Comprehensive Key to the 23 Kanji

Below, you’ll find the yomi and meanings of the 23 kanji included in this review. After that, you’ll find links to the blogs that examined these kanji in depth.

1. 玉 (GYOKU, tama: jewel; spherical)

To Know One’s Onions

2. 空 has all the following yomi and meanings:

KŪ: sky, empty
a(keru): to empty, leave blank
kara, kara(ppo): empty
muna(shii): empty, vain, futile
sora: sky
su(ku), a(ku): to be empty, unoccupied
utsuke: empty-headed
utsu(ro): hollow, blank

This kanji also often means “fake” or “sham.”

Empty Sky at Night, Kanji-phile’s Delight: Part 1 of 3
Other Sides of the Sky: Part 2 of 3
Checking the Void: Part 3 of 3

3. 後 has all the following yomi and meanings:

GO, nochi: after, later
KŌ, ushi(ro): behind
ato: afterward, subsequent, later, back, rear, remainder, retro-
oku(reru): to be late, to lag behind, to fall back

Possibilities from Ato to Zen: Part 1 of 4
In the Afterbath: Part 2 of 4
Sense and Sensibility: Part 3 of 4
Late for a Very Important Date: Part 4 of 4

4. 男 (DAN, NAN, otoko: man, male)

It’s Raining Men!

5. 間 (KAN, KEN, aida, ma: space; timing, situation, occasion; rooms)

Delightful Intervals: Part 1 of 3
Moments of Being: Part 2 of 3
The Space Between Us: Part 3 of 3

6. 葉 (YŌ, ha: leaf)

Turning Over a New Leaf: Part 1
The Folly of Foliage: Part 2

7. 言 (GEN, GON, i(u), koto: word, to say, speech)

A Fragment of the Imagination: Part 1
So Much to Say: Part 2
Silence as Golden or Dead: Part 3
Word Play, Word Power: Part 4

8. 意 (I: will, heart, mind, thought, meaning, sense)

The Short and Long of It: Part 1
The Peanut Butter and Jelly of Kanji: Part 2
Maps of the Wandering Mind: Part 3
The Layers of the Mind: Part 4
Balance, Meaning, and Belonging: Part 5

9. 寝 (SHIN, ne(ru): to go to sleep)
10. 眠 (MIN, nemu(ru): to sleep)

Preparing to Hibernate

11. 出 (de(ru)) has two meanings:

1. to appear; to come forth
2. to leave, to go away

Jack-in-the-Box Expressions

12. 追 (TSUI, o(u)) has two meanings:

1. to chase after, to pursue
2. to chase away, to drive (cattle), to shoo (flies)

The Chase Is On: Part 1 of 3
Revenge of the Kanji Gods: Part 2 of 3
Toil and Trouble: Part 3 of 3

13. 実 (JITSU, mi, mino(ru): reality)

Reality Check: Part 1
Frankly, My Dear …: Part 2
For Your Eyes Only: Part 3
Melons and More: Part 4
The Konomi Yomi: Part 5
Reaping the Fruits of One’s Labor: Part 6

14. 密 (MITSU, hiso(ka)) has three meanings:

1. Close, dense, thick, compact, tight
2. Minuteness, carefulness
3. Secret, private, illegal, stealthy

Secrets, Swords, Singapore, … and Density?!: Part 1
Secrets of the “Secret” Kanji: Part 2
Dense and Detailed: Part 3

15. 約 (YAKU: about; to promise, make an agreement, conclude a treaty; contract; to contract)

Kinda Sorta a Binding Commitment: Part 1
A Kanji Like an Accordion: Part 2
Tale of the YAKU: Part 3

16. 混 (KON, ma(jiri), ma(zeru), ma(zaru): confused)

The Swirling Waters of Confusion: Part 1
An Appealing Disorder: Part 2
Jumbles: Part 3

17. 騒 (SŌ, sawa(gu): clamor, noise, disturbance; to make a fuss)

Making a Fuss: Part 1
It’s a Riot: Part 2
Disturbing the Peace: Part 3

18. 長 (CHŌ, naga(i): long)

So Long: Part 1
Mirror Images: Part 2

19. 順 (JUN: sequence, compliance)

Call to Order: Part 1
Ain’t Behavin’: Part 2

20. 境 (KYŌ, KEI, sakai: boundary, situation)

On the Borderline: Part 1
Boundaries and the Spaces They Define: Part 2

21. 環 (KAN, wa) has two meanings:

1. ring, circle, loop
2. to surround, encircle; around

Rings and Things: Part 1
Circular Thinking: Part 2

22. 輪 (RIN, wa: ring, circle, loop)

Circular Thinking: Part 2
Reinventing the Wheel: Part 3

23. 触 (SHOKU, fu(reru), sawa(ru): to contact, touch, feel; to hit; to proclaim; conflict)

Touched by an Angle: Part 1
The Assorted Flavors of 触: Part 2

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