A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese Fourth Edition

A Guide to Reading and Writing

JAPANESE

FOURTH EDITION

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO
THE JAPANESE WRITING SYSTEM

First edition compiled by

Florence Sakade

Third edition revised by

kenneth henshall, christopher seeley & henk de groot

Fourth edition revised by

janet ikeda

T UT T L E Publishing

Tokyo Rutland, Vermont Singapore

The Tuttle Story: “Books to Span the East and West”

Many people are surprised to learn that the world’s largest publisher of books
on Asia had its humble beginnings in the tiny American state of Vermont. The
company’s founder, Charles E. Tuttle, belonged to a New England family steeped
in publishing.

Immediately after WW II, Tuttle served in Tokyo under General Douglas
MacArthur and was tasked with reviving the Japanese publishing industry. He later
founded the Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company, which thrives today as one of
the world’s leading independent publishers.

Though a westerner, Tuttle was hugely instrumental in bringing a knowledge of
Japan and Asia to a world hungry for information about the East. By the time of
his death in 1993, Tuttle had published over 6,000 books on Asian culture, history
and art—a legacy honored by the Japanese emperor with the “Order of the Sacred
Treasure,” the highest tribute Japan can bestow upon a non-Japanese.

With a backlist of 1,500 titles, Tuttle Publishing is more active today than at any
time in its past—inspired by Charles Tuttle’s core mission to publish ¿ne books to
span the East and West and provide a greater understanding of each.

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Distributed by:

Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

Japan

www.tuttlepublishing.com Tuttle Publishing

Yaekari Building, 3rd Floor

Fourth edition © 2013 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. 5-4-12 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku

Third edition © 2003 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. Tokyo 141-0032, Japan

Original edition © 1959 by Charles E. Tuttle Co., Tel: (81) 3 5437-0171; Fax: (81) 3 5437-0755

Inc. [email protected]

www.tuttle.co.jp

All rights reserved. No part of this publication

may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by North America, Latin America & Europe

any means, electronic or mechanical, including Tuttle Publishing

photocopying, recording, or by any information 364 Innovation Drive

storage and retrieval system, without prior written North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436, USA

permission from the publisher. Tel: 1 (802) 773-8930; Fax: 1 (802) 773-6993

[email protected]

ISBN: 978-1-4629-1482-1(ebook) www.tuttlepublishing.com

17 16 15 14 13 Asia Paci¿c
5 4 3 2 1 1307RP Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
Printed in China 61 Tai Seng Ave, #02-12
Singapore 534167
TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trade- Tel: (65) 6280-1330; Fax: (65) 6280-6290
mark of Tuttle Publishing, a division of Periplus [email protected]
Editions (HK) Ltd. www.periplus.com

CONTENTS

Introduction....................................................................................... iv
1 Aim iv
2 This Book and the Modern Japanese Writing System iv
2.1 About the Characters Selected iv
2.2 How Characters Are Read in Japanese v
2.3 Writing Characters vi
2.4 Romanization ix
2.5 Kana Signs and Combinations ix
3 Layout Details x
4 Final Notes xi
5 Select Bibliography of Main Works Consulted for This Edition xi

Acknowledgments........................................................................... xii

Section 1: The 1,006 Essential Characters................................ 1–202
Grade One: Characters 1–80.............................................. 1–17
Grade Two: Characters 81–240........................................ 17–49
Grade Three: Characters 241–440...................................... 49–89
Grade Four: Characters 441–640.................................... 89–129
Grade Five: Characters 641–825.................................. 129–166
Grade Six: Characters 826–1,006............................... 166–202

Section 2: The 2,136 General-Use Characters ...................... 203–302

Radical Index .......................................................................... 303-319

Index of Readings ................................................................. 320–340

Bonus: List of the 196 Newest Jǀyǀ Characters .................. ONLINE

at Tuttlepublishing.com

INTRODUCTION

1 Aim

This newly revised edition is designed for students and others who
have at least an elementary knowledge of spoken Japanese and want
to acquaint themselves with the Japanese writing system. The most
signi¿cant revisions are the addition of 196 characters, which were
added to the Jǀyǀ kanji (General-Use Characters) list in November
of 2010. The elimination of 5 seldom-used characters now brings the
total of General-Use characters to 2,136. The newly added characters
reÀect an information age where technology now allows characters to
be more widely generated and consumed on screens. New characters
reÀect prefectural names and major cities and a concern with health
and parts of the body. A¿cionados of Japanese cuisine and culture will
see familiar characters for foods (mochi, donburi, men, senbei), plants
and Japanese cultural artifacts and customs, in particular inclusion of
auspicious characters for tsuru and kame. Previous revisions to the Jǀyǀ
kanji list had been made in 1981 and 1946.

The highlights of this new edition are the following:

• Radical index for all characters
• Clearly marked characters found on the Kanji List of the AP Japanese

Language and Culture Exam (marked with this symbol: )

• Clearly marked characters (marked by level, based on past practice
, , etc.) used for the Japanese Language Pro¿ciency Test (JLPT)

Although pro¿ciency in the Japanese language is not determined by
knowing characters alone, this revised edition will provide an excellent
study guide for students who wish to increase their reading ability. All
characters recommended for the high school National Japanese Exam
(NJE) are included.

2 This Book and the Modern Japanese Writing System

2.1 About the Characters Selected
While the Jǀyǀ kanji List (hereafter abbreviated to JK List) does not
represent an exhaustive list of Chinese characters which the student will
encounter in modern Japanese texts, in combination with the two sylla-
baries (hiragana and katakana) it does nevertheless provide a very sound

iv

INTRODUCTION

basis for reading and writing modern Japanese. In Japanese schools,
1,006 of the more commonly used JK List characters are taught in the
six years of elementary school, the balance of 1,130 characters being
spread out over the intermediate and high school curriculum. The JK
List characters also form the basis of character usage in modern news-
papers, though sometimes the Japan Newspaper Association chooses
to deviate from the List in some ways.

For writing the names of their children, Japanese today can choose
from a corpus of characters consisting of the JK List together with a
supplementary list of characters for use in given names. The ¿rst such
name character list, approved in 1951, consisted of 92 characters, but
was expanded considerably in 2004. The current Jinmeiyǀ Kanji list,
which is determined by the Ministry of Justice, includes 861 characters.
We do not list these here.

This book is divided into two main sections. Section One presents
the 1,006 characters designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to be taught during
the six years of elementary school—termed here “Essential Characters.”
The choice of these characters is the result of extensive research and
deliberation by the Ministry. For these characters, the editors of this
volume have endeavored to give illustrative character compounds that
are in common use.

Section Two of this book sets out the 2,136 characters designated for
general everyday use (including the 1,006 characters taught at elementary
school). In 1946 the Japanese writing system underwent fairly radical
reform in the direction of simpli¿cation, but the 1970s onwards saw
some movement away from what some saw as an over-simpli¿cation,
and the trend towards use of a bigger range of Chinese characters has
been encouraged by the development and popularity from the mid-1980s
of word-processors and computers that can handle conventional Japanese
text. Despite this trend, the major impact of the orthographic reforms of
the late 1940s has meant that the Japanese writing system of today still
remains much simpler than it was before 1946.

2.2 How Characters Are Read in Japanese
Typically, each Chinese character has two types of readings—on-yomi
and kun-yomi. The on-yomi (on reading, i.e., Sino-Japanese reading)
is a reading originally based on the Chinese pronunciation associated

v

INTRODUCTION

with each character, and reÀects the fact that the Chinese script was
adopted from China the best part of 2,000 years ago, when the Japanese
themselves did not have a writing system. Contrasting with the on-yomi
is the kun-yomi (kun reading, i.e., native Japanese reading). In some
cases, a given Chinese character has several on readings, reÀecting
different forms of underlying Chinese pronunciation. A given character
may also have more than one associated kun reading. Context and the
use or absence of accompanying kana (okurigana) are the pointers as
to which reading is appropriate in a given case.

In this book, the majority of the readings set out in the JK List as it
appeared in the Kanpǀ (Of¿cial Gazette) of 1 October 1981 have been
included, but some readings have been excluded, bearing in mind the
aim of this book, because they are archaic, obsolescent, or not com-
mon (e.g., nagomu [to soften] for ሆ). Also excluded from among the
formal readings listed in this book are the sort of common minor—or
relatively minor—variations in character readings which are found only
in certain environments in compounds. For instance, the character ߔ
has the on reading GAKU, which is truncated to GAK- in the compound
ߔ৫ gakkǀ [school, college], the kun reading ame [rain] of ۫ changes
to ama- as the ¿rst element in compounds such as ۫টamado [rain-
shutters], and the character ਗ Gƿ is read GAT- in the compound ਗ
๘ gatten [understanding, consent]. It was considered best for readers
of this book to learn such changes gradually as they progress.

In modern Japanese usage there are quite a number of characters
which lack either an on reading or a kun reading. For instance, nowadays
the character ດ [sugar] is employed only for its on reading Tƿ, while
the character པ [box] is used only for its kun reading hako.

2.3 Writing Characters
Firstly, the student should make every effort to practice so as to keep the
characters of uniform size in relation to one another. Thus, the 2-stroke
character ๹ katana should be written within the equal-sized imaginary
square or circle as the 15-stroke ሄ RON [argument, opinion], and by
the same token the element ঒ should be written larger when used as
an independent character (read GEN, GON, [speech, word]) than when
used as a radical / component in a more complex character such as ሄ
RON above.

Secondly, bear in mind that Chinese characters sometimes consist
of just a few strokes, sometimes many, but the characters are always

vi

INTRODUCTION

written according to a set stroke order. Listed below are some principles
that will be of assistance with regard to priority in the order of strokes.
1. Top to bottom:

2. Left to right:

Other rules are:
3. When two or more strokes cross, horizontal strokes usually precede

perpendicular ones:

vii

INTRODUCTION

4. Sometimes perpendicular strokes precede horizontal ones:

5. Center ¿rst, then left and right:

6. Perpendicular line running through center written last:

7. Right-to-left diagonal stroke precedes left-to-right:
viii

INTRODUCTION

While the above may all seem rather complicated, the student might
¿nd solace in the fact that, as noted above, the writing system has been
simpli¿ed to a considerable extent compared with the past, and has
been mastered by many thousands of students having neither native
speaker competence in Japanese nor prior background knowledge of
the Chinese script.

2.4 Romanization
There are several different systems of representing Japanese using

the Roman alphabet. This book employs a slightly modi¿ed form of the
Hepburn system, this being a system which is widely used and which
is based on conventions associated with the spelling of English. The
minor modi¿cation involves using the letter n rather than m to repre-
sent the syllabic nasal ɭ when the latter occurs immediately before
the consonants m, b or p (thus, for instance, shinbun [newspaper], not
shimbun, and kenpǀ [constitution], not kempǀ). Other points to note are:

1. use of a macron to indicate vowel lengthening for o and u, e.g.,
gakkǀ [school], renshnj [practice];

2. use of a hyphen in cases where it is considered that this might fa-
cilitate understanding of boundaries between constituent elements
in a Japanese word, e.g., sara-arai [dishwashing], rather than
saraarai; and

3. use of the apostrophe ’ instead of a hyphen after a syllabic nasal ɭ,
such as tan’i [unit] (a word of three short syllables, which in kana
would be written ȹɭȞ) as opposed to tani [valley] (a word of
two short syllables, written ȹɅ!in kana).

2.5 Kana Signs and Combinations
The two main sections of this book are followed by a section setting
out individual symbols in the hiragana and katakana syllabaries, and
illustrations of stroke order for each of those symbols. Each of the
two syllabaries evolved and became established over a period of many
centuries, thereby becoming cemented as integral components in the
modern writing system.

Katakana, which are more angular in appearance than hiragana,
are today used ¿rst and foremost to represent loanwords of European
origin, e.g., ʩˋ pan [bread] and ʫĜ˃ biiru [beer]. Hiragana are
used widely and variously elsewhere to represent such elements as

ix

INTRODUCTION

grammatical particles, inÀectional endings of verbs, and frequently to

represent in writing words which would otherwise need to be written

with intricate or uncommon characters such as those for ǀmu [parrot]
(Ἴუ) or for the ken of sekken [soap] (ಒ).

For the convenience of users of this book, the ¿nal part consists

of an alphabetical index of readings for the 2,136 JK List characters.

3 Layout Details

The 1,006 most essential characters are set out in Section One in accord-

ance with the MEXT’s division into six grades. These are in running

sequence, but note that the grade divisions are:

1–80 = Grade One 81–240 = Grade Two

241–440 = Grade Three 441–640 = Grade Four

641–825 = Grade Five 826–1,006 = Grade Six

Characters within each grade are set out in the traditional “50 sounds”
(gojnjon) order which is commonly used for reference-type works in
Japanese, except that the characters in Grade One alone are ordered on
the basis of semantic groupings. Each character is typically accompanied
by the on reading, then the kun reading and English meaning(s). The con-
text is the best guide as to which reading is appropriate in a given case.

Also included for each of the 1,006 characters is information regard-
ing the total number of strokes (the stroke count) and the set order to be
followed in writing individual strokes. In most cases, three examples of
character compounds are provided for each of these Essential characters.

Section Two, which presents the total 2,136 General-Use characters,
gives them with their on and/or kun readings, and English meanings, but
without illustrative compounds. In many cases, however, compounds
containing characters which are among the 1,130 “non-essential” char-
acters may be found among the compounds given for each of the 1,006
characters in Section One. The order adopted for listing the corpus of
2,136 characters is that of stroke count (and, within a given stroke count,
by radical). So as to avoid undue repetition, each of the 1,006 Essential
characters appearing in Section Two is given with the corresponding
reference to Section One, to which the reader can refer for details. This
symbol Ÿ marks each of the 196 newest additions to the JK list.

With regard to the typographical conventions employed in giving
readings and meanings for characters, these are explained by means
of the example below.

x

INTRODUCTION

ॽ KEN1; mi(ru)2, to see, look3

1 On reading in upper case.
2 Kun reading in lower case italics. Parentheses used to indicate

end-syllable(s) to be written in kana (thus, mi(ru), since this word
is conventionally written ॽɥ). ] Common reading is included
though it is not a kun reading.
3 English meaning(s) given in regular lower case.

Also note the use of a comma after a single on-reading to indicate
that it can be used as a stand-alone word, e.g., “ZA, seat...” (i.e., “za”
exists as a word meaning “seat”), as opposed to “U canopy...” (i.e., “u”
does not exist as an independent word).

4 Final Notes

This guide is an ideal way to begin a serious study of the Japanese
writing system. Other textbooks should be consulted for studies in
vocabulary, grammar and culture. A number of textbooks and reference
works are available from Tuttle Publishing.

With each revision this guide continues to provide a useful and
comprehensive approach to an ever-growing circle of readers and life-
long learners. There are many specialists of Japanese who began their
study of Japanese with the ¿rst version of this guide and fondly keep
that original volume, with its familiar orange and black book jacket,
on their shelves. My own well-worn copy reminds me of my very ¿rst
sensei and the joy that learning and now teaching of Japanese brings.

5 Select Bibliography of Main Works Consulted for This
Edition

Note: All the books in Japanese listed below have been published in
Tokyo.

Haig, J.H. et al. (ed.), The New Nelson Japanese-English Character
Dictionary. Charles E. Tuttle, Tokyo, 1997.

Henshall, Kenneth G., A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters.
Charles E. Tuttle, Tokyo, 1988.

Maeda, Tomiyoshi. Jǀyǀ kanji saishin handobukku : nisenjnjnen kaitei
taiǀ. Tǀkyǀ : Meijishoin, 2011.

xi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Sanseidǀ henshnjjo (ed.). Atarashii kokugo hyǀki handobukku. Tokyo:
Sanseidǀ, 2011.

College Board AP Japanese Language and Culture.
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_japaneselang.
html

Dictionary.goo.ne.jp. http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/
Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC. http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/

wwwjdic.cgi?1C
Jisho.org. http://jisho.org/kanji/radicals/
Kanjijiten.net. http://www.kanjijiten.net/jiten/4151.html#k4155
Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

http://www.mext.go.jp/

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to Professor Janet Ikeda for her careful review of the
previous edition’s text, and her updates and improvements to allow this
book to continue as a core reference for today’s learners.

The editors of this revised edition respectfully acknowledge the work
of the earlier editions carried out by Florence Sakade and her editorial
team, work which has been of assistance to generations of students.

Grateful acknowledgment is also due to Calvert Barksdale, Nancy
Goh, Tan Cheng Har, Flavia Hodges, Tan Mike Tze, Nathan Burrows,
Neil Chandler, Bruce Penno, Paul Eagle, Shozo Tsuji, Yasuko Tsuji,
and Kazuko Seeley.

xii

The 1,006
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS



‫ێ‬ ICHI, ITSU, hito-, hito(tsu), one

1 ୍᭶ ichigatsu, January
1 stroke ୍␒ ichiban, ¿rst, best
୍෉ issatsu, one (book,
໩ magazine)

2
2 strokes
NI, futa(tsu), two
જ
஧᭶ nigatsu, February
3 ஧࠿᭶ nikagetsu, two months
3 strokes ஧ᅇ nikai, twice

હ

4 SAN, mi-, mit(tsu), three
5 strokes
୕᭶ sangatsu, March
= AP ٬ = JLPT ୕ே sannin, three people
୕᪥ mikka, three days, the
third day



SHI, yon, yo-, yot(tsu), yo(tsu), four

ᅄ᭶ shigatsu, April
ᅄ᪥ yokka, four days, the
fourth day
ᅄ༑ shijnj, yonjnj, forty



1

5–9 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

র GO, itsu(tsu), ¿ve

5 ஬᭶ gogatsu, May
4 strokes ஬ே gonin, ¿ve people
஬༑ gojnj, ¿fty
ᇿ

6
4 strokes ROKU, mut(tsu), mu(tsu), six

7 භ᭶ rokugatsu, June
2 strokes භ࠿᭶ rokkagetsu, six months
භ༑ rokujnj, sixty
ཞ

8
2 strokes SHICHI, nana(tsu), nana, seven

ࣻ ୐᭶ shichigatsu, July
୐࠿᭶ nanakagetsu, seven months
9 ୐༑ shichijnj, nanajnj, seventy
2 strokes


HACHI, yat(tsu), ya(tsu), eight

ඵ᭶ hachigatsu, August
ඵ࠿᭶ hachikagetsu, eight months
ඵ༑ hachijnj, eighty



KYNj, KU, kokono(tsu), nine

஑᭶ kugatsu, September
஑༑
஑᫬ kujnj, kynjjnj, ninety
kuji, nine o’clock



2

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 10–14

୥ JNj, tǀ, ten

10 ༑᭶ jnjgatsu, October
2 strokes ༑᪥ tǀka, ten days, the tenth day
༑ᅇ jikkai, ten times
࿄

11
6 strokes HYAKU, hundred

ಫ ஧ⓒ nihyaku, two hundred
୕ⓒ sanbyaku, three hundred
12 ⓒ㈌ᗑ hyakkaten, department store
3 strokes

໲
SEN, chi, thousand
13
4 strokes ༓෇ sen’en, a thousand yen
୕༓ sanzen, three thousand
ॢ ஬༓ gosen, ¿ve thousand

14
4 strokes
NICHI, JITSU; hi, day, sun; ~ka,
suf¿x for counting days

᪥᭙᪥ nichiyǀbi, Sunday
᫖᪥ sakujitsu, yesterday
ᮅ᪥ asahi, morning sun



GETSU, GATSU; tsuki, month,
moon

᭶᭙᪥ getsuyǀbi, Monday
᮶᭶ raigetsu, next month
୕᪥᭶ mikazuki, new moon



3

15–19 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

‫ݮ‬ KA; hi, ¿re

15 ⅆ᭙᪥ kayǀbi, Tuesday
4 strokes ⅆࡤࡕ hibachi, charcoal brazier
ⅆ஦ kaji, ¿re, conÀagration
౉

16
4 strokes SUI; mizu, water

ᄄ ኱Ỉ ǀ-mizu, Àood, inundation
Ỉຊ suiryoku, water power
17 Ỉර
4 strokes suihei, sailor

ࣸ

18 BOKU, MOKU; ki, tree, wood
8 strokes
ᮌ᭙᪥ mokuyǀbi, Thursday
๲ ᮦᮌ zaimoku, lumber
ᮌ〇 mokusei, made of wood
19
3 strokes

KIN, gold; KON gold; kane, money

㔠᭙᪥ kin’yǀbi, Friday
࠾㔠 o-kane, money
㔠㨶 kingyo, gold¿sh



DO, TO; tsuchi, earth, soil
ᅵ᭙᪥ doyǀbi, Saturday
ᅵᆅ tochi, ground, plot of land
ᅵே dojin, native



4

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 20–24

༃ NEN; toshi, year

20 භᖺ⏕ rokunensei, sixth-grade
6 strokes pupil

੆ ᖺᐤࡾ toshiyori, old person
㟷ᖺ seinen, youth
21
5 strokes

‫ۦ‬ SA; hidari, left

22 ᕥὴ saha, leftist (political),
5 strokes left wing
ᕥഃ sasoku, hidarigawa, left side
௫ ᕥᡭ hidarite, left hand

23
3 strokes
U, YNj; migi, right
‫ݚ‬
ᕥྑ saynj, left and right
24 ྑὴ uha, right wing (political)
3 strokes ྑഃ
usoku, migigawa, right side



Jƿ; ue, top, above, on; kami, upper;
nobo(ru), to go up, to go toward

Tǀkyǀ; a(geru), to raise; a(garu), to
rise

ୖὶ jǀrynj, upstream, upper class
ᾏୖ kaijǀ, on the sea, maritime
ᕝୖ
kawakami, upstream

KA, GE; shita, bottom, under, beneath;
moto, base; shimo, lower; kuda(ru), to go
down, to go away from Tǀkyǀ; sa(geru),
to hang (v.t.), to lower; sa(garu), to hang
down; kuda(saru), to bestow

ᕝୗ kawashimo, downstream
ୗရ gehin, vulgar, coarse

ᆅୗ㕲 chikatetsu, subway

5

25–29 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

൥ DAI, TAI; ǀ(kii), big, large, great

25 ኱Ꮫ daigaku, university, college
3 strokes ኱ኚ taihen, tremendous, serious
኱ᗈ㛫 ǀ-hiroma, grand hall
ෂ

26
4 strokes CHNj; naka, middle, within, inside;
JNj, throughout
ழ
୰Ꮫᰯ chnjgakkǀ, middle school
27 ୰ᚰ chnjshin, center, heart (of a
3 strokes
city, etc.)
໴ 㞟୰ shnjchnj, concentration

28
2 strokes
SHƿ; ko, o-, chii(sai), small, minor
୸
ᑠᏛᰯ shǀgakkǀ, primary school
29 ᑠᒇ koya, hut
5 strokes ᑠㄝ shǀsetsu, novel (¿ction)



NYNj; iri, entering, attendance;
i(reru), to put in; hai(ru), to enter

ධᏛ nynjgaku, entering school
㍺ධ yunynj, importation
ධཱྀ iriguchi, entrance



SHUTSU, SUI; de(ru), to come out,
to go out; da(su), to put out, to take
out, to bring out, to draw out

ฟⓎ shuppatsu, setting out,

ฟ∧ departure, starting
ฟཱྀ
shuppan, publishing

deguchi, exit

6

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 30–34

ᄆ MOKU, BOKU; me, eye; also used
as an ordinal suf¿x
30
5 strokes ᶓ┠ yokome, side glance
┠ⓗ mokuteki, purpose
ॽ ┠ᶆ mokuhyǀ, mark, target

31
7 strokes
KEN; mi(ru), to see, to look;
૴ mi(eru), to be visible, to be able to
see; mi(seru), to show, to display
32
6 strokes ぢ஦ migoto, splendid
ぢ≀ kenbutsu, sightseeing
‫ݙ‬ ぢᮏ mihon, sample

33
9 strokes
JI; mimi, ear
৏
᪩⪥ hayamimi, keen of
34 hearing
3 strokes
⪥㬆ࡾ miminari, ringing in the
ears

⪥ࡀ㐲࠸ mimi ga tǀi, deaf



ON, IN; ne, oto, sound

㡢ᴦ ongaku, music
Ⓨ㡢 hatsuon, pronunciation
ẕ㡢 boin, vowel



Kƿ, KU; kuchi, mouth
ཱྀࡦࡆ kuchihige, mustache
ධཱྀ iriguchi, entrance
ཱྀㄽ kǀron, dispute



7

35–39 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

଴ SHU; te, hand

35 ᥱᡭ akushu, handshake
4 strokes ᡭ⿄ tebukuro, gloves
ᡭ⣬ tegami, letter
ഫ

36
7 strokes SOKU; ashi, foot, leg; ta(riru),
to be suf¿cient; ta(su), to add,
ᆏ to supplement

37 ㊊㊧ ashi-ato, footprint
5 strokes ‶㊊ manzoku, satisfaction
୙㊊ fusoku, insuf¿ciency
ᆵ

38
2 strokes RITSU, RYNj; ta(tsu), (v.i.),
to stand; ta(teru) (v.t.), to erect,
ఱ
to set up
39
2 strokes ⊂❧ dokuritsu, independence
ᙺ❧ࡘ yakudatsu, useful
❧ሙ tachiba, standpoint



RYOKU, RIKI; chikara, strength,
power

ຊᣢ chikaramochi, strong
person
༠ຊ kyǀryoku, co-operation
ດຊ doryoku, endeavor



ఱ JIN, NIN; hito, person

ே㢮 jinrui, human race
ே㛫 ningen, human being
ேཱྀ jinkǀ, population



8

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 40–44

ા SHI, SU; ko, child

40 Ꮚ࡝ࡶ kodomo, child, children
3 strokes ཎᏊ genshi, atom
ᵝᏊ yǀsu, the state of things,
ட
appearance
41
3 strokes

ට JO, NYO; me, female; onna,
woman, girl
42
7 strokes ዪ୰ jochnj, maid
ᑡዪ shǀjo, maiden
ಪ ዪ⋤ joǀ, queen

43
6 strokes
DAN, NAN; otoko, man, male
౺
⏨ᛶ dansei, male sex, male
44 ⏨Ꮚ danshi, male, boy
5 strokes 㛗⏨ chǀnan, eldest son



SEN; saki, previous, ahead

ඛ⏕ sensei, teacher
ඛ᪥ senjitsu, the other day
⾜ࡁඛ yukisaki, destination



SEI, SHƿ birth, life; u(mareru), to
be born; u(mu), to give birth; i(kiru),
to live; ki, pure, genuine; nama, raw;
ha(eru), to grow, to spring up
୍⏕ isshǀ, one‫ތ‬s (whole) life
⏕ά seikatsu, livelihood
኱Ꮫ⏕ daigakusei, college student



9

45–49 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

ߔ GAKU, learning, science; mana(bu),
to learn
45
8 strokes Ꮫᰯ gakkǀ, school
་Ꮫ igaku, medicine
৫ ⛉Ꮫ
kagaku, science
46
10 strokes

݄ Kƿ school; to correct, to investigate,
to compare, to think
47
4 strokes ᰯṇ kǀsei, proofreading
ᰯ⯋ kǀsha, school building
࣢ ᰯ཭ kǀynj, alumnus



ƿ, king

⋤ᵝ ǀsama, king
⋤Ꮚ ǀji, prince
⋤ᅜ ǀkoku, kingdom, monarchy



GYOKU; tama, jewel, round object

Ỉ⋢ mizutama, drop of water
┠⋢ medama, eyeball

48
5 strokes
kai, sea shell
ީ ㈅Ẇ kaigara, shell
㈅ᣠ࠸ kaihiroi, shell gathering
49 ┿⌔㈅ shinjugai, pearl oyster
7 strokes


10

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 50–54

‫ܟ‬ EN, circle, yen (Japanese monetary
unit); maru(i), round
50
4 strokes ෇‶ enman, perfection,

ಘ satisfaction

51 ༓෇ᮐ senҲensatsu, thousand-yen
7 strokes
bill
ಆ
෇┙ enban, disc
52
8 strokes SEKI, SHAKU; aka, aka(i), red;
aka(rameru) (v.t.), to color up, to add
ཆ blush; aka(ramu), to turn red, to blush

53 ㉥ࡕࡷࢇ akachan, baby, infant
5 strokes
㉥༑Ꮠ sekijnjji, Red Cross
ᅄ ㉥㖡 shakudǀ, alloy of

54 copper and gold
3 strokes
SEI, SHƿ; ao, ao(i), blue, green,
inexperienced

㟷ᖺ seinen, youth
㟷ⓑ࠸ aojiroi, pale
㟷✵ aozora, blue sky



HAKU, BYAKU; shiro, shiro(i),
white

ⓑே hakujin, Caucasian
ⓑ≧
ⓑ㫽 hakujǀ, confession
hakuchǀ, swan



SEKI; ynj, evening

ኤ᪉ ynjgata, evening
ኤ㣤 ynjhan, supper
ኤ㢼 ynjkaze, evening breeze



11

55–59 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

შ MEI, MYƿ name, fame; na, name

55 ྡࡲ࠼ namae, name
6 strokes ᭷ྡ ynjmei, famous, well-known
ྡே meijin, an expert
ഁ

56
6 strokes Sƿ; haya, haya(i), early, fast

ഐ ᪩ཱྀ haya-guchi, quick speaking
᪩᫓ sǀshun, early spring
57 ᡭ᪩࠸ tebayai, quick, nimble
9 strokes

ટ
Sƿ; kusa, grass, vegetation
58
3 strokes ⲡཎ kusahara (kusawara),
grassy plain
ರ
ⲡ᱌ sǀan, draft (of a manuscript)
59 ⲡྲྀࡾ kusatori, weeding
3 strokes


SAN; yama, mountain

ᒣ㐨 sandǀ, yamamichi,
mountain path
ᒣ⬦
Ⓩᒣ sanmyaku, mountain range

tozan, mountain climbing



ರ SEN; kawa, river
㇂ᕝ tanigawa, mountain stream
ᕝࡤࡓ kawabata, riverside
ᕝཱྀ kawaguchi, mouth of a river



12

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 60–64

๜ DEN; ta, rice ¿eld

60 ⏣ᅬ denҲen, ¿elds and gardens,
5 strokes rural districts
✋⏣
෨ ⏣᳜ inada, rice ¿eld

61 taue, rice planting
7 strokes

ഺ
CHƿ; machi, town
62
7 strokes ⏫እࢀ machihazure, outskirts of a
town
ଠ
⏫ෆ chǀnai, the neighborhood
63 ⏫㛗 chǀchǀ, mayor of a town
7 strokes

ᆹ
SON; mura, village
64
8 strokes ᮧẸ sonmin, villager
ᮧ㛗
㎰ᮧ sonchǀ, village mayor
nǀson, a farm village



SHA; kuruma, wheel, vehicle

⮬ື㌴ jidǀsha, automobile
⮬㌿㌴ jitensha, bicycle
Ⓨ㌴ hassha, departure of a

vehicle



RIN; hayashi, woods

᳜ᯘ shokurin, reforestation
ᐦᯘ
㎰ᯘ mitsurin, thick forest

nǀrin, agriculture and
forestry



13

65–69 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

ఝ SHIN; mori, forest, grove

65 ᳃ᯘ shinrin, forest
12 strokes ᳃㛩 shinkan, silent
᳃ཝ shingen, solemn, awe-
ऋ inspiring

66
8 strokes
KNj, sora, sky; a(ku), to become
๏ empty; a(keru), to vacate; kara,

67 emptiness
4 strokes
㟷✵ aozora, blue sky
࡜ ✵Ẽ
✵  knjki, air
68 knjkǀ, airport
6 strokes

۫
TEN, ame, sky, heaven
69
8 strokes ኳẼ tenki, weather
ኳ஭
ኳᡯ tenjǀ, ceiling
tensai, genius



KI, spirit, energy, mind; KE

ኳẼ tenki, weather
ඖẼ genki, good spirits, health
⑓Ẽ byǀki, sickness



U; ame, rain

኱㞵 ǀ-ame, heavy rain
㞵ᡞ amado, rain door, shutter
ᱵ㞵
baiu, rainy season of early

summer



14

‫ݴ‬ ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 70–74

70 KA; hana, Àower
7 strokes ⰼᒇ hanaya, Àower shop, Àorist
ⰼࡧࢇ kabin, vase
ඹ ⰼⅆ hanabi, ¿reworks

71
6 strokes
CHIKU; take, bamboo
ಒ
➉ࡸࡪ takeyabu, bamboo grove
72 ➉⣽ᕤ takezaiku, bamboo ware
5 strokes ➉࠿ࡈ takekago, bamboo basket

ॶ

73 SEKI, KOKU, SHAKU; ishi, stone
4 strokes
ᑠ▼ ko-ishi, pebble
් ▼Ⅳ sekitan, coal
☢▼ jishaku, magnet
74
6 strokes

KEN; inu, dog

ᑠ≟ ko-inu, puppy
␒≟ banken, watchdog
≬≟⑓ kyǀkenbyǀ, rabies



CHNj; mushi, insect, bug, worm

ᐖ⹸ gaichnj, harmful insect
⹸ṑ mushiba, decayed tooth
᪻⹸
konchnj, insect, bug



15

75–79 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

૑ SHI; ito, thread

75 ẟ⣒ keito, woolen yarn
6 strokes ⣒ཱྀ itoguchi, clue
⣒ᕳ itomaki, spool for thread
Ⴈ

76
5 strokes HON, book, suf¿x for counting
long, slender objects; moto, basis,
ဦ essence, (tree) root

77 ୍ᮏ ippon, one (bottle, rod, etc.)
4 strokes ᮏ⟽ honbako, bookcase
᪥ᮏ Nihon, Nippon, Japan
૦

78
6 strokes BUN, writings, a sentence; MON,
old unit of money; fumi, letter,
౷ book

79 ᩥ໬ bunka, culture
5 strokes
ᩥᏛ bungaku, literature

ᩥ㒊኱⮧ Monbudaijin, Minister of

Education

JI, letter, mark; aza, section (of a
village)

Ꮠᘬ jibiki, dictionary
ᩥᏐ moji, monji, letter,
character, ideograph
ᩘᏐ snjji, number, numeral



SEI, SHƿ; tada(shii), correct, right;
tada(su), to correct, to rectify;

masa(ni), surely, truly

ṇ┤ shǀjiki, honesty
ṇ᪉ᙧ seihǀkei, square

(geometrical ¿gure)

ṇ᭶ shǀgatsu, New Year‫ތ‬s

16

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 80–84

࢑ KYNj; yasu(mi), rest, vacation;
yasu(mu), to rest
80
6 strokes ఇ᠁ kynjkei, rest, intermission
ఇ᪥ kynjjitsu, holiday
ۜ ఇ㣴 kynjyǀ, relaxation,
recreation
81
4 strokes

۩ IN; hiki, pulling; hi(ku), to pull, to
draw
82
6 strokes ⚟ᘬࡁ fukubiki, lottery

‫܀‬ ᘬ⏝ inҲyǀ, quotation, citation
ᘬࡁ❧࡚ hikitate, favor, patronage
83
12 strokes

‫ܠ‬ U; hane, ha, feather, plumage;
-wa, counter for birds
84
13 strokes ⩚ẟ umǀ, feathers, plumage
୍⩚ ichiwa, one (bird)
⩚⧊
haori, haori coat



UN; kumo, cloud

㞼≧ unjǀ, cloudlike, nebulous
ධ㐨㞼 nynjdǀgumo, gigantic clouds
ᫍ㞼 seiun, nebula



EN; sono, garden
බᅬ kǀen, public park
ⰼᅬ hanazono, Àower garden
ື≀ᅬ dǀbutsu-en, zoo



17

85–89 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

ܳ EN, ON; tǀ(i), far, distant

85 㐲㊊ ensoku, excursion, long
13 strokes
㐲᪉ walk
‫ݝ‬ Ọ㐲
enpǀ, long distance
86 eien, eternity
7 strokes

‫ݨ‬
KA; nani, what, how many
87 (interrogative pre¿x)
9 strokes
ఱே nannin, how many people?
‫ݤ‬ ఱ᫬㛫 nanjikan, how much time?
ఱ᫬ nanji, what time?
88
10 strokes

‫ݦ‬ KA, course, branch

89 Ꮫ⛉ gakka, a school subject
10 strokes ᩍ⛉᭩ kyǀkasho, textbook
⛉Ꮫ kagaku, science



KA; natsu, summer

ኟఇࡳ natsuyasumi, summer
vacation

ึኟ shoka, early summer
┿ኟ manatsu, midsummer



KA, KE; ie, ya, house

ᐙ୺ yanushi, owner of a house,
landlord
ᐙ᪘ kazoku, family
㎰ᐙ nǀka, farmhouse



18

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 90–94

‫ݬ‬ KA; uta, song; uta(u), to sing

90 ᅜḷ kokka, national anthem
14 strokes ḷ๻ kageki, opera
ḷᡭ kashu, singer
‫ކ‬

91
8 strokes GA a picture; KAKU, stroke of a
Japanese character
‫ޑ‬
ᅗ⏬ zuga, a drawing
92 ᫎ⏬ eiga, moving picture
6 strokes ィ⏬ keikaku, plan

‫ޏ‬

93 KAI, a turn; mawa(su), to turn (v.t.);
6 strokes mawa(ru), to turn (v.i.)

‫ޠ‬ ఱᅇ nankai, how many times?
ᅇ㌿ kaiten, revolution, rotation
94 ᅇᩘ kaisnj, number of times,
9 strokes frequency



KAI, meeting; a(u), to meet; E

఍ሙ kaijǀ, place of meeting, site
఍㛗 kaichǀ, president (of a
society), chairman (of a
఍ヰ committee)
kaiwa, conversation



KAI; umi, sea, ocean

ᾏᓊ kaigan, seacoast, seaside
ᾏỈᾎ kaisuiyoku, sea bathing
ᾏእ kaigai, overseas, abroad



19

95–99 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

‫ޤ‬ KAI; E, picture

95 ᾋୡ⤮ ukiyoe, Japanese print
12 strokes ⤮ⴥ᭩ ehagaki, picture postcard
ᤄࡋ⤮ sashie, illustration
ެ

96
5 strokes GAI, GE outside, foreign; hoka,
other; soto, outside
ߍ
እᅜ gaikoku, foreign country
97 እᅜே gaikokujin, foreigner
7 strokes እ⛉ geka, surgery

ߖ

98 KAKU, angle; tsuno, horn of an
13 strokes animal; kado, corner

ߤ ୕ゅ sankaku, triangle
ᅄゅ shikaku, square
99 ゅᗘ kakudo, angle
9 strokes


GAKU, music; RAKU, comfort,
ease; tano(shii), pleasant

ᴦࡋࡳ tanoshimi, pleasure
㡢ᴦ఍ ongakukai, concert, musical
Ẽᴦ kiraku, ease, comfort



KATSU energy

⏕ά seikatsu, life
άື
άᏐ katsudǀ, activity
katsuji, printer‫ތ‬s type



20

࠰ ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 100–104

100 KAN, KEN; aida, interval, space;
12 strokes ma, interval, room, time

࠷ ᫬㛫 jikan, time
஧᫬㛫 nijikan, two hours
101 ᫨㛫 hiruma, daytime
3 strokes

࠾
GAN; maaru, maru, round (n.);
102 maru(i), round (adj.); -maru, suf¿x
8 strokes in ship names; maru(meru), to make
(something) round
ࡃ
୸⸆ gan’yaku, pill
103 ᪥ࡢ୸ hinomaru, Rising Sun Àag
18 strokes ୸ኴ maruta, log (of timber)

࡝ GAN; iwa, rock, crag

104 ⰼࡇ࠺ᒾ kakǀgan, granite
7 strokes ᒾ▼ ganseki, rock
ᒾᒇ iwaya, cavern



GAN; kao, face

㢦㠃 ganmen, face
㢦Ⰽ kao-iro, complexion
㢦௜ kaotsuki, face, look,
countenance



KI steam, vapor

Ỷ㌴ kisha, steam-driven train
Ỷ➜ kiteki, steam whistle
Ỷ⯪ kisen, steamship, steamboat



21

105–109 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

ࡥ KI chronicle; shiru(su), to write
down
105
10 strokes ᪥グ nikki, diary
グᛕ kinen, remembrance,
࡚ souvenir
グ⪅ kisha, journalist
106
10 strokes

࢕ KI; kae(ru), to return, to leave

107 ᖐࡾ㐨 kaerimichi, (on) one‫ތ‬s way
3 strokes back

ࢥ ᖐ໬ே kikajin, naturalized person
ᖐᅜ kikoku, return to one‫ތ‬s
108
4 strokes native country

ࢳ

109 KYNj; yumi, bow, archery
11 strokes
ᘪ㐨 kynjdǀ, archery
ᘪᘻ yumizuru, bowstring
ᘪ≧
kynjjǀ, arch, bow shape



GYNj; ushi, cow, bull

ᑠ∵ ko-ushi, calf
∵ங
∵⫗ gynjnynj, milk
gynjniku, beef



GYO; uo, ¿sh; sakana, ¿sh
㔠㨶 kingyo, gold¿sh
㨶ᕷሙ uo-ichiba, ¿sh market
㨶ࡘࡾ uotsuri, ¿shing



22

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 110–114

ࢶ KYƿ, capital, KEI

110 ᮾி Tǀkyǀ, capital of Japan
8 strokes ி㒔 Kyǀto, ancient capital of
Japan
ࣅ ୖி
jǀkyǀ, going to Tǀkyǀ
111
11 strokes

࣋ KYƿ, Gƿ; tsuyo(i), strong;
tsuyo(meru) (v.t.), to reinforce,
112 to emphasize; shi(ite), by force;
11 strokes shi(ru), to force, to urge

ࣷ ຮᙉ benkyǀ, study
ᙉᙅ kyǀjaku, strength and
113 weakness
7 strokes ᙉ᝟ gǀjǀ, obstinacy

य
KYƿ; oshi(eru), to teach
114
5 strokes ᩍᐊ kyǀshitsu, classroom
ᩍ⫱ kyǀiku, education
ᩍ఍ kyǀkai, church



KIN; chika(i), near

㏆㐨 chikamichi, shortcut
㏆ᡤ kinjo, neighborhood
᭱㏆ saikin, recently



KEI, KYƿ; ani, older brother

඗ᘵ kyǀdai, brothers (and sisters)
∗඗ fukei, guardians (of pupils)



23

115–119 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

व KEI, GYƿ; katachi, ~gata, shape,
form
115
7 strokes ேᙧ ningyǀ, doll
㛗᪉ᙧ chǀhǀkei, rectangle
ो ༙෇ᙧ hanҲenkei, semicircle

116
9 strokes
KEI; haka(ru), to measure;
ই haka(rau), to arrange, to discuss

117 ྜィ gǀkei, sum, total
4 strokes ᐮᬮィ kandankei, weather

঒ thermometer

118 య ィ taionkei, clinical
7 strokes thermometer

ঈ GEN, GAN; moto, beginning,
foundation
119
10 strokes ᰿ඖ kongen, root, origin, source
ඖ᮶ ganrai, originally, primarily
ඖ᪥ ganjitsu, New Year‫ތ‬s



GEN, GON, speech, statement;
koto, word, speech, expression;
i(u), to say

᪉ゝ hǀgen, dialect
↓ゝ mugon, silence, muteness
ゝⴥ kotoba, word, language



GEN original; hara, ¿eld, meadow

ཎᅉ genҲin, cause
㧗ཎ kǀgen, plateau
ⲡཎ kusawara, grassy plain



24

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 120–124

ট KO; to, door

120 ᡞእ kogai, outdoors
4 strokes ᮌᡞ kido, gate, door
Ụᡞ Edo, old name for Tǀkyǀ
গ

121
5 strokes KO; furu(i), old, ancient

঳ ྂ௦ kodai, ancient times
ྂ௒ kokon, past and present
122 ⪃ྂᏛ kǀkogaku, archeology
4 strokes

ষ
GO noon
123
9 strokes ༗๓ gozen, morning, A.M.
༗ᚋ gogo, afternoon, P.M.
া ṇ༗ shǀgo, noon

124
14 strokes
GO, Kƿ; ushi(ro), behind; nochi,
after; ato, the rear, after, the

remainder

㣗ᚋ shokugo, after a meal
᭱ᚋ
๓ᚋ saigo, last

zengo, before and after,

context

GO, word, speech; katari, narration;
kata(ru), to tell, to speak

እᅜㄒ gaikokugo, foreign language
ⱥㄒ eigo, English language
≀ㄒ monogatari, tale



25

125–129 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

৙ Kƿ, KU worker, construction

125 ᕤኵ kǀfu, workman, laborer
3 strokes ᕤ஦୰ kǀjichnj, under construction
ᕤᏛ kǀgaku, engineering
৊

126
4 strokes Kƿ; ǀyake, public

ঢ় ୺ேබ shujinkǀ, hero, heroine
බᅬ kǀen, public park
127 බ㌿ kǀten, revolution, turning
5 strokes

ৄ
Kƿ; hiro(i), wide; hiro(geru),
128 to spread (v.t.); hiro(garu), to spread
6 strokes
(v.i.); hiro(maru), to be spread
৉
ᗈሙ hiroba, open space, plaza
129 ᗈ࿌ kǀkoku, advertisement
6 strokes ᗈ኱ kǀdai, vast



Kƿ; ma(jiru), to be mixed;
maji(waru), to associate with;

ka(wasu), to exchange

஺㝿 kǀsai, intercourse,
association

஺␒ kǀban, police box
஺㏻ kǀtsnj, traf¿c

Kƿ; hikari, light, ray; hika(ru),
to shine

ගᖺ kǀnen, light-year
ගἼ kǀha, light wave
ほග kankǀ, sightseeing



26

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 130–134

৽ Kƿ; kanga(e), thought, idea,
opinion; kanga(eru), to think
130
6 strokes ཧ⪃ sankǀ, reference
⪃᱌ kǀan, idea, plan, scheme
਄ ⪃ᰝ kǀsa, examination

131
6 strokes
Kƿ, GYƿ, AN; i(ku), yu(ku), to go;
਒ oko(nau), to hold, to conduct

132 ⾜ิ gyǀretsu, procession, queue
10 strokes ᛴ⾜ kynjkǀ, express
㖟⾜ ginkǀ, bank
݉

133
11 strokes Kƿ; taka(i), high, costly;
taka(maru), to rise, to be elevated;
ਗ taka(meru), to lift, to boost

134 㧗➼Ꮫᰯ kǀtǀgakkǀ, high school
6 strokes ᭱㧗 saikǀ, highest
㧗ྎ takadai, elevated land



Kƿ, ƿ; ki, yellow

㯤Ⰽ ki-iro, yellow
㯤㔠 ǀgon, gold
㯤⇕⑓ ǀnetsubyǀ, yellow fever



Gƿ; a(u), to be together, to ¿t;
a(waseru), to join, to combine

ྜᅗ aizu, signal, sign
㒔ྜ tsugǀ, circumstances,
convenience
⤌ྜ kumiai, union



27

135–139 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

ඇ KOKU; tani, valley

㇂㛫 tanima, valley
㇂ᗏ tanizoko, bottom of a ravine

135
7 strokes
KOKU; kuni, country
ਡ
ᅜㄒ kokugo, national language
136 (Japanese)
8 strokes ᅜ఍ kokkai, the National Diet
඲ᅜ zenkoku, national
ਥ

137
11 strokes KOKU; kuro, kuro(i), black

਱ 㯮ே kokujin, negro
㯮ᯈ kokuban, blackboard
138 ᬯ㯮 ankoku, darkness, blackness
4 strokes

ਜ਼
KON, KIN; ima, now, the present
139
3 strokes ௒᭶ kongetsu, this month
௒ᗘ kondo, next time
௒ኪ konҲya, tonight



SAI, talent, suf¿x for counting age

༑භᡯ jnjroku-sai, sixteen years old
ኳᡯ tensai, genius
ᡯ⬟ sainǀ, talent



28

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 140–144

੧ SAI; hoso(i), slender, narrow;
koma(kai), minute, ¿ne, detailed
140
11 strokes ⣽㐨 hosomichi, narrow road
⣽ᕤ saiku, work, craftsmanship
੼ ⣽⳦ saikin, bacillus, germ

141
7 strokes
SAKU, SA; tsuku(ru), to make
ધ
సᩥ sakubun, (literary)
142 composition
14 strokes ྡస meisaku, masterpiece
స᭤ sakkyoku, musical
ો composition

143
4 strokes
SAN reckoning
ી
⟬ᩘ sansnj, arithmetic,
144 ィ⟬ calculation
5 strokes ண⟬ keisan, computation,
¿guring
yosan, budget



SHI; to(maru), to stop (v.i.);
to(meru), to bring to a stop; tome,
stop

୰Ṇ chnjshi, discontinuation

⚗Ṇ kinshi, prohibition

㏻⾜Ṇ tsnjkǀdome, suspension of

traf¿c

SHI, city; ichi, market

ᕷᙺᡤ shiyakusho, city of¿ce

ᕷሙ ichiba, shijǀ, market
㒔ᕷ toshi, cities



29

145–149 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

ᄚ SHI; ya, arrow

145 ▮༳ yajirushi, arrow(-sign)
5 strokes ᘪ▮ yumiya, bow and arrow
୍▮ isshi, retort, shot in return
઼

146
8 strokes SHI; ane, elder sister

ૃ ጜጒ shimai, ane-imǀto, sisters
ጜፉ anemusume, elder daughter
147 ጜ፵
9 strokes anemuko, elder sister‫ތ‬s
husband
૒

148
10 strokes SHI; omo(u), to think, to recall

૧ ᛮ᝿ shisǀ, thought, idea
୙ᛮ㆟ fushigi, strange
ᛮ࠸ฟ omoide, remembrance,

recollection



SHI; kami, paper

୍࣎ࣝ⣬ bǀrugami, cardboard
⾲⣬ hyǀshi, cover, binding
⣬ࡃࡎ kamikuzu, wastepaper



JI; tera, temple

ᑎ㝔 ji-in, Buddhist temple
ᒣᑎ yamadera, mountain temple

149
6 strokes

30

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 150–154

૵ JI, SHI; mizuka(ra), self, in person

150 ⮬ศ jibun, self
6 strokes ⮬ಙ jishin, con¿dence
⮬⏤ jiynj, freedom
૪

151
10 strokes JI; toki, time

ଆ ᫬ࠎ tokidoki, sometimes
᫬ィ tokei, watch, clock
152 ᫬௦ jidai, period, epoch
9 strokes

ଜ
SHITSU, room; muro, storeroom,
153 cave
7 strokes
ᩍᐊ kyǀshitsu, classroom
ଯ ᐊෆ shitsunai, indoors
 ᐊ
154 onshitsu, hothouse,
10 strokes
greenhouse



SHA, a company; yashiro, Shintǀ
shrine

♫఍ shakai, society, the world,
the community
఍♫ kaisha, (business) company
⚄♫ jinja, shrine



JAKU; yowa(i), weak; yowa(ru),
to grow weak, to be perplexed;
yowa(meru) (v.t.), to weaken

ᙅ⹸ yowamushi, weakling
ᙅ㡢 yowane, complaints
㈋ᙅ hinjaku, scantiness,
meagerness


31

155–159 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

ଽ SHU; kubi, neck

155 㤳㍯ kubiwa, collar (dog)
9 strokes ᡭ㤳 tekubi, wrist
㤳ᗓ shufu, capital
୑

156
9 strokes SHNj; aki, fall, autumn

ଢ଼ ึ⛅ shoshnj, early autumn
⛅㢼 akikaze, autumn breeze
157 ⛅ศ shnjbun, autumnal equinox
11 strokes

୽
SHNj, week
158
9 strokes 㐌หㄅ shnjkanshi, weekly magazine
᮶㐌 raishnj, next week
ங ௒㐌 konshnj, this week

159
10 strokes
SHUN; haru, spring

᫓㢼 harukaze, spring breeze
㟷᫓ seishun, springtime of life
ᬌ᫓ banshun, late spring



SHO; ka(ku), to write
㎡᭩ jisho, dictionary
᭩≀ shomotsu, book, volume
ᩍ⛉᭩ kyǀkasho, textbook



32

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 160–164

வ SHƿ; suko(shi), suku(nai), few,
little, scarce
160
4 strokes ᑡᖺ shǀnen, boy, lad
ከᑡ tashǀ, more or less, somewhat
௲ ᑡబ shǀsa, major (army),
lieutenant commander (navy)
161
12 strokes

ఋ Jƿ; ba, place

162 ᕤሙ kǀjǀ, kǀba, factory
6 strokes ሙᡤ basho, place
௙஦ሙ shigotoba, place of work
఍

163
9 strokes SHOKU, SHIKI; iro, color

ఘ 㢦Ⰽ kao-iro, complexion
ኳ↛Ⰽ tennenshoku, natural color,
164
4 strokes technicolor
Ⰽᙬ shikisai, color, hue



SHOKU, food; ta(beru), to eat;
ku(u), to eat

㣗≀ shokumotsu, food, edibles
㣗ᇽ
㣗஦ shokudǀ, dining hall
shokuji, a meal



SHIN; kokoro, spirit, heart, mind

ᚰᣢࡕ kokoromochi, mood,
feeling, sensation

┿ᚰ magokoro, sincerity,
devotion

୍ᚰ isshin, whole-heartedness



33

165–169 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

ఛ SHIN; atara(shii), new; ara(tani),
newly, afresh; nii-, ¿rst, new
165
13 strokes ᪂⪺ shinbun, newspaper
᪂ᖺ shinnen, the New Year
ప ᪂Ꮫᮇ shingakki, new school term

166
16 strokes
SHIN; oya, parent; shita(shimu), to
ూ make friends with, to take kindly to;
shita(shii), intimate, familiar
167
7 strokes ୧ぶ ryǀshin, parents
ぶษ shinsetsu, kindness
ౘ ぶ㢮 shinrui, relative, relation

168
13 strokes
ZU, drawing, plan; TO; haka(ru), to
ಀ devise

169 ᅗ⏬ zuga, drawing, a picture
6 strokes ᆅᅗ chizu, map
ᅗ᭩㤋 toshokan, library



SNj; kazu, number; kazo(eru), to
count

ᩘᏐ snjji, ¿gure, numeral
ᩘᏛ snjgaku, mathematics
ேᩘ ninznj, the number of people



SEI, SAI; nishi, west

すὒ seiyǀ, the West, the Occident
኱すὒ Taiseiyǀ, Atlantic Ocean
ᮾす tǀzai, east and west, Orient

and Occident



34

౾ ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 170–174

170 SEI, SHƿ; koe, voice
7 strokes Ἵࡁኌ nakigoe, crying voice
㡢ኌᏛ onseigaku, phonetics
౳ ኌᖏ seitai, the vocal cords

171
9 strokes
SEI, Jƿ; hoshi, star
౴
ᫍᗙ seiza, constellation
172 ⅆᫍ kasei, Mars
12 strokes ᫂ᫍ myǀjǀ, Venus

ಜ

173 SEI; ha(re), ¿ne weather; ha(reru),
4 strokes to clear (weather), to be dispelled;
ha(rasu), to clear away, to dispel
ಥ (doubts)
⛅ᬕࢀ akibare, clear autumn
174
11 strokes weather
ᬕࢀ╔ haregi, one‫ތ‬s best clothes

ᬕኳ seiten, ¿ne weather

SETSU, SAI; ki(ru), to cut; ki(reru),
to be sharp, to snap, to break, to run
out, to expire

୍ษࢀ hitokire, one slice
ぶษ shinsetsu, kindness
୍ษ issai, all, everything



SETSU; yuki, snow

㞷ࡔࡿࡲ yukidaruma, snowman
㞷ゎࡅ yukidoke, thaw
✚㞷 sekisetsu, snowdrift



35

175–179 • ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS

೅ SEN; fune, funa, boat, ship

175 Ώࡋ⯪ watashi-bune, ferry
11 strokes ⯪ဨ senҲin, sailor
Ỷ⯪ kisen, steamboat, steamship
ೀ

176
15 strokes SEN, line, track, wire, string

೐ ᆅᖹ⥺ chiheisen, horizon (on land)
ග⥺ kǀsen, light, beam, ray
177 ┤⥺ chokusen, straight line
9 strokes

೨
ZEN; mae, before, in front of,
178 previous
11 strokes
༗๓ gozen, morning, A.M.
ഖ ๓ᚋ zengo, before and after,
context
179 ௨๓ izen, ago, since, before
7 strokes


SO; kumi, class, group, set; ku(mu),
to join, to unite

⤌ࡳ❧࡚ kumitate, construction,
structure

୍⤌ hitokumi, one set,
one class

␒⤌ bangumi, program

Sƿ; hashi(ru), to run

➇㉮ kyǀsǀ, race, running match
㉮ࡾ᭩ࡁ hashirigaki, hasty writing

㉮ࡾཤࡿ hashirisaru, to run away



36

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERS • 180–184

ഽ TA; ǀ(i), many, much, abundant

180 ከᩘ tasnj, large number
6 strokes ከศ tabun, perhaps
ከ㔞
ാ taryǀ, great quantity

181
4 strokes
TAI, TA; futo(i), big, deep (voice),
ൌ bold (lines), shameless; futo(ru),
to grow fat
182
7 strokes ኴ㝧 taiyǀ, sun
୸ኴ maruta, log
൤ ኴᖹὒ Taiheiyǀ, Paci¿c Ocean

183
5 strokes
TAI, TEI body; karada, the body,
ණ health

184 య⫱ tai-iku, physical education
6 strokes ᅋయ dantai, a group
㌴య shatai, body of a vehicle



DAI, TAI; a stand

ྎ㢼 taifnj, typhoon
⯙ྎ butai, stage
⇠ྎ
tǀdai, lighthouse



CHI, JI, earth, ground

ᆅୖ chijǀ, on the ground
ᆅୗ chika, underground
ᆅ㠃
jimen, surface of the earth



37