What is Japanese Alphabet ? of Recent Article

Demonstrative in Japanese: Ko-so-a-do System

Japanese has a lot of demonstrative (Pronoun).
And, those Demonstrative (Pronoun) is often used with noun.
Almost all Japanese demonstrative has the "Ko, So, A, Do initials".

These are the basic definitions of "こ(ko), そ(so), あ(a), ど(do) system".

Ko-So-A-Do System

	Near speaker	Near listener	Far from both	Question
What	kore これ this one	sore それ that one	are あれ that one	dore どれ which (of 3 or more)
Which	kono この this "***"	sono その that "***"	ano あの that "***"(over there)	dono どの which "***" what kind of "***"
Where	koko ここ here	soko そこ there	asoko あそこ over there	doko どこ where
Direction （The word in parentheses is informal.）	kochira こちら this way	sochira そちら that way	achira あちら that way	dochira どちら which way
	kocchi こっち	socchi そっち	acchi あっち	docchi どっち
Ｗｈｏ (Dirty words)	koitsu こいつ this guy	soitsu そいつ that guy	aitsu あいつ that guy (over there)	doitsu どいつ who guy
Way/manner	kou こう in this manner	sou そう in that manner	aa ああ in that manner	dou どう in which manner
	konna こんな	sonna そんな	anna あんな	donna どんな

These are the basic definitions of "こ(ko), そ(so), あ(a), ど(do) system".

• ko(こ) - Something near the speaker.
• so(そ) - Something nearer the listener than the speaker.
• a(あ) - Something at a distance from both speaker and listener.
• do(ど) - Question

Pronoun for things: Kore, Sore, Are, Dore

• "Kore, Sore, Are, Dore" are demonstrative pronouns and you choose one depending on the position of the object:
• "Kore(これ)" = This thing (close to you)
• "Sore(それ)" = That thing (close to your listener; close to the other person, far to the speaker)
• "Are(あれ)" = Tha over there (far both from you and the speaker)/That (far away to both the listener and the speaker. sharing information) Dore = which? (of 3 or more things.)
• "Dore(どれ)" is the question word, that is translated as "which".

 

The following picture shows how to use the words for "Kore, Sore, Are, Dore".

English	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
What is this?	これは何？ kore wa nani?	これは何ですか？ kore wa nandesuka?
What is that?	それは何？ sore wa nani?	それは何ですか？ sore wa nandesuka?
This is a frog.	これはカエルだよ。 kore wa kaeru dayo.	これはカエルです。 kore wa kaeru desu.

English	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
What's that over there?	あれは何？ are wa nani?	あれは何ですか？ are wa nandesuka?
That is the sun.	あれは太陽だよ。 are wa taiyou dayo.	あれは太陽です。 are wa taiyoudesu.

English	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Where is the thing for cracking nutshells?	クルミを割るアレ、どこだっけ？ kurumi wo waru are, doko dakke?	クルミを割るアレ、どこでしたでしょうか？ kurumi wo waru are, doko deshita deshouka?
It is in kitchen.	それは台所だよ。 sore wa daidokoro dayo.	それは台所です。 sore wa daidokoro desu.

English	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Which one do you like?	(あなたは)どれが好き? (anata wa) dore ga suki?	(あなたは)どれが好きですか? (anata wa) dore ga sukidesuka?
Which is correct?	どれが正しい？ dore ga tadasii?	どれが正しいですか？ dore ga tadasiidesuka?
"Look at that!" "What?"	"あれ見て！" "どれ？" "are mite!" "dore?"	"あれ見てください！" "どれですか？" "are mitekudasai!" "doredesuka?"

Prenominal adjective: Kono, Sono, Ano, Dono

Kono, Sono, Ano, Dono are prenominal adjective.

• "Kono(この)" = This (right here near you)
• "Sono(その)" = This That (over there) further from you
• "Ano(あの)" = That (over there) further from you
• "Dono(どの)" = Which (of 3 or more objects)

Both "kono" and "kore" have the same meaning in English.
So if "kono" means "this" and "kore" means this, what is the difference in their uses?
The confusion comes from the fact that in English, the same word "this" is being used in 2 grammatically different sentences.

i.e."This(これ;kore) is a book" and "This(この;kono) book is expensive".

So a quick answer is: "kono", "sono", "ano" and "dono" are called pre-nominals and connect directly to a noun without any particles between the two.

 

English	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
This frog is lovely. This frog, close to the speaker. =Kono kaeru.	このカエルはかわいい。 kono kaeru wa kawaii.	このカエルはかわいいです。 kono kaeru wa kawaiidesu.

English	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
There is children in that bus. That bus, close to the listener. =Sono basu	そのバスに子供がいる。 sono basu ni kodomo ga iru.	そのバスに子供がいます。 sono basu ni kodomo ga imasu.

English	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
That sun over there is very glared. That sun over there, not close to list. or speaker: ano taiyou	あの太陽はすごくまぶしい。 ano taiyou wa sugoku mabushii.	あの太陽はすごくまぶしいです。 ano taiyou wa sugoku mabushii desu.

 

Which frog? (of 3 or more objects)

= どのカエル？(dono kaeru?)
= どのカエルですか？(dono kaeru desuka?)

 

 

Hararie

 

What is RENDAKU?

 

連濁[RENDAKU](lit. "sequential voicing") is a phenomenon in Japanese morphophonology that governs the voicing of the initial consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word.

In modern Japanese, RENDAKU is common but unpredictable.

The "voicing" is not a strict change from voiceless to voiced sounds, but rather the action of adding a "濁点[dakuten](Dot marks for voiced sound)" to the first kana of the portion being altered.

It is also known as "sequential voicing".

 

RENDAKU example in Japanese

RENDAKU can be seen in the following.

1.
人[hito] + 人[hito] > 人々[hitobito] ("person" + "person" → "people")

 

手[te] + 紙[kami] > 手紙[tegami] ("hand" + "paper" → "letter")

 

 

Properties blocking RENDAKU

Research into defining the range of situations affected by RENDAKU has largely been limited to finding circumstances which cause the phenomenon not to manifest itself.

<Lyman's Law>
The most famous of the conditions affecting RENDAKU is known as Lyman's Law, which stated that RENDAKU does not occur if the second consonant of the second element is a voiced obstruent.

This was later modified to state that RENDAKU does not occur when the second element of the compound contains a voiced obstruent in any position (see third example below).
This is considered to be one of the most fundamental of the rules governing RENDAKU.

 

2.
山[yama] + 火事[kaji] > 山火事[yama kaji], not [yama gaji] ("mountain" + "fire" > "forest fire") ( indicates an unacceptable form)

 

一人[hitori] + 旅[tabi] > 一人旅[hitori tabi], not [hitori dabi] ("one person" + "travel" > "traveling alone")

 

角[tsuno] + トカゲ[tokage] > 角トカゲ[tsuno tokage], not [tsuno dokage] ("horn" + "lizard" > "horned lizard")

While this law is named after Benjamin Smith Lyman, who independently discovered it in 1894, it is really a re-discovery.

The Edo period linguists 賀茂真淵[Kamo no Mabuchi (1765)] and 本居宣長[Motoori Norinaga (1767--1798)] separately and independently discovered the law during the 18th century.

 

<Lexical properties>
Similar to Lyman's Law, it has been found that for some lexical items, RENDAKU does not manifest itself if there is a voiced obstruent near the morphemic boundary, including preceding the boundary.

Some lexical items tend to resist RENDAKU voicing regardless of other conditions, while some tend to accept it.

RENDAKU also occurs infrequently in Sino-Japanese words (Japanese words of Chinese origin) especially where the element undergoing RENDAKU is well integrated ("vulgarized").

The third example demonstrates that RENDAKU hardly manifests in most words of foreign origin.

3.
株式[kabushiki] + 会社[kaisha] > 株式会社[kabushiki gaisha] not [kabushiki kaisha]("stock" + "company" > "corporation")

アイス[aisu] + コーヒー[kÔ-hii] > アイスコーヒー[aisukÔ-hii], not [aisugÔ-hii] ("ice" + "coffee" > "iced coffee")

 

<Semantics>
RENDAKU also tends not to manifest itself in compounds which have the semantic value of "X and Y" (so-called dvandva or copulative compounds):

4.
山[yama] + 川[kawa] > 山川[yamakawa] "mountains and rivers".
Compare this to 山[yama] + 川[kawa] > 山川[yamagawa] "mountain river".
The pronunciation of "Yamakawa" as a general noun is "Yamagawa", and the meaning is "River that flows in the mountain."

 

The pronunciation by a Japanese family name has the family name with the pronunciation such as "山川[Yamagawa]" and "山川[san gawa]" though "山川[Yama kawa]" is general.

This might be very confusing for you, but RENDAKU is important in the pronunciation of words in Japanese.

 

 

<Branching constraint>
Finally, RENDAKU is also blocked by what is called a "branching constraint".
The process is blocked in the second element of a right-branching compound:

5.
もん[mon] + しろちょう([shiro + cho-]) > もんしろちょう[mon shiro chou], not もんじろちょう[mon jiro chou] ("family crest" + {"white" + "butterfly"} > "cabbage butterfly")

尾([o] + 白[shiro])+ 鷲[washi] > おじろわし[o jiro washi] ({"tail" + "white"} + "eagle" > "white-tailed eagle")

 

 

<Further considerations>
Despite a number of rules which have been formulated to help explain the distribution of the effect of RENDAKU, there still remain many examples of words in which RENDAKU manifests in ways currently unpredictable.

Some instances are linked with a lexical property as noted above but others may obey laws yet to be discovered.

RENDAKU thus remains partially unpredictable, sometimes presenting a problem even to native speakers (the Japanese), particularly in Japanese names, where RENDAKU occurs or fails to occur often without obvious cause.

In many cases, an identically written name may either have or not have RENDAKU, depending on the person.
For example, 中田 may be read in a number of ways, including both "Nakata and Nakada".

 

I made these images based on information on the RENDAKU page of Wikipedia.

 

At the end.
How do you think the Japanese is learning a lot of RENDAKU phrases?
We (the Japanese) don't learn the rule of RENDAKU but learn each RENDAKU phrase one by one.
Therefore, almost all the Japanese not know even word "RENDAKU".

 

Hararie

 

Web page for you to convert English words and phrases into Hiragana and Katakana easily.

Because I found the web page of Japan that can easily change the word into the Hiragana and Katakana, I introduce it to you.

But, that web page is written in Japanese.

http://europe.s9.xrea.com/convert/convert_tool.html

So, I made the explanatory on the page for the reader.

But, on this website, you have to use a "Roman alphabet."
It may be difficult.

Please refer to this Hiragana chart for Roman letters input.
And, refer to this Katakana chart for Roman letters input.

The image expands by the click.

-文頭用 bunto yo <For beginnings of sentences>-

No.	Japanese	English
1	こんにちわ。 konnnichiwa	Hello.
2	久しぶり！ hisashiburi	It is been a long time.
3	元気にしてる？ genki ni shiteru ?	How are you doing ?
4	こっちは元気だよ！ kocchi wa genki dayo !	I'm fine.
5	メールありがとう。 me-ru arigatou.	Thanks for the mail.

 

-本文用 honbun yo < For the main body >-

No.	Japanese	English
6	ここからの文章、ひらがなと カタカナが多くなるけど、 ごめんね。 kokokara no bunshou, hiragana to katakana ga ooku narukedo, gomennne	Though a sentence from here, a hiragana letter and katakana increase, I'm sorry.

 

-文末用 bubmatsu yo < For the end of sentence >-

No.	Japanese	English
7	じゃあ、またメールするね。 jaa, mata me-ru surune	I will e-mail you again soon.
8	よかったら、またメールちょうだい。 yokattara, mata me-ru choodai.	Could you send me e-mail again?
9	日本に帰ったら連絡するね。 nihon ni kaettara rennraku surune.	When I returned to Japan, will contact you.

 

-絵文字 emoji <Emoticons>-

No.	Japanese	English
10	(笑)	Laughing mark
11	(苦笑)	Wry smile mark
12	(泣)	Crying mark
13	(爆)	Suicide bombing mark Burst-of-laughter mark
14	☆	Star mark
15	♪	Note mark
16	(^-^;	Laughing emoticon
17	(T-T )	Crying emoticon
18	(>_<)	Desperate emoticons
19	m(_ _)m	Emoticon of apology
20	＼(´▽｀)／	Happy emoticons
21	???	I'm sorry. I was not able to understand this emoticon.

 

-日時 nichiji <The date and time>-

No.	Japanese	English
22	一昨日 ototoi ; issakujitsu	Day before yesterday
23	昨日 kinou; sakujitsu	Yesterday
24	今日 kyou	Today
25	明日 ashita	Tomorrow
26	明後日 asatte; myougonichi	Day after tomorrow
27	先々週 sennsennshu	Week before last
28	先週 sennshu	Last week
29	来週 raishuu	Next week
29	再来週 saraishuu	Week after next

 

-曜日 yobi <The Day of the week>-

No.	Japanese	English
31	月曜日 getsu youbi	Monday
32	火曜日 ka youbi	Tuesday
33	水曜日 sui youbi	Wednesday
34	木曜日 moku youbi	Thursday
35	金曜日 kin youbi	Friday
36	土曜日 do youbi	Saturday
37	日曜日 nichi youbi	Sunday

 

-旅行 ryoko <Travel>-

No.	Japanese	English
38	旅行 ryokou	Travel, Trip
39	出発 shuppatsu	Departure
40	到着 touchaku	Arrival
41	宿泊 shukuhaku	Lodging, a stay
42	帰国 kikoku	Homecoming, Return,
43	空港 kuukou	Airport
44	電車 densha	Train
45	飛行機 hikouki	Airplane
46	地下鉄 chikatetsu	Subway

 

-連絡 renraku <Communication>-

No.	Japanese	English
47	連絡 rennraku	Communication , Report , Contact
48	電話 dennwa	Telephone
49	手紙 tegami	Letters
50	住所 juusho	Address
51	日本語 nihonngo	Japanese
52	英語 eigo	English
53	日本 nihonn; nipponn	Japan
54	欧州、ヨーロッパ oushuu, yo-roppa	Europe

 

Did you understand the explanatory drawing?
If this web page is useful for you, I am very glad.

 

By Hararie

Japanese kanji's pronunciation isn't often one, and further it has onyomi and kunyomi.

 

There are 音読み[onyomi ] and 訓読み[kunyomi] in a Japanese kanji.

Two kinds of pronunciations "音読み(onyomi) and 訓読み(kunyomi) of a Japanese kanji" are very important for you who is learning Japanese.

 

Reason why Japan kanji has ONYOMI and KUNYOMI.

A kanji is a character introduced into Japan from ancient China, and onyomi is the pronunciation of the China form.
But, those kanji are used with Japan style pronunciation.

Therefore, please don't forget "The pronunciation of Chinese and Japanese is quite different."

Well, often the one kanji has many pronunciations.
The onyomi, the Sino-Japanese reading, is the modern descendent of the Japanese approximation of the Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced. Some kanji were introduced from different parts of China at different times, and so have multiple on'yomi, and often multiple meanings.

In a word, most of a Japanese kanji is to have two or more onyomi and two or more kunyomi.

Look at the kanji as a example, please.
This kanji is "納[nou]".

<Kanji of Japan with the most a lot of onyomi >

This is the Japanese kanji that has most a lot of onyomi.

• 音読み(Onyomi) : nou, tou, na, nat, nan,
• 訓読み(Kunyomi) : osa(meru), osa(maru),

Please see the example of the word for which this kanji is used as onyomi kanji.

Kanji	Pronunciation	Meaning
納税	nou zei	Payment of taxes
納豆	nattou	Natto
結納	yui nou	a ceremonial exchange of engagement gifts
納得	nattoku	understanding, consent, satisfaction, conviction
納期	nou ki	Delivery date
納品	nou hin	Delivery of goods

These are a part of only idioms as the example.
Kanji with a lot of Onyomi; It shows that there are a lot of words for which that kanji is used.

 

When is ONYOMI used?

Onyomi is mainly used on a kanji idiom.

Japanese is a language of mixed writing of kanji and kana.
Kunyomi makes sense by accompanying the hiragana though Onyomi hardly needs the hiragana.

The meaning of the word is understood by reading the compounded kanji symbols aloud by Onyomi.
But , the Onyomi idiom kanji has the troublesome problem.

It means that there is many "idioms of the same pronunciation."
"The troublesome problem" is that quite a lot of kanji idioms with "Same pronunciation by Onyomi" exists in Japanese.

Look at the following examples, please.
The meaning is quite different though these have the same pronunciation.

Kanji	Pronunciation	Meaning
移動	idou	movement, transfer.
異同	idou	difference
異動	idou	a change
監視	kanshi	watch, keep, guard,
看視	kanshi	on the lookout
冠詞	kanshi	article
漢詩	kanshi	Chinese poem
期間	kikan	a period
機関	kikan	an engine, a means, an agency
器官	kikan	an organ
帰還	kikan	return, repatriation
基幹	kikan	a foundation
奇観	kikan	a spectacular sight
季刊	kikan	quarterly

 

Next, this is a kanji idiom where it has a different meaning though it has the most a lot of same pronunciations, in Japan.

交渉、高尚、公証、考証、厚相、公称、公傷、公証、鉱床、口承、哄笑、工廠、工商、興商、公娼、好尚、康正、工匠、高唱、校章、口証
(I omit the explanation about the meaning of these kanji idioms because there are quite a lot of numbers.)

Pronunciations: こうしょう[koushou]

The pronunciations of these kanji idiom are all "koushou."
(But, the idiom not so used is included in these kanji.)

 

Well, did you understand Onyomi?

To tell the truth, I feel that Japanese is very difficult language for the Japanese, too.
It is natural that you feel Japanese difficult.

Keep up your effort, please!

 

By Hararie

 

 

When is Hiragana used?

Hiragana is a script into which "Kanji that has been transmitted from ancient China" has transformed.

Hiragana is used along with kanji to write all native Japanese words

Hiragana is used for verb and adjective endings (okurigana), particles, words that have no kanji, words which are commonly written only in kana, words for which the writer does not know the kanji, and as furigana (hints provided by the writer to the reading of an unfamiliar kanji).

 

>>Hiragana are used when you can't use kanji, for sound symbolism, particles, help verb, and conjunctions.
Therefore, often you can see them together with a kanji to form a word.

 

 

>>Hiragana is used for changing meanings of kanji by adding a hiragana character after the kanji.
Hiragana is also used wherever kanji characters wouldn't be used.

 

>>Hiragana can be used to express and write all Japanese words without the use of kanji since hiragana is like an alphabet.

 

>>If you can't remember the right kanji for a word, you can just spell it out in hiragana.

 

>>Showing pronunciation

Hiragana characters are often written next to unusual kanji characters to show their pronunciation in the same way that you have added roman characters to the sentence above.

In this case the hiragana characters are referred to as "Furigana or Yomigana".

 

Hararie

 

Japanese has why "Katakana" must be used.

Katakana(カタカナ/片仮名) is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet.
Katakana are characterized by short, straight strokes and angular corners, and are the simplest of the Japanese scripts.

The katakana is used for the notation of the word of loan word mainly.

 

1. Difficult loan word to translate into Japanese.
2. Loanword that has been established as Japanese.
3. Japanized English.
4. Emphasis of word in advertising media.

1. Difficult loan word to translate into Japanese.

Example	Katakana notation	Pronunciation
Design	デザイン	dezain
Image	イメージ	imeeji(imēji)
Gasoline	ガソリン	gasorin
Fastener	ファスナー	fasunaa(fasunā)
Hard disk	ハードディスク	haado disuku(hādo dhisuku)
Antenna	アンテナ	antena

Other: country names, foreign places, personal names, animal ,plant species, and minerals etc.

2. Loanword that has been established as Japanese. .

Example	Katakana notation	Pronunciation
Camera	カメラ	kamera
Taxi	タクシー	takushii
Apron	エプロン	epuron
Elevator	エレベーター	erebetaa(erebētā)
U-turn	ユーターン	yuu taa n(yūtān)
Volume	ボリューム	boryuumu(boryūmu)
Monitor	モニター	monitaa(monitā)

 

3. Japanized English.

Example	Katakana notation	Pronunciation
PC	パソコン	pasokon
The keeping of one's own bottle of liquor in one's favorite bar.	ボトルキープ	botoru kiipu
Air conditioner	エアコン	eakon
Custom-made	オーダーメード	oodaa meido(ōdā meido)
Last orders; Last call	オーダーストップ	oda sutoppu(ōdā sutoppu)
One-room apartment	ワンルームマンション	wan ruumu manshon) (wan rūmu manshon)
The state that does not become independent from mother mentally.	マザコン	mazakon

4. Katakana for emphasis by advertising media.

Katakana are used for emphasis, especially on signs, advertisements, and hoardings (i.e., billboards).
The consumer receives the strong impression to the advertisement by "Originally, word that should write by the kanji or the hiragana"'s being written by the katakana.

The katakana word used for this advertisement is very impressive.

 

Hararie

 

 

Kind of hiragana script that becomes cause of the mess.

 

The script in each language might have perhaps various fonts.

And, they might have a slight difference of shape by the font.

There is no problem if it is your mother tongue.

But, if it is a foreign language, you and I might be a little puzzled.

A Japanese hiragana has a lot of fonts.
Because the difference of those shape is a little, it might cause confusion.

Well, let's see "Each hiragana with a little difference" with me.

 

Connection of line

I displayed "All Hiragana with the difference in the form by a font" here.

The most is the difference in "existence of the break of a line."

I showed "All hiraganas with the difference of shape by the font" here.
Most of the difference is "Presence of the connection of the line."

Compare the parts enclosed by red circle, please.
Can you understand those differences?

 

Japanese children go to school at the age of seven.
And, they learns the hiragana and the katakana first.

The shape of the hiragana used by the textbook of the elementary school in Japan is different according to the times.

It is because the standard of the shape of the hiragana is not being defined by the Ministry of Education that has jurisdiction over the school system of Japan.

Because politicians in Japan always think only about own rights and money, they do not notice such a thing at all.

Sorry, I return to the subject.

Then when I say how the Japanese thinks about a difference of the form of Hiragana,
most Japanese will not have thought about the shape of the hiragana.

In conclusion, "These are all correct Hiragana."
Use Hiragana of the shape that you like, please.

 

Then, see "Hiragana with the difference in a special shape" next, please.

 

 

Hiragana script with special difference of shape

This is "そ[so]" of Hiragana.

I write "そ" by using the shape of a left hiragana.

In the times when I learned Hiragana in an elementary school, Hiragana of the right side was used.
My younger brother is using Hiragana of the left.

My younger brother is 14 years old younger than I.
A young Japanese seems to use shape of the left.

Then, see the last Hiragana, please.

 

This is "ふ[fu]" of Hiragana.

Most of the font used in Japan is a left letterform.

The right-hand "Hiragana of FU" seemed to have been used at prewar days.
The left-hand "Hiragana of FU" is shape of the brush script type.
This is a letterform of "Japanese Kana calligraphy" written with a very thin brush.

But, if a left letterform is written in a hurry, it becomes the right-hand letterform after all.

 

Then, "Today's conclusion."---

"As for Hiragana, if the letterform that can be read is kept, all are okay." !!

 

 

To learn the hiragana

HIRAGANA GANBATTE

Hiragana Gambatte!:
Hiragana Ganbatte (The Gambatte! series)

Product Description:

Instead of an alphabet, Japanese use katakana and hiragana to show the pronunciation of words. It is the purpose of this book to teach you how to read and write hiragana. In all, there are forty-six hiragana characters for forty-six different sounds. This is not as difficult as it seems. With this original picture book, you can learn to read and write hiragana in no time at all, and have fun doing it.

Key English words and pictures are linked to all the hiragana characters to help you fix their shapes in your mind. Manga-style illustrations and nearly 100 mini-articles about Japanese society and culture not only help you remember the characters but also add to your knowledge of Japan. Altogether, this makes Hiragana Gambatte! quite an unusual workbook.

Hiragana Gambatte! teaches you to: * Understand the differences between hiragana and the alphabet * Understand the systematic nature of hiragana * Use the correct stroke order when writing hiragana * Write hiragana so that each character is consistent in size and shape

 

 

 

The reason why there is Kunyomi

kanji imported about 1500 years ago by China was the letter which was difficult for a Japanese.

The countries around China imported Chinese kanji as it is, but only Japan changed it into "way of reading in accord with Japan" and imported kanji.

The race which took in and used the Chinese character for the language of own country in this way is not other than a Japanese.

Therefore, Japanese may be a difficult language.

 

Kunyomi is a Japanese original reading.

But there is the case that "kanji that becomes an origin" has various meanings for 1 character.
Therefore, kunyomi isn't one in many cases.

As the example, let's see kanji of Japan with much kunyomi.

 

Look at left kanji.

It is said that this is "kanji having most Kunyomi" in Japan.

 

On-yomi

Pronunciation	Word as example
生[しょう] : sho	一生 : issho　　[one's] lifetime
生[じょう] : jo	誕生日 : tanjo-bi　　Birthday
生[せい] : sei	先生 : sensei　　Teacher

 

Kun-yomi

Pronunciation	Word as meaning or example
生きる : i-kikru	live / be living / be alive
生かす : i-kasu	keep...alive
生ける : i-keru	arrange set roses in a vase.
生む : u-mu	cause / lead to / give rise to
生まれる :u-mareru	be born / come into existence / be formed / arise
生える : ha-eru	grow / sprout / spring up / come in
生やす : ha-yasu	grow
生る : a-ru	Appearance of the sacred one.
生る : na-ru	bear fruit / grow
生 : nama	生野菜 : nama-yasai　　Raw vegetable/Fresh vegetables
生 : ki	生真面目 : ki-majime　　Earnest / Seriousness
生 : o	生い立ち : o-i-ta-chi　　One's background
生 : fu	芝生 : shiba-fu　　Lawn
生 : ou	to grow/ to spring up/ to cut teeth
生 : ubu	Prefix of noun
生 : inochi	[one's] lifetime / Life

It is said that there is various pronunciation of this kanji besides these.

Besides, It is reported that this is kanji with 150 kinds of reading.

A lot of pronunciations are not used too much in present Japan.
But, most of the pronunciation that I wrote here is daily used in Japan.

 

Easy method of identifying Kunyomi

I teach the method that is good for you.

"Declensional kana ending is accompanied, and the meaning is comprehensible" is Kunyomi.

Though there is an exception, this method is a method of recognizing Kunyomi most quickly.

 

"Conversation" is the best learning method for studying Japanese.

The child before entering school learns language in "conversation."

Japanese is also so.

Japanese grammar is very difficult.
You will surely come to hate Japanese if you begin to study Japanese from the grammar.

Therefore, you had better study "Japanese grammar" shallowly.

And I think that study of a "daily conversation subject" is "a shortcut of your Japanese study."

 

 

 

By　Hararie