Tuttle Learning Japanese Kanji. Glen Nolan Grant
form common words in which the pronunciation of the character we are considering has an irregular reading. Irregular readings containing these kanji will be identified with an asterisk (*).
| IRREGULAR READINGS | ||
| 木綿* | tree + cotton = cotton (cloth) | mo.MEN も.メン |
| COMMON WORDS AND COMPOUNDS | ||
| 木 | tree | ki き |
| 木曜日 | tree + day of the week + sun (day) = Thursday | MOKU·YŌ·bi モク.ヨウ.び |
| 木星 | tree + star = Jupiter (planet) | MOKU·SEI モク.セイ |
| 大木 | large + tree = large tree | TAI·BOKU タイ.ボク |
| 土木 | earth + tree = civil engineering | DO·BOKU ド.ボク |
| SAMPLE SENTENCE: | |||||||
| あの | 高い | 木 | の | 名前 | が | 分かります | か。 |
| ano | taka·i | ki | no | na·mae | ga | wa·karimasu | ka. |
| that | tall | tree | name | understand | |||
| = Do you know the name of that tall tree? |
KANJI #14
| 五 | FIVE |
Meaning
Five.
Remembering this kanji
This is how most people feel when their work day ends at FIVE o’clock.
Common Pronunciations
Common ON reading: GO (ゴ)
Common kun reading: none
Create your on-yomi keyword and enter it in the table at the back of the book. After that, write your sentence to remember the on-yomi reading in the box below.
Less Common Pronunciations
Less common ON reading: none
Less Common kun reading: itsu (いつ)
As you might expect, this reading is of most use because of its appearance in two words: 五日 [itsu·ka (いつ.か)] “the fifth day of the month,” and 五つ [itsu·tsu (いつ.つ)] the general counter for “five.”
| COMMON WORDS AND COMPOUNDS | ||
| 五 | five | GO ゴ |
| 五人 | nve + person = five people | GO.NIN ゴ.ニン |
| 五月 | five + moon (month) = May | GO.GATSU ゴ.ガツ |
| 五十 | five + ten = fifty | GO.JŪ ゴ.ジュウ |
| 五時 | five + time = five o’clock | GO.JI ゴ·ジ |
| SAMPLE SENTENCE: | ||||
| 五十人 | で | 山 | へ | 行きました。 |
| GO·JŪ·NIN | de | yama | e | i·kimashita. |
| fifty people | mountain | went | ||
| = Fifty (of us) went to the mountain. |
KANJI #15
| 目 | EYE |
Meaning
The general meaning is eye. An important secondary usage of the character, however, can be seen when it comes at the end of a number compound such as in the third example below. In these instances it is read with its kun-yomi and indicates the “-th” suffix in words such as “fourth” and “seventh” (it also expresses the related endings of “first”, “second” and “third” in such compounds).
Remembering this kanji
In the interests of full disclosure, it should be said that the Cyclops lobbied long and hard to be this book’s representative for “EYE”. Well, it looks like his efforts—which included a few thoughtfully chosen gifts—have paid off. Cyclops, you have been placed on an equal footing with Dracula!
Common Pronunciations
Common ON reading: MOKU (モク)
Common kun reading: me (め)
me is the more common of the two readings. Remember to use the keyword for MOKU that you entered into the on-yomi table earlier (from the kanji “木”, Entry 13).
kun-yomi suggestion: “metric”
Write your sentence to remember the on-yomi and kun-yomi readings in the box below.
Less Common Pronunciations
Less common ON reading: BOKU (ボク)
Less Common kun reading: ma (ま)
| COMMON WORDS AND COMPOUNDS | ||
| 目 | eye | me め |
| 目玉 | eye + jewel = eyeball | me·dama め.だま |
| 八回目 | eight + rotate + eye = the eighth time | HACHI.KAI·me ハチ·カイ·め |