Here we go again! Daily Use Kanji!

OK, so I've been gone for a while again. Yes, I remember that I said I was going to update this blog more, but things are just busy all over, and I forgot about it. Again. For what the 4th or 5th time now? So yeah, let's try this again…here's an update for more daily use kanji for you!

First, note…there are different pronunciations for a lot of kanji, as anyone who studies Japanese will learn. Part of the confusion is that the word you use changes a bit depending on where it will appear in the sentence. For instance, my first example below is 中, or "naka". The "naka" is considered the "kun-yomi", or the kun reading. This is a reading based on the pronunciation of a native Japanese word that closely approximated the meaning of the Chinese character when it was introduced. There can be multiple kun readings for the same kanji, and some kanji have no kun-yomi at all.

There is also the on-yomi, or on reading. That is based on the Japanese approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced. Like the kun readings, there can be multiple on readings for each kanji, since some kanji were reintroduced from different parts of China at different times. However, there are some kanji that have no on-yomi meanings at all.

Because of this, the kanji that I'll introduce here have both the kun-yomi and on-yomi listed where noted, in both the hiragana, katakana, and romaji spellings. My friend helped me to understand their differences; here's what he had to say:

"That's probably the most difficult part of Japanese. The pronunciation of the kanji depends entirely on how it's used. In 中's case, usuall if it's by itself it's read naka, if it's paired with another kanji it's usually read chuu. But of course there are exceptions. 背中 is read senaka ("back"), for example. The meaning can also change depending on how the kanji is used. It usually means "middle", but can also mean "during" in some situations. 一日中 (read "ichinichijuu") means "all day". You figure out how to translate each kanji in that one.

Think of kanji like numerals. For example, "1". How do you read that? If it's by itself, it's read "one", but what about if you put it with another 1 and make "11"? Or if you put it with a 0 and make "ten"? Of course there are only ten numerals to remember, but when you think about all the possible pairings and combinations, the number of "readings" for each numeral goes way up.

There are 5-10 thousand kanji in the "standard" set to remember.

It fucking sucks."

Indeed. So, now that we have all that defined, let's work on some kanji! This is a big list, 70 different 4-stroke kanji that are considered "daily use". We'll start with my initial example!

中 - kun-yomi: なか or naka, on-yomi: チュウ or "chuu" - in, inside, middle, mean, center
不 - ふ or フ ("fu"), on-yomi only - negative, non-, bad, ugly, clumsy
丹 - kun-yomi: に or ni. on-yomi: タン or tan - rust-colored, red, red lead, pills
予 - kun-yomi: あらかじ（め）or arakaji (me). On-yomi: ヨ or シャ, yo or sha - beforehand, previous, myself, I (note, I find it a lot easier to find this kanji with the on-yomi than with the kun-yomi when I type it in. That said, typing it in as ”あらかじめ (arakajime) and then deleting the "me" after having it generate the kanji works.
互 - kun-yomi: たが（い）or taga(i) (type it with the i at the end to generate the kanji). かたみ（に）or katami (ni) works too. On-yomi: ゴ or go - mutually, reciprocally, together. This is another confusing one, since the onyomi is the same as the kanji for "five" with entirely different meanings. Doh! Speaking of which…
五 - Kun-yomi: いつ or itsu. On-yomi: ゴ or go. Well shit. - Five. See what I mean? Different kanji, same on-yomi, different meaning. Get used to this, if you're learning Japanese!
井 - kun-yomi: い or i. On-yomi: セイ (sei) or ショウ (shou) - well, well crib, town, community
仁 - on-yomi: ジン (jin), ニ (ni), or ニン (nin) - humanity, virtue, benevolence, charity, man, kernel
今 - kun-yomi: いま (ima). on-yomi: コン (kon) or キン (kin) - now
介 - on-yomi: カイ (kai) - jammed in, shellfish, mediate, concern oneself with
仏 - kun-yomi: ほとけ (hotoke). on-yomi: ブツ (butsu) or フツ (futsu) - Buddha, the dead, France (side note, I really want to see someone fit all three meanings into one sentence some day…)
元 - kun-yomi: もと (moto). on-yomi: ゲン (gen) or ガン (gan) - beginning, former time, origin
公 - kun-yomi: おおやけ (ooyake). on-yomi: コウ (kou) or ク (ku) - public, prince, official, governmental
六 - kun-yomi: 無(mu). (kun-yomi can also be roku) on-yomi: ロク (roku) or リク (riku) - six
内 - kun-yomi: うち (uchi). on-yomi: ナイ (nai) or ダイ (dai) - inside, within, between, among, house, home (note, some parallel meanings with 中 above! But different as well. Different emphasis for different kanji)
円 - kun-yomi: まる (maru), まど (mado), and まろ (maro). On-yomi: エン (en) - circle, yen, round
冗 - on-yomi: ジョウ (jou) - superfluous, uselessness
凶 - on-yomi: キョウ (kyou) - villain, evil, bad luck, disaster
分 - kun-yomi: わ（ける） (wa(keru)) (include keru to get the kanji). On-yomi: ブン (bun), フン (fun), or ブ (bu). - part, minute of time, segment, share, degree, one's lot, duty, understand, know, rate, 1%, chances, shaku/100
切 - kun-yomi: き（る）(ki(ru)). on-yomi: セツ (setsu) or サイ (sai); it's easier to get this kanji by typing setsu - cut, cutoff, be sharp
刈 - kun-yomi: か（る）(ka(ru)). on-yomi: ガイ (gai) or カイ (kai) - reap, cut, clip, trim, prune
勾 - kun-yomi: かぎ (kagi) or ま（がる）(ma(garu)). on-yomi: コウ (kou) or ク (ku) - be bent, slope, capture
匂 - kun-yomi: にお（う）(nio(u)) or にお（い）(nio(i)). にお（わせる）(nio(waseru)) also works - fragrant, stink, glow, insinuate
化 - kun-yomi: ば（ける）(ba(keru)) or け（する）(ke(suru)). on-yomi: カ (ka) or ケ (ke) - change, take the form of, influence, enhant, delude, -ization
匹 - kun-yomi: ひき (hiki). on-yomi: ヒツ (hitsu) - equal, head, roll of cloth. Also: COUNTER for small animals
区 - on-yomi: ク (ku), オウ (ou), or コウ (kou) - ward, district
升 - kun-yomi: ます (masu). on-yomi: ショウ (shou) - measuring box, 1.8 liter (Yes, I know how odd this is as a daily use definition but you never know. 1.8 liter may be useful later on!)
午 - kun-yomi: うま (uma). On-yomi: ゴ (go) - noon, sign of the horse, 11am-1pm, seventh sign of Chinese zodiac (really…"go" again!? Argh!)
厄 - on-yomi: ヤク (yaku) - unlucky, misfortune, bad luck, disaster
友 - kun-yomi: とも (tomo). on-yomi: ユウ (yuu) - friend (perhaps by now you've heard ともだち or tomodachi as well!)
双 - kun-yomi: ふた (futa), たぐい (tagui), ならぶ (narabu), or ふたつ (futatsu). On-yomi: ソウ (sou) - pair, set, comparison. Also: COUNTER for pairs
反 - kun-yomi: そ（る）(so(ru)), or かえ（す）(kae(su)). On-yomi: ハン (han), ホン (hon), タン (tan), or ホ (ho) - anti-
天 - kun-yomi: あまつ (amatsu). on-yomi: テン (ten) - heavens, sky, imperial
太 - kun-yomi: ふと（い）(futo(i) or ふと（る）(futo(ru)). On-yomi: タイ (tai) or タ (ta) - plump, thick, big around
夫 - kun-yomi: おっと (otto). on-yomi: フ (fu), フウ (fuu), or ブ (bu) - husband, man
孔 - kun-yomi: あな (ana) on-yomi: コウ (kou) - cavity, hole, slit, very, great, exceedingly
少 - kun-yomi: すく（ない）(suku(nai)) on-yomi: ショウ (shou) - few, little
尺 - on-yomi: シャク (shaku) - shaku, Japanese foot, measure, scale, rule
屯 - on-yomi: トン (ton) - barracks, police station, camp
巨 - on-yomi: キョ (kyo) - gigantic, big, large, great
幻 - kun-yomi: まぼろし (maboroshi) on-yomi: ゲン (gen) - phantasm, vision, dream, illusion, apparition
弔 - kun-yomi: とむら（う）(tomura(u)) on-yomi: チョウ (chou) - condolences, mourning, funeral
引 - kun-yomi: ひ（く）(hi(ku)) on-yomi: イン (in) - pull, tug, jerk, admit, install, quote, refer to
心 - kun-yomi: こころ (kokoro) on-yomi: シン (shin) - heart, mind, spirit
戸 - kun-yomi: と (to) on-yomi: コ (ko) - door. ALSO: COUNTER for houses
手 - kun-yomi: て (te) on-yomi: シュ (shu) or ズ (zu) - hand
支 - kun-yomi: ささ（える）(sasa(eru)) or つか（える）(tsuka(eru)) on-yomi: シ (shi) - branch, support, sustain
文 - kun-yomi: ふみ (fumi) or あや (aya) on-yomi: ブン (bun) or モン (mon) - sentence, literature, style, art, decoration, figures, plan, script
斗 - on-yomi: ト or トウ (to/tou) - Big Dipper, 10 sho (vol), sake dipper, dipper.
斤 - on-yomi: キン (kin) - axe, 1.32 lbs, catty, ALSO: COUNTER for loaves of bread
方 - kun-yomi: かた (kata) on-yomi: ホウ (hou) - direction, person, alternative, square
日 - kun-yomi: ひ (hi) on-yomi: ニチ (nichi) or ジツ (jitsu) - day, sun, Japan. ALSO: Counter for days
月 - kun-yomi: つき (tsuki) on-yomi: ゲツ (getsu) or ガツ (gatsu) - month, moon
木 - kun-yomi: き (ki) or こ〜 (ko~) on-yomi: ボク (boku) or モク (moku) - tree, wood
欠 - kun-yomi: か（ける）(ka(keru - ka(ku) also works) on-yomi: ケツ (ketsu) or ケン (ken) - lack, gap, fail
止 - kun-yomi: と（まる）(to(maru) along with a lot of others…todo(me) and todo(maru), or ya(meru) too) on-yomi: シ (shi) - stop, halt
比 - kun-yomi: くら（べる）(kura(beru)) on-yomi: ヒ (hi) - compare, race, ratio, Philipines
毛 - Kun-yomi: け (ke) on-yomi: モウ (mow) - fur, hair, feather, down
氏 - Kun-yomi: うじ (uji) on-yomi: シ (shi) - Family name, surname, clan
水 - kun-yomi: みず (miss) on-yomi: スイ (sui) - water (ever watch anime and hear "Suiton" for water stuff? Now you know why!)
火 - kun-yomi: ひ (hi) on-yomi: カ (ka) - fire
爪 - kun-yomi: つめ (tsume) on-yomi: ソウ (sou) - claw, nail, talon
父 - kun-yomi: ちち (chichi) on-yomi: フ (fu) - father
片 - kun-yomi: かた (kata) on-yomi: ヘン (hen) - one-sided, leaf, sheet, slice
牙 - kun-yomi: きば (kiba) on-yomi: ガ (ga) - tusk, fang
牛 - kun-yomi: うし (ushi) on-yomi: ギュウ (gyuu) - cow
犬 - kun-yomi: いぬ (inu) on-yomi: ケン (ken) - dog
王 - on-yomi: オウ (ou) - king, rule, magnate, jade
辺 - kun-yomi: あた（り）(ata(ri)) on-yomi: ヘン (hen) - environs, boundary, border, vicinity
込 - kun-yomi: 〜こ（む）(~ko(mu)) - crowded, mixture, in bulk, included

Phew! Enjoy!