一日一字

Every day one new general use kanji will be introduced with readings, meanings, stroke order and more!

[kanji-a-day]

sorry for the sudden disappearance! i’m in the process of moving and haven’t had time to write up/queue posts :( i ran out of pre-written ones a little while ago…

i’m hoping i’ll have time to write up some stuff soon so there shouldn’t be too long of a hiatus!!

[kanji-a-day]

hi guys! so, i’m more or less settled in my new place, but i’ve been kind of having a rough time this past month so i’ve been avoiding, like, everything.

not to overshare, but my uncle was hospitalized for covid and it’s been very touch and go. he’s stable at the moment, but anything could still happen. recently i’ve been spending all my free time with my family.

i’m probably gonna start working on kanji stuff again soon (it’s good busy work) but i’m not sure how much longer it’ll be before i start posting. i just wanted to give you all a heads up since it’s been over a month since my last post. 

i hope everyone is staying safe and taking care of yourselves! ♡

[kanji-a-day]

sorry for the sudden disappearance! i’m in the process of moving and haven’t had time to write up/queue posts :( i ran out of pre-written ones a little while ago...

i’m hoping i’ll have time to write up some stuff soon so there shouldn’t be too long of a hiatus!!

[kanji-a-day]

1254/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 忄 heart/feelings and 賁 a non-general use character meaning “decorate.” 賁 itself is a combination of a simplification of 奔 run, here meaning “to swell out,” and 貝 shell/shellfish. 賁 carries a meaning of a beautiful, large, bulging shell. In 憤, 賁 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while certainly also lending its connotations of “to swell/burst out.” Together with 忄, this gives “feelings building up and bursting forth,” which led to the current meanings of “indignation” and “anger.”

[kanji-a-day]

1253/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 宀 roof/building and 番 number. Here 番 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while also lending a meaning of to “know (thoroughly).” It is also likely lending a connotation of “systematic/in order.” One explanation is that 審 originally referred to “thorough knowledge of a building,” and over time came to mean “have thorough knowledge” in general. In this case, the meanings of “judge” and “investigate” developed through association.

[kanji-a-day]

1252/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 亻 person and 義 righteousness. 義 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while also lending its own meaning. Here it also carries a connotation of “correctness” and “rationality.” Together with 亻, it gave a meaning of “righteous (correct) person,” and over time came instead to refer to “the ways in which a person becomes righteous.” This gives the current meanings of “rule/convention.” “Ceremony” is an associated meaning.

[kanji-a-day]

1251/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 氵 water and 帶/帯 belt. 帯 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, but is also lending its own connotation of “contain/restrict,” and here carries a meaning of “stop.” With 氵 this gives “a flow of water stopped and unmoving.” It has come to mean “stop/stagnate” in a general sense.

[kanji-a-day]

1250/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: 6th

This character is a combination of 莫 a non-general use character meaning “must not/do not/be not” and 巾 cloth. 莫 itself depicts the sun sinking among the plants, and carries a meaning of “conceal.” Here 莫 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, but it is also working to lend its own meaning. Together with 巾 this gives “cloth which conceals,” or a “curtain.” The other meanings have all developed through association.

[kanji-a-day]

1249/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 衣 clothing and 口 mouth. There are multiple theories for the origin of this character. One is that it represents covering the mouth with a cloth, or, in a figurative sense, “covering/stifling one’s (sad) feelings/thoughts and keeping them inside one’s heart.”

[kanji-a-day]

1248/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

Older forms of this character show that it was a combination of 虍 tiger, claw (backwards ヨ), and 几 (人) person. 虐 depicted a tiger catching/clawing a person, and came to represent “cruelty/brutality.” “Oppress” is an associated meaning.

[kanji-a-day]

1247/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 而 and yet/but/however and 寸 measure/hand. 而 itself developed from the image of a beard, and here is being used to express that meaning. 寸 here means “careful use of the hand.” 耐 is a pictograph that referred to “shaving off a beard,” which was a minor punishment (the next level up was shaving the hair). This in turn symbolized something that was  “not too bad” and “bearable.”

[kanji-a-day]

あけましておめでとうございます✨

[kanji-a-day]

1246/2000

JLPT: N2

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 木 tree and 古 old. Here 古 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi. Some say that 古 developed from the image of a skull, giving it a meaning of something hard and old. It is likely lending that connotation here, giving 枯 a meaning of an old, hard, dried up tree. This then symbolizes “decaying” and “withering” in a more general sense.

[kanji-a-day]

1245/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character was formerly written 顯, a combination of 㬎 a Chinese-only character meaning “motes (small particles of dust)” and 頁 head. 㬎 itself is a combination of 日 sun and 絲 threads. One source says that 㬎 represents laying silk threads out in the sun. With the addition of 頁, this gives 㬎 a meaning of putting ones face out into a bright place/the light of day, letting it be clearly seen. This led to the meaning of “visible” in general, and also “manifest.”

[kanji-a-day]

do you use the app imi wa by any chance?

I do! Besides just using it in my own personal life (which I did a lot while I was in Japan... it saved my butt countless times lol), it’s actually one of the sources I check for the JLPT level and School Grade of each kanji. I’ll also put any meanings they list in the tags for each post.

[kanji-a-day]

1244/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character was formerly written 緣, a combination of 糸 thread and 彖 a Chinese-only character meaning “pig/hedgehog.” Here 彖 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while also lending a meaning of “dangling edge” (from the image of a pig with a rounded, hanging stomach). Together with 糸 this gives “threads used for edging/hemming” or “threads used for decorating/embroidering the edges of clothes/cloth.” Over time 縁 came to mean “edge” in general. The meanings of “relations” and “ties” are thought by some scholars to be the result of borrowings.

[kanji-a-day]

✨🎄✨🎁✨🎂✨メリクリ✨🎂✨🎁✨🎄✨

[kanji-a-day]

Hi~ I’ve been feeling a little under the weather recently so I’m going to go on hiatus for a little while. Hopefully it’ll only be a week or so, but I just wanted to give you all a heads up!!

Stay safe!!! ♡