Let’s Learn Japanese!
Whip out those ink stones and ink brushes…
It’s time for the official BxT Blog kanji lesson!
Lent your inkstone to the neighbor? Any writing utensil will do.
For those of you who may or may not know, kanji is one of the 3 written Japanese alphabets. (The other two being Hiragana and Katakana) Kanji is a very mysterious and beautiful beast. Each pictogram represents an idea or word, and changes meaning when combined with other ideas or words. Sound complicated? It is. But with a bit of practice and a little luck, you too can start taming the beast and firm your grasp over the Japanese language!
Let’s begin:
The three kanji we are learning this blog are Sky, Time, and Spring.
Sky
sky
Meanings: sky, air, empty
On-reading: kuu
Kun-reading: sora, a(ku), kara
Time
time
Meanings: time, duration, period, hour
On-reading: ji
Kun-reading: toki, ~doki
Spring
spring
Meanings: spring, spring of life, youth
On-reading: shun
Kun-reading: haru
You may be asking: What’s with this On-reading/Kun-reading business? In a nutshell, it’s how the kanji is pronounced, depending on its usage. “On” readings are typically used when the kanji is combined with other kanji to form a compound. “Kun” readings are typically used when the kanji is used on its own. We’ll delve more into this topic in later lessons.
Hope you enjoyed this brief introduction into the massive world of kanji!
Get out those writing utensils and practice practice practice!
Free virtual hifives to everyone who participates. ^^