Basic Japanese Kanji Volume 1. Timothy G. Stout
Square (shi ka ku)
7. Second (da i ni)
8. A turkey (shichi me n chō)
9. Always rebound from failure (nana ko ro bi ya o ki)
10. Red Cross (se ki jū ji)
11. Bamboo flute (sha ku hachi)
12. 7-5-3 Festival (shichi go san)
13. 10 yen coin (jū en dama)
14. Firstly (da i ichi ni)
C. Ordering at a Japanese Restaurant
Numbers are written both in kanji and Arabic numerals in Japan. As a general rule kanji are used when writing vertically, and Arabic numerals when writing horizontally. Japanese restaurant menus are usually written vertically, as the one below.
Refer to the menu above to tell the price of each of these items.
1. Yakisoba 550 yen
2. Shōyu-rāmen __________
3. Katsudon __________
4. Fried rice __________
5. Miso-rāmen __________
6. Japanese style hot pot __________
7. Beef bowl __________
8. Curry rice __________
9. What is the most expensive item on the menu? __________
10. If you had 1,000 yen for lunch, what would you order? __________
11. What is the change you’d receive? __________
D. Writing Japanese Addresses
When writing addresses, Arabic numerals are used for the seven-digit Japanese zip code (郵便番号), but kanji are typically used for other numbers. Complete the following addresses by writing the correct kanji, as indicated.
E. Large Numbers in Japanese
Western numbers are based on three-digit units (i.e., thousand, million, billion, trillion), but Japan’s and most Asian numbers are based on four-digit units (i.e., ten thousand = man, hundred million = oku, one trillion = chō). Although the last two units are not included in the list of core kanji they are included here briefly for illustration.
In English we do not commonly use numbers larger than the trillions, and this is also the case in Japanese.
If you give a large number to a Japanese person the first thing they usually do, is divide it into four-digit chunks. Take the following example.
Since the first number is in the ones’ place of the third chunk, it represents the value of oku, here it is san-oku. Then, there is a zero in the thousands’ place of the second chunk; zeros are ignored. Next, there is a one in the hundreds’ place, a one in the tens’ place, and a three in the ones’ place. These represent the values of hyaku jū san-man. Finally, there is a nine in the thousands’ place, a nine in the hundreds’ place, a four in the tens’ place and a seven in the ones’ place. These are handled just as in Western numbers, namely kyū-sen, kyū-hyaku yon-ju nana.
Again, one trick is to parse numbers into four-digit chunks. Also, recall that the zeros in large western numbers are not written in kanji. Try these.
Now, let’s go in the other direction, from Japanese to Arabic numerals. This is a bit tricky, but one helpful method for doing this is to make a line for each place value. Look at this example.
The highest value is in the ten thousands’ place, so the first line is drawn for the ten thousands’ place, and a line is drawn for each of the smaller place values. Then, the actual values are written in the appropriate blanks. First, 1 is written in the ten thousands’ place, 2 in the thousands’ place, 3 in the hundreds’ place, 8 in the tens’ place, and 8 in the ones’ place (12,388 ft.).
F. Time and Cost
The following table gives the time and cost of train travel from Tokyo Station to popular tourist destinations in Japan. Read the table and then write the times and costs in English below.
(Source: http://transit.goo.ne.jp/index.html Viewed August 2008)
G. Most Populous Cities in the World
Below are the 10 most populous cities in the world, listed out of order. Read the population figures, write them in Arabic numerals on the right, and then write the correct rankings on the left using kanji characters.
(Source: http://www.worldatlas.com/citypops.htm Viewed August 2008)
15
日
Sun, day, Sunday
Four (4) strokes A sun with a wide smile
■ Trace the gray lines, and then practice on your own.
■ Useful vocabulary: Write the character, and trace the gray ones.
|
|
ひ | hi | day |
| ふつか | futsuka | 2nd day of the month | |
| にほん | nihon | Japan | |
| にちようび | nichiyōbi | Sunday | |