直接
CHOKUSETSU direct, face-to-face
direct, frank
直感
CHOKKAN intuition
PR18
~OKU
chisel/tea harvest (catch)
Type: creative component
Kanji that contain this phonetic and have the same final sound: 録 record ROKU 登録 TOUROKU registration
録音
ROKUON
(audio) recording
記録
KIROKU
record, document
緑 green RYOKU
緑茶
RYOKUCHA green tea
新緑
SHINRYOKU new green leaves
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CHAPTER 3 – RHYMING PHONETICS
Onomatopoeia
The kanji characters that contain these rhyming phonetics are also linked by sound effects or onomatopoeia.
PR19 刀刂~ATSU/ETSU
sword
Type: radical
These kanji contain the sword radical. Imagine that the sound made as a sword cuts through a piece of cloth is ‘TSU’.
刷 print, brush SATSU
印刷
INSATSU printing
刹 temple
SATSU
古刹
KOSATSU
ancient temple
名刹
MEISATSU
famous temple
罰 penalty,
BATSU
罰金
BAKKIN
fine, penalty
punishment
天罰
TENBATSU
divine retribution,
karma
切 cut
SETSU
切断
SETSUDAN disconnect, sever
親切
SHINSETSU kindness
PR20 ⽄ ~ITSU/ETSU
axe
Type: radical
These kanji contain the axe radical. Imagine that the sound made as an axe cuts through a piece of wood is ‘TSU’.
質 substance, SHITSU
質問
SHITSUMON question
quality
本質
HONSHITSU essence, substance
品質
HINSHITSU quality
折 fold, bend
SETSU
折衝
SESSHOU negotiation
屈折
KUSSETSU
bending, refraction
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CHAPTER 4 – THE VISUAL CODE
漢字
は
芸術
CHAPTER 4 – THE VISUAL CODE
CHAPTER 4 – THE VISUAL CODE
THE ARTISTIC APPROACH
In this section, I have grouped kanji that share a visual style or feature and have the same or similar ON readings. I have described the similarity and provided images where necessary. If a mnemonic could easily be created based on the image and sound, it is included. If all the example words carry a certain connotation (for example, good or bad), it is included to help you associate the ON reading sound with the visual features.
Kanji grouped by visual style:
1 Trace elements – Not quite phonetic components 140
2 Trace elements with a rotation
145
3
Shape
147
4 Composition
151
5 Line
155
6
Series
176
7 Blur your eyes – Kanji that look similar from afar 185
8 Symbolic links
187
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139
1 Trace elements – not quite phonetic components In this section, I introduce some groups of kanji characters that are connected by a visual feature. They don’t belong in the phonetic component section because they don’t all contain an identical component. Rather, they each share a combination of strokes that may belong to the same or different components. The similarity between their visual look and ON sound is strong enough to call it a pattern. I have traced the part that unifies them and included a nickname and description to help you remember them.
V1 Protective arms YUU
friend
have, exist
male, hero
These characters all feature two lines that cross in the top left corner.
One line is horizontal and is crossed by a line that curves gently to the left. The shape resembles a katakana na ナ.
Mnemonic: A hero (eiYUU) stretches her arms out to protect YOU, a person in distress, who has collapsed on the ground below.
Connotation: Like all these examples, the sound YUU generally has a positive connotation, also appearing in words like excellent 優勝
(YUU SHOU) and elegant 優雅 (YUU GA). This helps explains why it is so common in both male and female names (Yuki, Yumi, etc.).
友好 YUUKOU friendship
親友
SHIN YUU
close friend, buddy
有益
YUUEKI
beneficial, useful
有意義
YUUIGI
fruitful, meaningful
雄姿
YUUSHI
gallant figure
英雄 EIYUU hero
140
CHAPTER 4 – THE VISUAL CODE
V2 Fishtail SHUU
income
autumn
bad smell
prisoner
Each of these characters contain two strokes that flare down and out from their meeting point. The shape is usually at the bottom and resembles a fish tail.
Mnemonic: A fiSHUU tail.
収集
SHUUSHUU
collect, gather
秋分
SHUUBUN
autumn equinox
臭気
SHUUKI
bad smell, stink
囚人
SHUUJIN prisoner
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141
V3 Kicking leg SAI/ZAI
talent
materials
wealth
exist
The first three characters contain the talent character 才, a cross with a small hook at the bottom of the vertical stroke and a diagonal stroke that moves from right to left. In the final character, the vertical line has been moved downward, creating a different component but leaving the shape impression.
天才
TENSAI
genius, prodigy
教材
KYOUZAI
educational materials
材料
ZAIRYOU
ingredients, material
財産
ZAISAN
property, assets
存在
SONZAI existence
在宅
ZAITAKU
being at home
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CHAPTER 4 – THE VISUAL CODE
V3 V4 Pot lid KAN
bureaucrat
complete
cold
crown
These characters all feature a ‘lid’ or flattened katakana wa ワ on top.
In the first three this is the pot lid radical ⼧, and in the last the crown radical ⼍. Three of the characters also feature two strokes that flare down and outward. The overall impression is wide.
Mnemonic: When storing food, a CAN isn't much use without a lid.
Connotation: Apart from cold, they all represent the idea of officialdom and completeness. The rather orderly and authoritative look seems to echo this.
警官
KEIKAN
police offer
教官
KYOUKAN
instructor, professor
完璧
KANPEKI perfection
寒暑
KANSHO
hot and cold
厳寒
GENKAN
intense cold
冠詞
KANSHI
article (linguistics)
栄冠
EIKAN
laurel, garland
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143
Enclosures and the final N
Pay attention to characters that feature an enclosure, as they often end in a vowel + N. A mnemonic for this is an N-closure.
KAN
KAN
EN
IN
bureaucrat
interval
garden
cause
V5 The KEtsu curve KETSU
cave
decide ケ
lack
blood
These characters feature a short stroke that sticks out at the top, in most cases, in the centre. They also have a straight horizontal stroke near the top, and the first three have two curved strokes that flare out like legs below. Helpfully, the shape resembles a katakana ke ケ. You can trace a line across the horizontal and down the left curve on each of these, and a similar line can be drawn on the final character, 血.
Mnemonic: A katakana ke (TSU) ケ.
穴居
KEKKYO
cave dwelling
決定
KETTEI
decision, determination
決断
KETSUDAN
decision, determination
欠点
KETTEN
fault, defect
血圧
KETSUATSU
blood pressure
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CHAPTER 4 – THE VISUAL CODE
2 Trace elements with a rotation In these groups, the first two characters contain the same component, and the final kanji contains a version of it that has been transformed or rotated sideways.
V6 Arrow KAI
mediate
boundary
meeting
These characters all contain an upward arrow with two parallel lines directly underneath. In the third kanji the two parallel lines appear to have rotated to the right, and are horizontal rather than vertical.
Connotation: These characters all relate to the idea of mediation between two people or worlds.
紹介
SHOUKAI
introduction
介する
KAI suru
mediate
世界
SEKAI
world
境界
KYOUKAI
border, boundary
限界
GENKAI
limit
会話
KAIWA conversation
会計
KAIKEI
account, bill
社会
SHAKAI society
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Upward inflections and an upward pointing arrow Pay attention to characters that feature an upward pointing arrow shape within their lines. I have found that they often end in a vowel + I, creating an upward inflection. When I was making my original kanji cards and cataloguing ON readings, I intuitively used the symbol of an upside-down V or upward pointing arrow to indicate ON readings ending in AI or EI.
It only occurred to me while completing this section that this is another visual-sound pattern.
SAI KAI HAI
talent
mediate
cup
V7 Old KO
old
reason
call
All of these characters contain a square with a cross on top, which in the first two characters is the character for old 古 (KO). In the final character, the cross has moved to the right position. You could imagine that the old character has rotated to the right.
古代
KODAI
ancient times
古文
KOBUN
ancient writing,
Classical Japanese literature
事故
JIKO
accident
呼吸
KOKYUU
breathing, knack
点呼
TENKO
roll-call
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CHAPTER 4 – THE VISUAL CODE
3 Shape
The characters in this section are linked by a geometric shape that can be seen between the strokes. Mental y imagine that the outside shape is filled in, or join the dots in your head to see the shape.
V8 Square KOU
口
mouth
向
face forward
高
tall
工
build, construct
If you took a pencil and shaded in the area in between the square borders of the first three characters here they would look like squares.
In addition, if you drew a dotted line to connect the top and bottom edges of 工 you’d get a square too. It looks like the centre beam holding up a building that is under construction, which links clearly to the idea of construction. A square is, by definition, balanced, and these characters all have a geometric look and authoritative feel that seems to suit the hard, long sound KOU.
河口
KAKOU
mouth
高低
KOUTEI
high and low,
of river
rise and fall
人口 JINKOU population 最高
SAIKOU
highest, the best
向上
KOUJOU
improve,
工場 KOUJOU factory
progress
傾向
KEIKOU
trend,
人工 JINKOU man-made,
inclination
artificial
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V9 Chinese fan KA/KOU
価
value
果 fruit, result
甲
shell
The characters in this group all contain a rectangle that is slightly wider than it is tall which is ‘pierced’ through the centre by one or two lines, which extend well beyond it. This makes me think of a traditional Chinese fan, with its square shape and handle. As with the previous group, the certain, geometric shape seems to be reflected in the hard sounds KA and KOU.
物価
BUKKA cost of living
果汁
KAJUU
fruit juice
甲乙
KOUOTSU
Party A and Party B
(i.e. in a legal document)
甲骨文字
KOUKOTSU MOJI Oracle bone script
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CHAPTER 4 – THE VISUAL CODE
V10 Triangle DO/TO/TOU
土
earth DO
都
capital TO
徒
disciple TO
等
etc., equal TOU
Each of the characters in this group feature the earth radical 土. If you were to roughly join the dots at the edges the resulting shape would be an upward pointing triangle. They all contain a variation of the TO sound: pure TO, hardened DO, or lengthened TOU.
土木
DOBOKU civil
生徒
SEITO
student,
engineering,
pupil
public works
粘土
NENDO clay
等級
TOUKYUU grade, class
都会
TOKAI city
平等
BYOUDOU equality
京都
KYOUTO
former capital,
cultural capital
of Japan
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V11 House TO/TOU
The Kanji Code Page 14