Kanji pronunciation Help !!!

[aul0000_505234]

I have read that the kun-reading is used when the kanji is used on it own.
And the on-reading used when the kanji is a part of a compound (two or more kanji characters are placed side by site)

For the kanji 一
The kun-reading is ひと
The on-reading is イチ,イツ

So can anyone explain to me why we used on-reading for the kanji 一 which is イチ when it comes by it Self not the kun-reading ひと.

[mmmason8967]

Kun reading for standalone kanji and on reading for kanji compounds is a guideline rather than a rule. It's very often true, but it isn't always true. There's an English spelling rule that says "i before e except after c", and that's not always true either (for example, "neither", "ancient" and "their" don't follow the 'rule').

So it's quite possible for kun readings to be used in kanji compounds and on readings to be used for standalone kanji. It's even possible for a kanji compound to have a mix of on and kun readings--it's fairly common in Japanese names, I think.

マイケル

[kwecky]

Is there some sort of a pettern to this, or is this something to put on my list to memorise?
Heh, I knew there had to be some extra difficulties to make up for the easy grammar

[community.japanese]

Kwecky san,
Konnichiwa.
If you are a beginner, please stick the rule compound kanji or not at the moment.
For example
学校 gakkou on-reading
学ぶ nama-bu kun-reading
Then when you get used to on-reading and ku-reading, please try exceptions.
Yuki 由紀
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