Tuttle Learning Japanese Kanji. Glen Nolan Grant
Common Pronunciations
Less common ON reading: RIKU (リク） Less
Common kun reading: mui (むっ);mu-(むつ）;mu (む）
You may have guessed that these first two kun-yomi are found in only one word each: 六日 [muika (むい.か)] the sixth day of the month, and 六つ [mut.tsu (むっ.つ)] the general counter for “six.”
| COMMON WORDS AND COMPOUNDS | ||
| 六 | six | ROKU ロク |
| 六人 | six + person = six people | ROKU.NIN ロク.ニン |
| 六月 | six + moon (month) = June | ROKU.GATSU ロク.ガツ |
| 六円 | six + circle (yen) = six yen | ROKU.EN ロク.エン |
| 六時 | six + time = six o’clock | ROKU.JI ロク.ジ |
| SAMPLE SENTENCE: | ||||
| 六人 | は | 日本 | へ | 行きました。 |
| ROKU.NIN | wa | NI.HON | e | ikimashita. |
| six people | Japan | went | ||
| = The six people went to Japan. |
KANJI #23
| 王 | KING |
Meaning
Crowns, scepters, long purple robes…think of kings and royalty when you see this kanji. No story required.
Common Pronunciations
Common ON reading: Ō (オウ）
Common kun reading: none
Only one reading to deal with here—wouldn’t it be nice if all the kanji were this well-behaved? 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: none
| COMMON WORDS AND COMPOUNDS | ||
| 女王 | woman + king = queen | JO.Ō ジョ.オウ |
| 王国 | Kins + country = kingdom | Ō.KOKU オウ.コク |
| 王朝 | king + morning = dynasty | Ō.CHŌ オウ.チョウ |
| 王子 | king + child = prince | Ō.JI オウ.ジ |
| 海王星 | sea + king + star = Neptune (planet) | KAI.Ō.SEI カイ.オウ.セイ |
| SAMPLE SENTENCE: | ||||
| 女王 | が | 日本 | へ | 行きました。 |
| JO.Ō | ga | Ni.HON | e | i.kimashita. |
| Queen | Japan | went. | ||
| = The queen went to Japan. |
KANJI #24
| 玉 | JEWEL |
Meaning
This character appears in the names of a variety of precious stones, including the compounds for rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. It also incorporates the sense of a “ball-like” object, a meaning evident in the final examples below.
Take note of the correct stroke order for this kanji (“King” + “Jelly bean”); the three horizontal lines are not written first.
Remembering this kanji
“I wish to reward you for your faithful service,” the king said to his minister. “There is a jelly bean for you at my feet; you may take it if you wish.” The man was a little confused by this, of course, until he bent down and saw a JEWEL shaped like a jelly bean next to the king’s shoes. “You might not want to eat that,” smiled the king. “After all, JEWELS aren’t particularly tasty.”
Common Pronunciations
Common ON reading: none
Less common kun reading: tama (たま)
Note how often this character changes from the voiceless “tama” (たま) to its corresponding voiced form “dama” (だま) when in the second position.
kun-yomi suggestion: “hot tamale”
Create your sentence to remember the kun-yomi reading in the box below.
Less Common Pronunciations
Less common ON reading: GYOKU (ギョク)
Less common kun reading: none
| COMMON WORDS AND COMPOUNDS | ||
| 玉 | jewel | tama たま |
| 玉ねぎ | onion | tama.negi たま·ねぎ |
| 目玉 | eye + jewel = eyeball | me.dama め.だま |
| 水玉 | water + jewel = drop of water | mizu.tama みず·たま |
| 火玉 | fire + jewel = fireball | hid.ama ひ.だま |
| 雪玉 | snow + jewel = snowball |