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!

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...

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