Mastering Japanese Kanji Volume 1 - Learnoutlive

Mastering Japanese KanjiVolume 1By Jeremiah Bourquehttp://learnoutlive.com/japanese

About The Author Jeremiah Bourque is a blogger, author,linguist, philosopher, and student ofstrategy (Sun Tzu and so forth). A formerJapanese to English translator who hasturned to education to help others helpthemselves.

Table of Contents How To Use This Booklet – 4Kanji Section – 7Important Common Adjectives – 43Special Guest Compound – 44Verbs For This Lesson – 46Sentence Exercise Section – 51Free Sentence Evaluation Offer – 65

How To Use This Booklet This booklet provides a reference for thefirst lesson in the “Mastering JapaneseKanji” series. The first lesson is free. Others are not. Each kanji comes with a beautifully large,wood background slide for visual power,and an explanation page displayingreadings, core meaning, and etymology(background of the character).

Teaching Philosophy1. FOCUS on a limited number of kanji.2. VISUAL POWER to create a visceralconnection to the symbol.3. EXPLANATION to get the logical part ofthe brain involved.4. PRACTICE makes perfect.5. EXPANSION in small increments.

Online Exercises In the future, this book can be used withonline exercises at:http://learnoutlive.com/japanese While you can always flip around and lookonly at the big kanji, these images can beeasily used as part of a flashcard-liketraining process. Read further in this booklet for moreinformation about sentence exercises.

(The Kanji) (1) “On” Reading (2) “Kun” Reading(3) Core Meaning of the Kanji(4) Etymology (background) of the Kanji(5) Examples, If Space Permits

日 On: ニチ・ジツ (nichi/ jitsu). Kun: ひ (hi). Core Meaning: Sun. A pictograph of the sun, and its reflectionon water as the sun rises. (The PacificOcean is to the East of China ) 日々 ( ひび、 hibi): Day by Day (or: Daily,Everyday)

木 On: ボク・モク (boku/ moku). Kun: き (ki). Core Meaning: Tree. This kanji is, quite simply, a pictograph ofa tree large enough that its branches offershelter to creatures beneath it. 木馬 ( もくば、 mokuba): Tree Horse Wooden Horse, such as those used ingymnastics; or, The Trojan Horse.

土 On: ド・ト (do/ to). Kun: つち (tsuchi).Core Meaning: Soil.A pictograph of piled soil.I prefer not to use the word earth, notbecause it is incorrect, but because ofeasy confusion with “The Earth” which isrelated to a different kanji.

月 On: ゲツ・ガツ (getsu/ gatsu). Kun: つき(tsuki). Core Meaning: Moon. This is a pictograph of a shimmeringcrescent moon. Because Asian nations were originally onlunar calendars, this kanji is also used toindicate months.

森 On: シン (shin). Kun: もり (mori). Core Meaning: Forest. In kanji, a group of three indicates “many.”Thus, this kanji indicates many trees,meaning a dense forest, something largerand grander than a grove. This kanji is used as part of manyJapanese names.

空 On: クウ (kuu). Kun: そら・から (sora/kara). Core Meaning: Sky/ Empty. The kanji itself is “a hole” above “aconnecting pipe.” Thus, it represents theempty space inside a hollow tube. 空 ( そら、 sora): Sky. The “empty” spaceabove us all.

風 On: フ・フウ (fu/ fuu). Kun: かぜ (kaze). Core Meaning: Wind. This is an insect ( 虫 ) being fluttered bythe wind as if it is a cloth (the other part ofthe kanji). As a suffix, “fuu” is a figurative term forstyle (the figurative flow of the air).

水 On: スイ (sui). Kun: みず (mizu). Core Meaning: Water. This is a pictograph of water following awinding course across low ground. 水色 ( みずいろ、 mizuiro): Lit.: The Colorof Water. Fig.: Light Blue.

Stand-Alone Readings 1 日木土月森空風水( にち )(き)( つち )( つき )( もり )( そら )( かぜ )( みず )

Stand-Alone Readings #1 日木土月森空風水( にち、 nichi)( き、 ki)( つち、 tsuchi)( つき、 tsuki)( もり、 mori)( そら、 sora)( かぜ、 kaze)( みず、 mizu)

山 On: サン･セン (san/ sen). Kun: やま(yama). Core Meaning: Mountain. This is a pictograph of a finely chiseledmountain. 山々 ( やまやま、 yamayama): (Figurative)Mountains of something. (For example,mountains of cash.)

川 On: セン (sen). Kun: かわ (kawa). Core Meaning: River. This represents not only a gentle riverboring its way through the earth, but thechannel that the water creates in theprocess. 川下 ( かわしも、 kawashimo): River Down Downstream.

天 On: テン (ten). Kun: あまつ・あめ・あま(amatsu/ ame/ ama). Core Reading: Heaven. A line above an outstretched person (theusual character for big, 大 ) indicatingwhat is grander than grand, vaster thanvast, i.e. the heavens. The “on” readingcan be used even if the kanji is standalone.

気 On: キ・ケ (ki/ ke). Kun: いき (iki). Core Meaning: Breath. Vapor Rice, such as the vapor risingfrom steamed rice, used for the concept ofbreath. However, this is figurative breath:the breath of life, the spirit, vitality, andmood. This kanji can be read stand-aloneas “ki” (which is uncommon).

石 On: セキ・シャク・コク (seki/ shaku/ koku).Kun: いし (ishi). Core Meaning: Stone. This is a stone at the base of a cliff. Thiskanji is used for things like cobblestones,not boulders. 隕石 ( いんせき、 inseki): Fall Stone AMeteorite.

岩 On: ガン (gan). Kun: いわ (iwa). Core Meaning: Rock. A simplified version of a mountain withmany rocks strewn about. This implieslarger and less tidy objects than stones. 岩穴 ( いわあな、 iwaana): Rock Hole Cavern or Grotto.

雨 On: ウ (u). Kun: あめ・あま (ame/ ama). Core Meaning: Rain. A modern version of a pictograph showingrain falling from the heavens. (Note thetop, horizontal line such as in 天 .) 雨雲 ( あまぐも、 amagumo): Rain Cloud Raincloud.

雪 On: セツ (setsu). Kun: ゆき (yuki). Core Meaning: Snow. This combines rain ( 雨 ) with “a broom,”for snow is something that sweeps in andcleanses the earth, eliminating filth. (Thiskanji comes from pre-industrialization!) 雪白 ( せっぱく、 seppaku): Snow White Snow White, pure, immaculate.

Stand-Alone Readings #2 山川天気石岩雨雪( やま、 yama)( かわ、 kawa)( てん、 ten)( き、 ki)( いし、 ishi)( いわ、 iwa)( あめ、 ame)( ゆき、 yuki)

Important Common Adjectives 小さい ( ちいさい、 chiisai, small)大きい ( おおきい、 ookii, large)中々 ( なかなか、 nakanaka, so-so)少し ( すこし、 sukoshi, a little/ a bit)多く ( おおく、 ooku, many)太い ( ふとい、 futoi, fat)

Special Guest Compound 天気 ( てんき、 tenki): Weather. Heaven Breath. The breath of heaven. 気 is used for many figurativeexpressions. It is the “ki” in “kibun” formood. Thus, we might see it asdisposition: the disposition (or mood) ofheaven.

Key Verb:見る ( みる ) 見る (miru). To See. Not to be confused with 見える (mieru, tobe visible) or 見せる (miseru, to show). Conjugations follow in katakana:

見る Plain Present: 見る ( みる )Polite Present: 見ます ( みます )Plain Past: 見た ( みた )Polite Past: 見ました ( みました )Plain Negative: 見ない ( みない )Polite Negative: 見ません ( みません )Plain Neg. Past: 見なかった ( みなかった )

見る Polite Neg. Past: 見ませんでした ( みませんでした） Continuative: 見て ( みて ) Conditional: 見れば ( みれば ) Volitional: 見よう ( みよう ) Passive & Potential: 見られる ( みられる ) Causative: 見させる ( みさせる ) Imperative: 見ろ ( みろ )

Other VerbsFor This Lesson 行く ( いく、 iku, To Go)戻る ( もどる、 modoru, To Go Back)帰る ( かえる、 kaeru, To Return)来る ( くる、 kuru, To Come)歩く ( あるく、 aruku, To Walk)

Sentence Practices “Mastering Japanese Kanji” was originallymeant for intermediate students seeking tomaster kanji that had been learned, butwhich were “floating around” in the head. This is an extremely common problemthat has not been adequately addressedby most books and programs. This section is meant to prod the studentto form his or her own sentences.

Help For Beginners Those who are not intermediate students,or who are still uncomfortable withJapanese sentence structure, go rightahead and visit:http://learnoutlive.com/japanese The tutoring offered runs from Zero toHero, complete beginner status on up.Field-tested lessons are available toprovide real help for the real world.

The Mixed Language Method It’s simply not possible to master basickanji and have all the words we wouldwant to go with these kanji ready foraction. Therefore, we must substituteEnglish as required, chiefly in two areas: 1. Verbs 2. Nouns We will, however, strive to respectJapanese grammar at all times.

Readings Recap #1 日木土月森空風水( にち、 nichi)( き、 ki)( つち、 tsuchi)( つき、 tsuki)( もり、 mori)( そら、 sora)( かぜ、 kaze)( みず、 mizu)

Readings Recap, #2 山川天気石岩雨雪( やま、 yama)( かわ、 kawa)( てん、 ten)( き、 ki)( いし、 ishi)( いわ、 iwa)( あめ、 ame)( ゆき、 yuki)

Important Common Adjectives 小さい ( ちいさい、 chiisai, small)大きい ( おおきい、 ookii, large)中々 ( なかなか、 nakanaka, so-so)少し ( すこし、 sukoshi, a little/ a bit)多く ( おおく、 ooku, many)太い ( ふとい、 futoi, fat)

Verbs For This Lesson 見る ( みる、 miru, To See)行く ( いく、 iku, To Go)戻る ( もどる、 modoru, To Go Back)帰る ( かえる、 kaeru, To Return)来る ( くる、 kuru, To Come)歩く ( あるく、 aruku, To Walk)

Fill In The Blanks In this section, I (the sensei) will offer up asentence with a . That is, a blank. You will be called upon to fill this blank (orblanks, multiple) with the vocabulary youhave been striving to retain and master. Our default character for sentencepurposes is named Hiroshi.

Hiroshi Looks Hiroshi looks at the . There are many valid answers from thislesson. You can try to fill this blank withany of the possibilities, and try thismultiple times to remember the standalone readings of the kanji.

Hiroshi Saw Hiroshi saw the and .

Hiroshi Is Looking At Hiroshi is looking at the .

Hiroshi Went To Hiroshi は に行きました。

Hiroshi Walks To Hiroshi は に歩く。

Free-Form Sentences You can use Hiroshi, or any 1st personpronoun, to create your own sentences aswell. Why not try it out? When you’re ready, read on:

Free Sentence Evaluations If you are a reader and Japanese studentand have formed your own sentences,why not give the author a look for a freeevaluation? Subject to a reasonable limit (5 to 10) Constructive criticism only jeremiahbourque@gmail.com

Master JapaneseOne Step At A Time Please consider Learn Out Live’sJapanese department for your Japaneselearning needs. http://learnoutlive.com/japanese Thank you very much.

“Mastering Japanese Kanji” was originally meant for intermediate students seeking to master kanji that had been learned, but which were “floating around” in the head. This is an extremely common problem that has