Saturday, February 27, 2010

Some Daily Use Kanji

There are tons of these, so I'm posting them as I go through and memorize the list. Enjoy. A lot of these have many definitions, so I'm listing them all. I know it's a long list, but it helps me to see them all listed like this, so...oh, and also, they are organized by how many pencil/pen strokes it takes to draw the kanji.

(SIDE NOTE: all the romaji translations listed after the kanji are the exact HIRAGANA romani...so "take" is "ta" and "ke", or たけ. English translations will always be separated from the Romaji, so if I miss one, let me know! I also use the hiragana translations and not the audible pronounciations to make writing them easier...so "watashi ha" of course would be spoken "watashi WA".)

(SIDE NOTE #2: Some romaji have some syllables in parenthesis after the first word; this is because Windows would only generate the correct kanji if I used the entire phrase. For instance, see "Na (ki)" under 3 Strokes)

(SIDE NOTE #3: I've decided to do some examples to help memorize sentence structure. At the end of 3 Strokes, I'll go back and do examples for each kanji in order.)

1 Stroke
一 - Ichi - 1
乙 - Otsu - "the latter, duplicate, strange, witty, second"

2 Strokes
丁 - Chou - street, ward, town, even number, 4th calendar sign. Counter for guns, tools, leaves, or cakes of something.
七 - Shichi - Seven
九 - Kyuu - Nine
了 - Ryou - Complete, Finish
二 - Ni - Two
人 - Jin - Person, man (NOTE: this kanji is also formed with the hiragana "hito")
入 - Shio (In Windows, this is formed with the hiragana "iru") - enter, insert
八 - Hachi - Eight
刀 - Katana - Sword, saber, knife
力 - Chikara - Power, Strong, Strain, Bear up, Exert
十 - Juu - Ten
又 - Mata - or again, furthermore, on the other hand, again

3 Strokes
万 - Ban - Ten Thousand
丈 - Take - length, 10 feet, measure, Mr., Ms., height, stature, all (one has), only, that's all, merely
三 - San - Three
上 - Ue - Above, Up
下 - Shita - below, down, descend, give, low, inferior
与 - Ata - bestow, participate in, give, award, impart, provide, cause, gift, godsend
丸 - Maru - round, full, month, perfection, -ship, pills, make round, roll up, curl up, seduce, explain away
久 - Hisa - long time, old story
乏 - Tobo (shii) - destitution, scarce, limited
亡 - Na (Ki) - deceased, the late, dying, perish
凡 - Bon - Mediocre
刃 - Ha - Blade, sword, edge
勺 - Shaku - ladle, one tenth of a go, dip
千 - Sen - Thousand
及 - Oyo (bu) - reach out, exert, exercise, cause
口 - Kuchi - Mouth
土 - Tsuchi - soil, earth, ground, Turkey
士 - Shi - gentleman, samurai, scholar (NOTE the subtle difference from "tsuchi" above!!)
夕 - Yuu - Evening
大 - Oo - Large, big
女 - Onna - Woman, female (Those who've been reading should recognize this one)
子 - Ko - Child, sign of the rat, 11PM-1AM, first sign of the Chinese zodiac
寸 - Sun - measurement, foot/10, inch
小 - Shou - Little, small
山 - Yama - Mountain
川 - Kawa - Stream, River
工 - Kou - Craft, construction, work
己 - Onore - Self, snake, serpent, oneself
干 - Ho (su) - Dry, parch
弓 - Yumi - Bow, bow(archery, violin)
才 - Sai - genius, years old, cubic shaku

Sentence Examples!

1 Stroke
一 - 道で一ドルを拾った。- michi de ichi doru (w)o hiro tta. - I found a dollar in the street
乙 - 甲の食物は乙の毒。- kou no shokumotsu ha otsu no doku. - One man's meat is another man's poison.

2 Strokes

丁 - (No real examples, so here's a popular compound) 丁寧 - Teinei - Polite, courteous, careful, care, kind, close, thorough, conscientious
七 - 私は普通七時に起きる - watashi ha futsuu shichi ji ni o kiru - I usually get up at seven.
九 - 彼は午後九時にここへ来る事になっている - kare ha gogo kyuu ji ni koko he ku ru koto ninatteiru - He is supposed to come here at 9 PM.
了 - (No example again, here's a compound) 完了 - Kanryou - Completion, conclusion; perfective (form, aspect)
二 - 彼はネコを一匹と犬を二匹飼っている - kare ha neko wo ippiki to inu wo ni hiki katteiru - He has a cat and two dogs.
人 - 鉱山を所有している人から銀を買いました - kouzan wo shoyuu shiteiru hito kara gin wo ka imashita - I buy my silver from a man who has a mine on his property.
入 - (Compound only again) 輸入 - Yunyuu - importation, import, introduction
八 - 会は八時に解散した。- kai ha hachi ji ni kaisan shita - The meeting broke up at eight.
刀 - 江戸時代、武士は刀を2本指していた。- A samurai in the Edo Era carried two swords.
力 - 団結は力なり。- danketsu ha chikara nari - Strength in unity.
十 - 彼のこの十年間の経歴には問題はない。- kare no kono juu nenkan no keireki niha mondai ha nai - He has had a clean record for the past ten years.
又 - まずいよ。また遅刻だ!!はやくも遅刻魔の異名を取ってしまう。- Oh no! I'm late again!! I'm going to get the nickname 'King of Late Arrival'.

3 Strokes
万 - 私は銀行に言って預金から2万ドル引き出した。- watashi ha ginkou ni i tte yokin kara man doru hi ki da shita. - I went to the bank to withdraw $20,000 from deposit.
丈 - 彼の同情はうわべだけだった - kare no doujou ha uwabe dake datta - His sympathy was mere show.
三 - 月に三ないし四回映画を見に行く。- tsuki ni san naishi shi kai eiga wo mi ni i ku - I go to the movies three or four times a month.
上 - 彼の机の上は物だらけで、書き物をするスペースがなかった。- kare no tsukue no ue ha mono darake de, ka ki mono wo suru supe-su ga nakatta - There was so much stuff on his desk that he had nowhere to write.
下 - かごがひとつテーブルのしたにある。- Kago ga hitotsu te-buru no shuta ni aru - There is a basket under the table.
与 - (Compound only again) 贈与 - Zouyo - Donation, presentation
丸 - 我々は丸一ヶ月間、ブロードウエーで出演予定です。- wareware ha maru ikkagetsu kan, buro-doue- de shutsuen yotei desu. - We're booked for the whole month on Broadway.
久 - (Compound only) 恒久 - Koukyuu - Permanent, perpetuity
乏 - (Compound only) 貧乏 - Binbou - Poverty, destitute, poor
亡 - (Compound only) 死亡 - Shibou - Death, mortality
凡 - (Compound only) 平凡 - Heibon - common, commonplace, ordinary, mediocre
刃 - そのナイフは刃が鋭い。- sono naifu ha ha ga surudo i. - The knife has a very sharp edge.
勺 - (Compound only) 一勺 - isshaku - One Shaku
千 - 彼の取れるのはよくて千票でしょう。- kare no to reru no ha yokute sen hyou deshou - At best he'll get 1,000 votes
及 - (compound only) 及ぼす - oyobosu - to exert, to cause, to exercise
口 - 席、くしゃみ、あくびをする時は口を手で隠しなさい。- seki, kushami, akubi wo suru toki ha kuchi wo te de kaku shi nasai - Cover your mouth when you cough, sneeze, or yawn.
土 - 彼の農場の土はとても肥えている。- Kare no noujou no tsuchi ha totemo ko eteiru - The land on his farm is very fertile.
士 - (compound only) 力士 - Rikishi - Sumo wrestler, rikishi (rank); strong man
夕 - (compound only) 夕食 - Yuushoku - Evening meal, dinner
大 - 私たちは阪神の大フアンです。- watashi tachi ha hanshin no dai fuan desu. - We are great Tigers fans. (Great as in big, huge, etc)
女 - 男は度胸、女は愛敬。- otoko ha dokyou, onna ha aikyou - Man is judged by his courage, woman by her charm.
子 - この子は物覚えが速い。- kono ko ha monoobo e ga haya i - The child is learning quickly
寸 - 寸を与えれば尺を望む。- sun wo ata ereba shaku wo nozo mu - Give him an inch and he will take a yard (Note the different kanji for "shaku". Get used to that.)
小 - 大か、小か。- Dai ka, shou ka - Large or small? (Chiisai also means small)
山 - あの山の頂上は平らだ。- ano yama no choujou ha tai ra da - The top of that mountain is flat.
川 - 大きな川がその市を貫いて流れている。- oo kina kawa ga sono shi wo tsuranu ite naga reteiru - A broad river runs through the city. (Note the "oo" kanji at the start signifying the size of the river)
工 - (Compound only) 人工 - Jinkou - artificial, manmade, human work, juman skill, artificiality
己 - 己が誰なのか知れ。- onore ga dare na no ka shi re - Know who you are
干 - (Compound only) 煮干 - (niho(shi)) - (small crunchy) dried sardines
弓 - この弓は張りが強いです。- kono yumi ha ha ri ga tsuyo i desu - This bow has a strong draw
才 - 12才の時彼は声変わりした。- 12 (juuichi) sai no toki kare ha koega wari shita - His voice broke when he was twelve

PHEW! I'm done writing for now hehe...

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Quick Phrases

Been very busy with classes, so here are some quick notes and phrases that are helpful:

お名前は何ですか - O-namae wa desu ka? - What is your name?
私の名前は (NAME) です。 - Watashi no namae wa (name) desu. (remember, last name, THEN first name)
どちらから来ましたか - Dochira kara kimashita ka? - Where are you from?
(PLACE) から来ました。- (PLACE) kara kimashita - I'm from (place).

大丈夫ですか - daijoubu desu ka? - Are you OK?
大丈夫です - Daijoubu desu - I'm OK.
大丈夫ではありません - Daijobou dewa arimasen - I'm not OK.
救急車を呼んで - Kyuukyuusha (w)o yonde - Call an ambulance.
警察を呼んで - Keisatsu (w)o yonde - Call the police.
緊急です - Kinkyuu desu - It's an emergency!
たすけてください- Tasukete kudasai - Could you help me, please?

メニューをお願いします - Menyuu (w)o onegai shimasu - I'd like the menu, please
あの料理をくさだい - Ano ryouri (w)o kudasai - I'd like that dish, please
お勘定をお願いします - Okanjou (w)o onegai shimasu - I'd like the bill, please.
地元料理は何がありますか - Jimotoryouri wa nani ga arimasu ka - What's the local specialty?

どこに行けばクラブがありますか - Doko ni ikeba kurabu ga arimasu ka - Where can I find a nightclub?
どこに行けばゲイの場所がありますか - Doko ni ikeba gei no basho ga arimasu ka - (I couldn't resist this one ;) ) Where can I find a gay venue?

All out of time for right now, got lots of homework to do...but enjoy! ;) Now you know how to find a gay bar. :p