studypad.neocities.org

Kanji

Feb 1, 2022 — xiaolongbao

Foreword

Intro

Note: Items marked ★ are important topics. The others topics are optional reading which I recommend. You can always check them out at a later time.

Since Kanji is used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, I will try to include links and resources for learners of these where possible. It's interesting to see and compare how the characters are used or differ.

Contents

Beginner: Intro

Intermediate: Study

  • JLPT N3 Kanji
  • JLPT N2 Kanji
  • JLPT List

Advanced

  • JLPT N1 Kanji
  • Yojijukugo
  • Kanbun

Reference

  • Kanken List
  • RTK List
  • JLPT List
  • Man'yougana

1. Background

Reading (optional)

Scripts

Oracle Bone Script


2. Primer (Radical Component

Overview

List

1 stroke
#KanjiNameEnglish
1いち
ichi
one, horizontal
2たてぼう・ぼう
tatebou / bou
vertical
3てん・ちょぼ
ten / chobo
dot
4丿の・はらいぼう
no / haraibou
left curve
5乙 乚おつ・おつにょう・つりばり
otsu / otsunyou / tsuribari
bend (2nd celestial stem)
6はねぼう・かぎ
hanebou / kagi
hook
2 stroke
#KanjiNameEnglish
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Reading (optional)


3. Brush Stroke Order

秘学


Kanji

部首ぶしゅ
bushu
Radical
総画数そうかくすう
soukakusuu
Total Brush Strokes
成り立ちなりたち
naritachi
Principles of Formation
音読みおんよみ
on'yomi
Chinese Reading
訓読みくんよみ
kun'yomi
Japanese Reading

Font

  • 篆書体 (てんしょたい) Tensho-tai (Seal Script)
  • 隷書体 (れいしょたい) Reisho-tai (Clerical Script)
  • 楷書体 (かいしょたい) Kaisho-tai (Regular Script)
  • 明朝体 (みんちょうたい) Minchou-tai (Ming Dynasty script)
  • ゴシック体 Goshikku-tai (Gothic Script)

196 additional kanji included in 2010 as general use kanji.

Compulsory education in Japan is age 6 to 15. In elmentary school (age 6-12), a total of 1,006 kanji is studied, known as 教育漢字 (きょういくかんじ kyouiku kanji; educational kanji) while the remainder 1,130 are studied in the three years of junior high (age 12-15).

小学校1年生(小1)漢字80字
小学校2年生(小2)漢字160字
小学校3年生(小3)漢字200字
小学校4年生(小4)漢字200字
小学校5年生(小5)漢字185字
小学校6年生(小6)漢字181字
中学校1年生(中1)漢字316字
中学校2年生(中2)漢字285字
中学校3年生(中3)漢字333字
中学校3年生(中3相当)漢字196字

表外漢字

2020, another 20 kanji was added.
茨媛岡潟岐熊香佐埼崎滋鹿縄井沖栃奈梨阪阜

How to learn kanji

  • correct brush stroke order
  • understand the components that make up a kanji
  • look up example sentence to grasp usage/meaning and sentence structure
  • memorize pronunciation

Kanji Sequence

SourceKanjiDescription
Japanese School Grades2,1361,006 kyouiku and 1,130 in secondary. 1 (80), 2 (160), 3 (200), 4 (200), 5 (185), 6 (181), S1 (316), S2 (285), S3i (333) S3ii (196)
JLPT (2020)
Kanji Learner's Course
Jouyou (2020)
Frequency in Media
Kanji Kentei
Remembering the Kanji (6th Edition)
Hadamitzky/Spahn

Outdated Kanji

JLPTJouyou KanjiOldVariantReplaced By音読み訓読み
1(弌)イチ・イツひと、ひと・つ、はじ・め
1(弎)サンみ、み・つ、みっ・つ
N42(卖)バイう・る、う・れる
N52(读)ドク・トク・トウよ・む、-よ・み
N51(斈)ガクまな・ぶ
N42 (乐)ガク・ラク・ゴウたの・しい、たの・む
N41(芲)カ、ケはな
N42(㑹)カイ、エあ・う、あ・わせる、あつ・まる
N52(圀囶囻囯)コクくに
N21(丝)いと
1(圎圆)エンまる・い、つぶら・か、まど・か、まろ・やか

Kanji Quiz

Brainscape Flash Cards

Notes for Chinese learners

The brush stroke order of some kanji differs from Chinese

Notes on Japanese style

  • Different stroke order

    • 国 (China)
    • 出 (China)
    • 生 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 北 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 書 (Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 男 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 毎 (China, Taiwan, South Korea) it's not 每
    • 母 (China)
    • 花 (Taiwan)
    • 右 (China, Taiwan)
    • 魚 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)

    Different style

    • 後 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 今 (China)
    • 新 (China, Taiwan)
    • 立 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 高 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 六 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 下 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 道 (Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 電 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 校 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 空 (China, South Korea)
    • 食 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 南 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 店 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 週 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)
    • 雨 (Taiwan)
    • 飲 (China, Taiwan, South Korea)

    Some brush strokes to take note of (personal opinion):

    • 国 (4th) vertical before 2nd horizontal
    • 年 (3rd) 2nd horizontal line before the left horizontal line
    • 本 (5th) no hook
    • 出 (1st) starts with horizontal line
    • 長 (1st) starts with vertical line, not horizontal line
    • 後 (1st)
    • 生 (3rd) vertical line before 2nd horizontal line
    • 東 (6th) straight line down with no hook
    • 今 (2nd)
    • 新 (1st)
    • 立 (1st)
    • 手 (4th)
    • 学 (6th) 了 is not one stroke
    • 高 (1st)
    • 六 (1st)
    • 下 (3rd)
    • 気 (5th) cross is from right
    • 山 (1st) vertical middle first
    • 北 (1st) horizontal not vertical
    • 書 (5th) vertical is last
    • 水 (3rd) right component is two strokes not one
    • 電 (5th) the dots slant left to right (rather than down, in, in out)
    • 男 (3rd) vertical before horizontal inside 口
    • 南 (2nd) straight not slanted
    • 週 (4th) vertical first (vs. China) and left component is 3 strokes instead of 4
    • 母 (3rd) two dots before middle bar
    • 万 (2nd) right hook before slant
    • 店 (1st) straight not dot
    • 毎 (5th) different from 每, just a cross
    • 雨 (4th) right slanting dots only
    • 魚 (5th) vertical before horizonal cross
    • 右 (1st) down slant first

    Kanji

    WaniKani

    • WaniKanji is not upfront about their service. It requires you to create an account to access a free trial (up to Level 4) which gets you 100 kanji and 200 words. The website makes an unfair comparison that this is more than what first year Japanese students learn in an entire school year without clarifying that this refers specifically to children of around 6 years old. A better comparison would;ve been to contrast against how many kanji are taught to adult learners.

      The website claims students can learn 2,000 kanji and 6,000 words within a year or two. Their method of teaching is to make use of mnemonics (rather than rote memory), to learn kanji with the least brush strokes (as opposed to the most frequently used kanji), and made up their own names for 26 radicals (deeming the traditional names unhelpful). The review method is by way of flash cards which uses an SRS algorithm to display with priority the cards which the user has failed to answer correctly.

    • Created their own names for 26 of the 214 radicals
    • Uses mnemonics to memorize pronunciation
    • Claims students can learn 2,000 kanji and 5,000 words in 1-2 years
    • Learn from kanji with least strokes
    • Recommends learning hirgana first
    • Flash card system to review and recall from memory
    • Lessons (Name, Examples), Quiz

    In order

    Tofugu

    Kanji

    Sources

    Radicals

    • 214 radicals in Kangxi

    いち

    たてぼう

    てん


    おつ

    おつ

    JLPT

    • Previously 4 grades (1級, 2級, 3級, 4級 with 1級 being the hardest). Revised to 5 grades (N1, N2, N3, N4, N5 with N1 being hardest.
    • Each grade has 5 components Grammar (文法), Vocabulary (語彙), Reading Comprehension (読解), Listening Comprehension (聴解), and Kanji (漢字)
    • Advanced words

      • 演繹(えんえき) deductive reasoning

        Four Character Idioms 四字熟語(よじじゅくご)

        N2 Level

        四捨五入 (ししゃごにゅう)rounding (fractions); rounding half up

        N4 Level

        (N4) 一生懸命 (いっしょうけんめい)very hard; with utmost effort; as hard as one can; with all one's might; for dear life; eagerly; desperately
        魑魅魍魎 (ちみもうりょう)evil spirits of rivers and mountains
        花鳥風月 (かちょうふうげつ)beauties of nature; the traditional themes of natural beauty in Japanese aesthetics
        百鬼夜行 (ひゃっきやぎょう)nightly procession of monsters, spirits, etc. / veritable pandemonium; large number of people plotting and doing evil; creepy characters roaming about
        日進月歩 (にっしんげっぽ)steady progress; rapid advance
        聖人君子 (せいじんくんし)person of lofty virtue; man of noble character; perfect person; saint
        聖人無夢
        孤軍重囲
        泰然自囲
        融通無碍
        旧態依然
        有為転変
        丁丁発止 (ちょうちょうはっし)with (the sound of) clashing swords / (arguing) fiercely; heatedly; vehemently​
        四苦八苦
        四面楚歌
        四神相応
        孤角四面
        孤軍重囲
        孤軍重囲
        聖人賢者 (person of lofty virtue and great wisdom)person of lofty virtue and great wisdom
        平平凡凡
        津津浦浦
        生生世世
        戦戦慄慄

        Idioms 慣用句

        • 尻に敷く(しりにしく)
        • 人間万事塞翁が馬 (にんげんがんじさいおうがうま) (ref)
        • 猫に小判(ねこにこばん) (giving) a gold coin to a cat
        • 豚に真珠(ぶたにしんじゅ) casting pearls before swine

        Tags: scripts