, after all.

  hoshii 欲しい / ほしい want; desire (something)

  Ho, she really wants a diamond ring!

  欲 The radical on the right side of the kanji shows a person on the bottom, with breath rising up. When we really desire something, we tend to breathe heavily. The phonetic in this kanji is on the left side. The two sets of slanted lines at the top indicate the folds of a mountain valley, with the small box on the bottom not a mouth but rather the valley itself. However, it looks a bit like a gentleman with slanted eyes and a mustache, with his mouth open in desire.

  ikimasu 行きます / いきます go

  When you try to go anywhere in winter in the north of the U.S. or Japan, the roads are an icky mess!

  行 The kanji seems to show an intersection of two roads. It actually depicts footprints. Hence the meaning of to go.

  imooto 妹 / いもうと younger sister [humble]

  My little sister is very emotional and emotes a lot.

  妹 As in almost all the kanji for female relatives, the radical is the “woman” radical 女. The phonetic 未 on the right shows a tree on which the top branches haven’t yet grown out. Younger sisters are like trees that haven’t fully developed.

  isha 医者 / いしゃ doctor

  When my doctor gives me a shot, “ee!” is what I say!

  Literally: “medicine-person.”

  医 This kanji means “medicine.” It depicts an arrow (矢) being removed from a wound in the body, represented by the three sides of the box surrounding the arrow. This is a simplification of the original kanji 醫 still used by the Chinese in Taiwan and Hong Kong and in the West, which on the top right shows a hand holding a scalpel and removing an arrow from a wound on the top left, then disinfecting the wound with alcohol (酒), shown on the bottom but minus the “water” radical 氵. Since the element 医 only appeared in 醫, after WWII the kanji was simplified as 医 in both Japan and mainland China.

  者 This kanji is often used as a suffix for various professions, in which case it means “person.” It’s the sha in geisha (芸者), for example. The top part shows the head of a person, and not the “earth” radical. Whenever 土 appears at the top of a kanji, rather than on the left side, it generally represents a person’s head. What appears to be the sun at the bottom of the kanji 者 actually represents a mouth filled with talk. Hence the idea that a person who practices a certain profession has a lot to say on the subject of his or her expertise.

  isu 椅 / いす chair

  No other chair is quite as comfortable as an EZ Boy recliner.

  椅 This kanji means “chair.” It has the “tree” radical on the left, since furniture in ancient times was always made of wood. The phonetic on the right means “strange; odd.” It shows a person on top with their arms stretched out (大). The bottom part shows breath emanating from the mouth (可), calling out in surprise at seeing something strange. But what it looks like is a person sitting on a stool, with an ashtray on the bottom right.

  子 This kanji, which shows a child in swaddling clothes, is a common suffix for nouns in Chinese and does not contribute to the meaning. Although it certainly is lovely to have your child on your lap when you sit in a chair.

  itadakimasu 頂きます / いただきます I (humbly) receive

  The Japanese one word prayer before every meal, itadakimasu, sounds a bit like eat a dirty mouse!

  頂 The kanji originally meant the top of the head. It has the “head” radical 頁 on the right, with the kanji for “nail” or “tack” 丁on the left as the phonetic. When we pray before a meal, we bow our heads, showing the crown of the head. It seems an apt metaphor for humbly receiving a meal.

  itai 痛い / いたい painful

  Some boys find wearing a tie painful, especially if their Mom ties it too tightly. “Ee, tie! It hurts!” the boys might say.

  痛 The kanji has the “sickness” radical 疒 on the left, which shows the body as a structure around us, with a roof and sidewall. The two little skewed lines on the far left show germs assailing the body. Some of my students describe the “sickness” radical as a bed, with the two feet of the patient sticking out on the far left and a hot water bottle on the very top. The phonetic 甬 on the right might be thought of fancifully as a person whose head has a tight collar around it and whose arms and legs below are bound by ropes or chains, and therefore is in pain.

  itsu いつ when?

  When it’s an itch, try not to scratch.

  jidai 時代 / じだい era; age; period of time

  Studying history as a child, I exclaimed “gee, in every age of human history people would die from war.”

  Literally: “time-generation.”

  時 This kanji means “time.” It has the “sun” radical 日 on the left, since before cellphones and watches people depended on the sun to know the time of day. The phonetic 寺 on the right means “Buddhist temple.” The striking of the bells in the temples at certain times of day announces the hours of prayer. 寺 does look a bit like a hand on the bottom with a wrist watch on the top.

  代 This kanji means “generation.” It has the “person” radical 亻 on the left and the “dart” radical on the right. Human beings unfortunately continue to use weapons against one another in generation after generation.

  jisho 辞書 / じしょ dictionary

  If we would speak to our dictionary, we would say “gee, show me what this word means.”

  Literally: “word-book.”

  辞 This kanji means “word.” It has the “tongue” radical on the left, which depicts the tongue sticking out from the mouth (口). The phonetic on the right side means “hard” in the sense of painful. It actually shows a prisoner in manacles and chains. The top two strokes are the head and neck; the two short slanted lines are the hands in manacles; the bottom two horizontal lines depict chains on the legs; and the vertical stroke is the torso of the prisoner. When we don’t know what a word means, it shackles our understanding.

  書 This kanji means “book.” It shows a hand on the top holding a writing brush represented by the vertical line, with the bristles pressed down flat on the paper, writing down something that you want to say. Those words are represented by the mouth on the bottom of the character, with the horizontal line in the box representing the mouth filled with speech (曰).

  jitensha 自転車 / じてんしゃ bicycle

  Bicycles now have as many as 20 or 30 gears. But back when bikes only had 3 gears and the 10-speed bike came out, people like me exclaimed “gee, ten speeds!”

  Literally: “self-propelling vehicle.”

  自 This kanji shows the nose in profile. Chinese and Japanese people will point to their nose rather than their chest, when they emphasize they’re talking about themselves. The pictograph for nose came to represent “self.”

  転 This kanji has the “cart” radical on the left, appropriate for the sense of driving or propelling a wheeled vehicle forward. The right side, a simplification of the original phonetic, has the kanji for “two” above a simple pictograph of the nose in profile. Two people nose (know) better than one how to propel a car out of snow or mud!

  車 The character actually shows a cart, with the top and bottom horizontal strokes representing the wheels, the long vertical stroke showing the axle, and the middle section portraying the body of the cart, all from a bird’s-eye view.

  jiyuu 自由 / じゆう freedom; free

  When people from more repressive countries emigrate to the U.S., they likely are thinking, “Gee, you are really free here!”

  Literally: “self-from.”

  自 This kanji shows the nose in profile and represents “self,” since Chinese and Japanese will point to their nose rather than their chest to emphasize they ar
e talking about themselves.

  由 This kanji shows a rice field (田), with the center vertical line indicating something or someone coming out from the field.

  Freedom is the ability to have your actions come out of your own decisions.

  joozu 上手 / じょうず good at something; skillful

  Joe’s good at jazz. And Joe’s zoo is very skillful when it comes to handling dangerous animals.

  Literally: “upper/superior-hand.”

  上 This kanji means “above; on top of” and in this context implies “superior.” The vertical line and small horizontal line on top depict upward motion from the ground, which is represented by the bottom horizontal stroke.

  手 This kanji means “hand.” The three horizontal lines represent three of the fingers on a hand, with the vertical line representing the wrist.

  josei 女性 / じょせい woman; female

  Josephine, or Josie as I call her, is a lovely woman.

  Literally: “female-gender.”

  女 This kanji means “female.” It shows a woman with her arms and legs crossed, bowing submissively. Clearly this is a kanji devised by Chinese men three millennia ago, and indicative of the position of Chinese and Japanese women until the past century.

  性 This kanji means “gender,” as well as “temperament; nature.” It has the “heart” radical忄 on the left. The phonetic 生 on the right is the kanji meaning “to give birth” and is the sei in 先生 (sensei, “teacher”) and 学生 (gakusei, “student”). It shows a plant coming out of the ground bearing a fruit or a blossom. When we are born, our gender and temperament are determined, or at least so the kanji seems to argue.

  junbi 準備 / じゅんび preparation

  A preparation of something jumbo sometimes turns out to be a real jumble.

 

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