Japanese Kanji Power. John Millen
セン SEN かわ kawa
The character 川 represents flowing water.
GR1 N5 AP
Example Sentences
1. ただいま、河川工事を行こなっております。
Tadaima, kasen kōji o okonatte orimasu.
River conservation work is in progress.
2. 川上は流れが速い。
Kawakami wa nagare ga hayai.
The current is swift upstream.
3. 信濃川は日本で一番長い川です。
Shinanogawa wa Nihon de ichiban nagai kawa desu.
The Shinano River is Japan's longest river.
4. 先週、川原でバーベキューをした。
Senshū, kawara de bābekyū o shita.
Last week, we had a barbecue on a dry river bed.
5. 友達と川岸まで泳いだ。
Tomodachi to kawagishi made oyoida.
I swam to the riverbank with my friend.
| Common Compounds and Phrases | ||
| 河川 | kasen | a river |
| 四川 | Shisen | Sichuan (a place) |
| 川原 | kawara | a dry riverbed |
| 川崎 | Kawasaki | Kawasaki (a name / place) |
| 小川 | ogawa | a creek; Ogawa (a name) |
| 川魚 | kawauo | a river fish |
| 川岸 | kawagishi | a riverside, a riverbank |
19
大
great; big; large
ダイ DAI タイ TAI おお ō おお • きい ō(kii) おお • いに ō(i ni)
The character 大 depicts a person standing with arms outstretched, suggesting the concept of big.
GR1 N5 AP
Example Sentences
1. それは大問題になった。
Sore wa daimondai ni natta.
It became a grave concern.
2. 彼は大金を持っている。
Kare wa taikin o motte iru.
He has a large sum of money.
3. ネ雨になりそうだ。
Ōame ni narisō da.
It looks like we're in for some heavy showers.
4. 東京は巨大な都市だ。
Tōkyō wa kyodai na toshi da.
Tokyo is a huge city.
5. いつか大きな地震が起こるだろう。
Itsu ka ōki na jishin ga okoru darō.
A large earthquake will strike some day.
| Common Compounds and Phrases | ||
| 大問題 | daimondai | a big issue; a real problem |
| 大学 | daigaku | college; university |
| 大金 | taikin | a lot of money |
| 大切 | taisetsu | important; precious |
| 大雨 | ōame | heavy rain |
| 大型 | ōgata | a large size |
| *大人 | otona | an adult |
20
土
earth; soil; land
ド DO 卜 TO つち tsuchi
The character 土 represents a seedling emerging from a mound of earth.
GR1 N5 AP
Example Sentences
1. 昔は船で本土へ渡った。
Mukashi wa fune de hondo e watatta.
We used to go to the mainland by ship.
2. 土日は仕事が休みです。
Donichi wa shigoto ga yasumi desu.
We have Saturdays and Sundays off.
3. そのうち、東京に土地を買いたい。
Sono uchi, Tōkyō ni tochi o kaitai.
I'd like to buy some land in Tokyo some day.
4. 球根を土に埋めた。
Kyūkon o tsuchi ni umeta.
The bulb was buried under the soil.
5. 裏庭で土器を発見した。
Uraniwa de doki o hakken shita.
I found some old earthenware in the backyard.
| Common Compounds and Phrases | ||
| 本土 | hondo | the mainland |
| 土日 | donichi | the weekend; Saturday(s) and Sunday(s) |
| 土器 | doki | earthenware |
| 土手 | dote | a bank, embankment |
| 領土 | ryōdo | territory |
| 土地 | tochi | land; property |
| *土産 | miyage | a souvenir; a present |
21
万
ten thousand; all sorts of
マン MAN バン BAN *よろず yorozu
The character 万 derived from a pictograph of a scorpion pronounced man in Chinese. From phonetic borrowing and perhaps because scorpions were very numerous, the character became associated with ten thousand.
GR1 N5 AP
Example Sentences
1. サイクロンで十万人以上の死者が出た。
Saikuron de jūman-nin ijō no shisha ga deta.
The cyclone caused more than one hundred thousand deaths.
2. 昨日、一万円下ろしたばかりだ。
Kinō, ichiman-en oroshita bakari da.
I just withdrew ten thousand yen yesterday.
3. 万が一にもそんなことはないと思うよ。
Man' ga ichi ni mo sonna koto wa nai to omou yo.
There isn't a chance in a million that would ever happen.
4. 万国博覧会を一度見てみたい。
Bankoku hakurankai o ichido mite mitai.
I'd like to see an international exposition just once.
5. 防災に万全の備えをする。
Bōsai ni banzen no sonae o suru.
We will be fully prepared for disaster prevention.