Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary I wonder if you know how to say the following things in Japanese: He's free with his money. She has a rough way of talking. My boss is a slave driver. No? How have you been getting by so far? Don't you need the third sentence, in particular? Two More Terms You Can't Live Without ... Even though these English sentences seem to have nothing in common, their Japanese translations share some useful vocabulary. All three feature the kanji we've been examining for the past two weeks: 荒 (KŌ, ara(i), ara-, a(reru), a(rasu), -a(rashi): rough, crude, natural, wild) In fact, in every sentence, 荒 shows up in the following word: 荒い (arai: rough, rude,... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary If you saw the following, what would you think the word meant? 山荒 (yamaarashi)     mountain + rough The kanji 荒 (KŌ, ara(i), ara-, a(reru), a(rasu), -a(rashi): rough, crude, natural, wild) contains the "grass" radical 艹, so maybe this is a type of plant that grows on mountains. Then again, the roughness could describe the mountain itself—perhaps the condition of an eroded slope. (By the way, "erosion" is a great word: 水食, suishoku: erosion, water + to eat. Erosion is what happens when water "eats" a slope!) Mountain + rough could also refer to the unpolished manner of a country bumpkin living on an isolated mountain. But no, 山荒... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary If I saw the following word out of context, I would puzzle over the breakdown: 大荒れ (ōare: great storm)     big + being wild Sample Sentence with 大荒れ ... I would wonder, exactly who or what is big and being wild? An untamed horse or a pro wrestler would come to mind. The breakdown even sounds illicit, like something in an ad for erotic services (not that I read those). But in this case, 荒 describes the weather. From the following compounds and their breakdowns, you might conclude that 荒 (KŌ, ara(i), ara-, a(reru), a(rasu), -a(rashi): rough, crude, natural, wild) generally refers to a force that whips natural elements into a state of frenzy:... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary To "strong-arm" someone, we use threats or intimidation to coerce that person into doing what we want. Well, maybe I shouldn't say "we." I like inclusiveness, but I'm not sure "we" serves me too well here. (I also like to be a bit more discreet about my use of threats and intimidation.) Turns out, the Japanese also "strong-arm" people to get their way. That is, the kanji for "threaten, coerce, intimidate" contains a strong arm, or several: 脅 (KYŌ, odo(su), odo(kasu), obiya(kasu): to intimidate, threaten, coerce) Although 力 (RYOKU, chikara) now means "power," it originally represented a bulging bicep. Henshall says that 劦 in 脅 means "strong arm" or "strength." The... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary Let's say you encountered this sentence: 新聞はあなたの脇にあります。 You likely know 新聞 as shinbun (newspaper, new + hearsay), so you could read the whole sentence, except perhaps for one troublesome character smack-dab in the center. Trying to work around it, you would have this: Shinbun wa anata no ___ ni arimasu. The newspaper is in your ... driveway? Birdcage? Thoughts? Looking at the components of 脇 might help. The "flesh" radical, 月, almost always tells us that we're talking about the body. So the newspaper is somewhere in your body?! When Does the 月 Component Not Mean "Flesh"? ... As for 力, that means "power." In fact, it was originally a pictograph of... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary If you asked me to refer in Japanese to four species of Antarctic penguins, I might try to squeeze ペンギン (pengin: penguin), 4種類 (yon shurui: four kinds), and いる (iru: to exist) into a sentence. In the penguin sign I've mentioned (yes, we're still talking about it!), ペンギン and 4種類 certainly appear. But instead of いる, we find this: 生息する (seisoku suru: to inhabit, live)     life + to live Here's the relevant text again: 南極に生息する4種類のペンギン Nankyoku ni seisoku suru yon shurui no pengin four Antarctic penguin species 南極 (nankyoku: South Pole)     south + pole 種類 (shurui: kind, type)     kind +... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary Two weeks ago, I introduced the following sentence: ペンギンと背比べ！南極に生息する4種類のペンギンの脇に立ち、あなたの身長と比較してみて下さい。 Pengin to seikurabe! Nankyoku ni seisoku suru 4 shurui no penginno waki ni tachi, anata no shinchō to hikaku shite mite kudasai. Stand beside the four Antarctic penguin species and see how tall they are compared to you! Breakdown of the Kanji ... At first glance, it might seem as if this text is about penguins, and of course they play a vital role. But the more I look at it, the more I see that it's full of body parts! See how many components or whole kanji you can spot that relate in some way to bodies or their functions. I'll post the original sign again to... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary It's May 1. So what does that mean for us? Well, it's a holiday in many parts of the world, but not for me, so that definitely wasn't on my mind. Wrong answer! May 1 is also my husband's birthday. Happy birthday! This year, after my birthday rolls around, we'll both have prime numbers as our ages. I don't think that's ever happened before. I also think it's highly insignificant in the big scheme of things (e.g., the study of Japanese), so forget that answer, too. The "proper" answer is that it's time for the May page of Alberto Sanz's beautiful haiku calendar:     The haiku again: あえかなる薔薇撰りをれば春の雷 Aekanaru bara erioreba haru no rai Choosing the... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary First off, there's some housekeeping to attend to; I promised that today I would provide answers to the most recent contest and make the winners famous. The top three contestants did a great job. They also happened to be the only contestants! Congratulations to the following people: Devon Bartlett Naveh Mazenko Alberto Sanz (again!) You'll find answers and explanations at the link. Famous Sayings: Answers and Explanations ... These three people deserve credit not only for terrific research but also for feeling motivated enough to do extra work for no material gains. That is, they acted in the following way: 積極的 (sekkyokuteki: assertive, positive, active,... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary As a multicultural citizen of the world, you've probably left your hometown behind. You may miss it occasionally, but what do you miss? The way the hills and valleys came together, a river running through it? The scent of honeysuckle in summers, and the crickets that never stopped chirping? The brilliant autumn displays, and the heavy snows in winter? Do you miss the kind of people from that area? Your family in particular? The food you can't find anywhere else? Your house and the room that was yours and yours alone? The familiarity of everything in that house—the layout, the way the place smelled, the possessions that acquired so much meaning along the way? Or... Show more