Thursday 31 July 2008

風 - wind



wind;
a cold;
behaviour, pretense

: フ FU
くん:かぜ kaze, かざ- kaza-, ふり furi

風呂
ふろ
furo - bath; a bathtub

神風
かみかぜ
kamikaze - divine wind

風来坊
ふうらいぼう
fūraibō - hobo


八 - eight



eight

: ハチ HACHI
くん:や- ya-

尺八
しゃくはち
shakuhachi - bamboo flute

八王子
はちおうじ
Hachiōji - a city in Tokyo Prefecture

Wednesday 30 July 2008

岩 - rock



rock

: ガン GAN
くん:いわ iwa

岩戸
いわと
iwato - entrance to a cave

奇岩
きがん
kigan - strangely shaped rock

七 - seven



seven

: シチ SHICHI
くん:なな nana

七夕
たなばた
tanabata - Star Festival held on the 7th day of the 7th month

七面鳥
しちめんちょう
shichimenchō - turkey

Tuesday 29 July 2008

谷 - valley



valley

: コク KOKU
くん:たに tani, -や -ya

谷川
たにがわ
tanigawa - mountain stream

空谷
くうこく
kūkoku - lonely valley

六 - six



six

: ロク ROKU
くん:む- mu-

六角
ろっかく
rokkaku - hexagon

六本木
ろっぽんぎ
Roppongi - a popular tourist district of Tokyo

Monday 28 July 2008

原 - original



original, fundamental;
a plain, wilderness

: ゲン GEN
くん:はら hara

原人
げんじん
genjin - early man

原子
げんし
genshi - atom

原形質
げんけいしつ
genkeishitsu - protoplasm

五 - five



five

: ゴ GO
くん:いつ itsu-

五月
ごがつ
gogatsu - May

五行
ごぎょう
gogyō - The 5 elements:
Fire, Wood, Earth, Metal, Water

Sunday 27 July 2008

海 - sea



sea, ocean

: カイ KAI
くん:うみ umi

海月
くらげ
kurage - jellyfish

海賊
かいぞく
kaizoku - pirate

四 - four



four

: シ SHI
くん:よん yon、よ- yo-

四国
しこく
Shikoku - the smallest of Japan's four main islands

四人
よにん
yonin - four people

Saturday 26 July 2008

池 - pond



pond, reservoir

: チ CHI
くん:いけ ike

蓮池
はすいけ
hasuike - lotus pond

電池
でんち
denchi - battery

三 - three



three

: サン SAN
くん:み- mi-

三角チョコパイ
さんかくちょきぱい
sankaku choko pai - triangular chocolate pie,
a desert available from McDonald's

三菱
みつびし
Mitsubishi

Friday 25 July 2008

野 - field



field

: ヤ YA
くん:の no

野球
やきゅう
yakyū - baseball (field ball)

草野駅
くさのえき
kusano eki - Kusano(grass field) Station,
a train station in Iwaki, Japan

二 - two



two

: ニ NI
くん:ふた- futa-

二子 
ふたご
futago - twins

二十
にじゅう
nijū - twenty

Thursday 24 July 2008

一 - one



one

: イチ ICHI, イツ ITSU
くん:ひと- hito-

一番 
いちばん
ichiban - first, best.

サッポロ一番
さっぽろいちばん
Sapporo Ichiban - my favourite brand of instant noodle

音、くん - ON and kun

Many Japanese kanji have multiple pronunciations, and they each fall into one of two categories: the ON reading and the kun reading.



This symbol is ON. The ON readings originate from the original Chinese character that the Japanese character is based on. The ON readings are typically represented in English in all capital letters, or in Japanese by Katakana characters.

くん

This word is kun. The kun readings are native to Japanese, and are typically represented in English as lowercase letters, and in Japanese by Hiragana characters.

地 - ground



ground; earth; place
: チ CHI, ジ JI

地下
ちか
chika - underground

地下鉄
ちかてつ
chikatetsu - subway