250 Essential Japanese Kanji Characters Volume 1 Read online

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  250 essential Japanese kanji characters / Kanji Text Research Group, The University of Tokyo.—Re., expanded 2nd ed.

  p. cm.

  ISBN: 978-1-4629-1258-2 (ebook)

  1. Japanese language—Writing. 2. Chinese characters—Japan. 3. Japanese language—Textbooks for foreign speakers— English. I. Tokyo Daigaku. Kanji Kyozai Kenkyu Gurupu. II. Title: Two hundred fifty essential Japanese kanji characters.

  PL528.A16 2008

  495.6’82421—dc22

  2007038896

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  TO THE LEARNER

  Do you like learning kanji? Or do you wish that kanji would disappear from the face of the earth—or at least from the Japanese language? Well, learning kanji can be fun, if you are motivated. And this kanji book was created to motivate you, with practical learning methods that really work, and which will enable you to enjoy studying kanji.

  The first edition of 250 Essential Japanese Kanji Characters Volume 1 was published in 1993, and Volume 2 was published in 1997. Since then, they’ve been used by countless learners to master kanji. In these new second editions, we have revised the books to include all the 410 kanji required for the College Board Advanced Placement Japanese Language and Culture Course Exam.

  Taking an Active Approach

  An important feature of this book is the active approach it takes to introducing kanji. By using authentic materials, periodic quizzes, and memory aids, it gradually helps learners acquire the ability to understand and use kanji in natural contexts—that is, in everyday life.

  Another key aspect of 250 Essential Japanese Kanji Characters is the presentation of authentic materials, for instance the actual instructions written on the medicine envelopes you might receive from the doctor in Japan. We also use photographs, many of which were taken by our foreign students during their adventures in Japan. The kanji taught here are, clearly, based on everyday use.

  Also, for each kanji we include either etymologies or memory aids, which will help students to understand and memorize the kanji systematically. The list of kanji compounds will also help learners understand how new words are created by combining the familiar kanji, and to realize the power that mastering kanji offers them.

  Each lesson helps you master a new group of kanji, and consists of several sections.

  • Introductory Quiz introduces some familiar, everyday situations where the kanji is likely to be used.

  • Vocabulary contains the readings and meanings of the kanji that you’ve encountered in the Quiz.

  • New Characters teaches you the kanji systematically, by introducing the meaning, the basic on-kun readings, the etymologies or memory aids, and compound words.

  • Practice will help you improve your kanji reading and writing skills.

  • Advanced Placement Exam Practice Question will test your competence in reading and writing semi-authentic natural Japanese. These questions reflect the format of the College Board’s Japanese Language and Culture examination.

  We wish to express our gratitude to Yūichi Ikeda, Kōichi Maekawa, Michael Handford, Su Di and Sandra Korinchak.

  We received funding from the Japan Foundation to publish the original edition of this book.

  The following books were useful in compiling the kanji grids: Reikai Gakushū Kanji Jiten, published by Shōgakkan, and Kanjigen published by Gakushū Kenkyūsha.

  We sincerely hope that this book will help all learners—yes, even you who have been stymied by kanji before!—begin to enjoy learning kanji.

  Authors: 著者：

  Junko Ishida 石田 順子

  Kaori Kaieda 海江田 香

  Kanji Text Research Group 漠字教材研究グループ Kazuko Nagatomi 長富 和子

  Japanese Language Class 日本言吾教室 Akiyo Nishino 西野章代

  Department of Civil Engineering 社会基盤学専攻 Junko Sagara 相良淳子

  The University of Tokyo 東京大学大学院 Mikiko Shibuya Masako Watanabe 渋谷 幹子 渡辺 雅子

  Yoshiko Yamazaki 山崎 佳子

  CONTENTS

  To the Learner

  Introduction

  Understanding Kanji

  Understanding Kana

  A Sample Kanji Chart

  1: Let’s Eat! なにか たべましょう

  Numeral and Prices

  Kanji: 一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 百 円

  2: Going Skiing スキーに いきます

  Times and Dates

  Kanji: 休 月 日 週 間 千 万 午 前 後 時 半 分

  3: What Day Is Today? きょうは なん曜日ですか

  Days of the Week

  Kanji: 曜 火 水 木 金 土 平 成 年 祝 祭

  4: It’s Nice to Meet You はじめまして、どうぞよろしく

  University Majors and Street Addresses

  Kanji: 大 学 東 京 留 生 工 部 科 専 攻 先 本 語 都 市 入 式 文 区 丁 目

  5: Buying a Commuter’s Pass 定期券を かいます

  Application Forms

  Kanji: 定 期 券 申 込 書 氏 名 男 女 歳 駅 使 用 開 始 住 所 電 話 通

  Review Exercise: Lessons 1–5

  6: Which Line Do You Take? 何線に のりますか

  How to Use the Subway in Tokyo

  Kanji: 何 線 地 下 鉄 手 上 新 田 代 丸 内 西 営

  7: Buying Tickets きっぷを かいましょう

  How to Buy Train Tickets

  Kanji: 山 中 央 連 絡 自 動 小 人 全 行 回

  8: Taking the Train 電車に の
りましょう

  Train Routes and Stations

  Kanji: 車 口 出 方 面 番

  9: Inside the Station 駅の 中

  Finding Your Way Around in Train Stations

  Kanji: 北 南 案 洗 子 事 故 不

  10: On the Platform 駅の ホーム

  Types of Trains to Take, and Timetables

  Kanji: 各 停 普 準 急 速 快 特 表 終 着 発

  Review Exercise: Lessons 6–10

  11: At the Bank 銀行

  Using ATMs

  Kanji: 銀 引 預 押 号 暗 証 確 認 訂 正 残 高 記 帳 取 扱 止

  12: At the Post Office 郵便局

  Mailing Letters and Packages

  Kanji: 郵 便 局 切 外 国 際 航 空 常 料 他 様

  13: Which Way Should I Go? どの道を通ったらいいでしょうか

  Reading Road Signs

  Kanji: 道 歩 者 禁 立 注 意

  14: Where Is the Emergency Exit? 非常口はどこですか

  Reading Signs in Public Places

  Kanji: 気 危 険 非 消 煙 左 右

  Review Exercise: Lessons 11–14

  15: Campus Map キャンパス・マップ

  Finding Your Way Around Using a Map

  Kanji: 講 堂 食 門 館 会 協 図 閉

  16: At the University 大学のたてものの中

  Reading Signs to Get Where You Need to Go

  Kanji: 階 義 議 室 研 究 務 実 験

  17: Announcements 何のお知らせですか

  Reading Bulletin Board Information

  Kanji: 知 場 教 見 費 院 修 士 博 明 届

  18: Going to the Hospital 病院へ行きます

  Hospital and Medical Terms

  Kanji: 病 医 歯 児 産 保 受 付 来 薬 診 察 計 支 払 法 毎

  Review Exercise: Lessons 15–18

  19: Shopping at the Supermarket スーパーでセールがあります

  Buying What You Need

  Kanji: 店 売 肉 牛 豚 鳥 魚 割 品 安 買 物 業

  20: Eating Out 食堂に入りましょう

  Reading Restaurant Signs and Menus

  Kanji: 和 洋 汁 飲 茶 湯 予 約 席 備

  21: At the Real Estate Agency 不動産屋で

  Finding a Place to Live

  Kanji: 屋 貸 有 無

  Review Exercise: Lessons 19–21

  Appendix A: Japanese Names

  Appendix B: Main Radicals

  Appendix C: Kanji Compounds

  Answers to the Introductory Quizzes, Review Exercises, and Advanced Placement Exam Practice Questions

  On-Kun Index

  Vocabulary Index

  INTRODUCTION

  This book contains 21 lessons introducing 250 kanji. Each lesson focuses on an everyday situation in Japan.

  There is a short explanation of kanji and kana before the lessons begin. You will also find the Appendices, the On-Kun Index and the Vocabulary Index useful to refer to as you learn.

  From Lesson 1 through Lesson 10, the Japanese is written with a space between words. A modified Hepburn system of romanization has been used.

  Each lesson is composed of the following sections.

  1. Introductory Quiz — This section describes situations that you may encounter in daily life, and is followed by a quiz. By referring first to the words in Vocabulary, you’ll learn the readings and the meanings of the words that are introduced in the lesson. And by solving the quiz, you will understand the situation that’s presented. Try the quiz again after the lesson, and you’ll find out how much you have learned.

  2. Vocabulary — This section contains the readings and meanings of the words used in the Introductory Quiz. Refer to it when studying the illustrations or taking the quiz. The numeral above each kanji indicates the lesson where the kanji is introduced.

  3. New Characters — This section introduces the kanji of the lesson using Kanji Charts with their meanings, basic on-kun readings, stroke orders, etymologies or memory-aid hints, and compounds with their English translations.

  The compounds essentially consist of newly or previously introduced kanji. (Kanji that are not included in the 250 taught in volume 1 are marked with ×.) More important compounds are shown in the upper part of the list. However, you are encouraged to study those in the lower part of the list as well. When kana is optionally added to kanji (okurigana), the most common usage is adopted and formal usages are shown in parentheses.

  4. Practice — This section provides practice for reading and writing the kanji in the upper part of the kanji charts. You should use the practice as a final check for the kanji learned in each lesson. Answers to the practice problems are not provided in this book.

  5. Advanced Placement Exam Practice Question — This section provides an exercise similar in format to the College Board’s Advanced Placement examination for Japanese Language and Culture. You can try the exercise after each lesson, or after completing all the lessons.

  UNDERSTANDING KANJI

  The oldest Chinese characters, the precursors of kanji, originated more than 3,000 years ago. Originally they were simple illustrations of objects and phenomena in everyday life, and developed as a writing tool mainly characterized by pictography and ideography. Thus each of the Chinese characters carries its own meaning within itself.

  Chinese characters, or kanji, can be classified according to origin and structure into four categories:

  1. Pictographic characters are derived from the shapes of concrete objects.

  2. Sign characters are composed of points and lines that express abstract ideas.

  3. Ideographic characters are composed of combinations of other characters.

  木 (tree) + 木 (tree) → 林 = forest

  曰 (sun) + 月 (moon) → 明 = bright

  4. Phonetic-ideographic characters are composed of combinations of ideographic and phonetic elements. Upper parts or righthand parts often indicate the reading of the kanji. About 90% of all kanji fall into this category.

  先 (セン previous) → 洗 (センwash)

  安 （アン peaceful) → 案 （アン proposal)

  The Japanese had no writing symbols until kanji were introduced from China in the fifth century. Soon after this, kanji were simplified into phonetic symbols known as hiragana and katakana. Thus the Japanese language came to be written in combinations of kanji and kana (see page 9).

  This kanji-kana writing system is more effective than writing with kana only. As the written Japanese language doesn’t leave spaces between words, kanji among kana make it easier for readers to distinguish units of meaning and to understand the context. Readers can easily grasp the rough meaning of written text by following kanji only.

  Kanji can usually be read two ways. These readings are referred to as on-yomi and kun-yomi. On-yomi is the Japanese reading taken from the original Chinese pronunciation. Kun-yomi is the pronunciation of an original Japanese word applied to a kanji according to its meaning. Hiragana added after kun-yomi readings are called okurigana. Okurigana primarily indicates the inflectional ending of a kanji, though the last part of the stem is occasionally included in the okurigana.

  Most kanji are composed of two or more elements, and parts of one kanji are often found in different combinations in other kanji. Certain commonly shared parts are called radicals, or bushu in Japanese. Radicals are used to classify kanji in dictionaries; thus each kanji is allocated only one radical. Each radical also carries a core meaning. For example, the radical 言 means “word” or “speak.” Therefore the kanji 語 (language), 話 (speak, story), 読 (read), 記 (note down), and 論 (discuss) all have something to do with the meaning of 言. There are 214 radicals altogether. These are some frequently seen radicals:

  1. hand

  2. earth

  3. water

  4. イ man, people

  5. 言 word, speak

  6. 木 tree

  7. plant

  8. 糸 thread

>   9. 金 metal, gold

  10. road, proceed

  11. 儿 legs

  12. 口 mouth

  13. village

  14. wall, hill

  15. 日 sun, day

  16. 門 gate

  17. 尸 corpse

  18. sickness

  19. 宀 roof, house

  20. 十 add, many

  (Note that the radical listed above as 13 is always used at the right of a character, and the one listed as 14 is always used at the left of a character.)

  Kanji strokes are written in a fixed direction and order. There are several fundamental rules for writing the strokes.

  1. Horizontal strokes: from left to right

  2. Vertical or slanting strokes: from top to bottom

  3. Hook strokes: from top left to right or left bottom

  4. The center stroke first, followed by the left and right strokes

  5. The outside strokes first, followed by the middle strokes

  6. The horizontal stroke first, followed by the vertical stroke (usually followed by another horizontal stroke)

  7. The left-hand slanting stroke first, followed by the right-hand side

  As your knowledge of kanji increases, kanji dictionaries become more helpful. There are three ways to refer to a kanji.

  1. Look for the kanji by radical in the bushu (radical) index.

  2. Look for the kanji by stroke number in the kakusū (stroke number) index.

  3. Look for the kanji by pronunciation in the on-kun reading index.

  UNDERSTANDING KANA

  Japanese Writing Systems

  There are four different kinds of characters used for writing Japanese: kanji, hiragana, katakana, and romaji (Roman alphabet). Kanji incorporates meanings as well as sounds. Hiragana, katakana, and romaji are phonetic characters that express only sounds. However, unlike English, one kana character can be pronounced only one way: 「あ」 or 「ア」 is only pronounced [a].