Browsing the blog archives for May, 2010
tomi, to-mu, fu, pu This lucky character suggests richness. Tomi implies affluence, wealth, and a fortune. It is something you could bring to somebody or something you could attract, get, build up and enjoy. “Kyo man no tomi” is an immense fortune. Tomu is a verb accompanying okurigana “mu,” but sounds like an adjective meaning [...]
yō Since “yō” is on’yomi, we cannot tell what it means just by hearing “yō.” We would like to discuss some compounds today. The sun is taiyō. Yōki is cheerfulness. They follow the ordinary on’yomi rules. In other words, we can separate each word into groups of syllables corresponding to each character. Some words do [...]
hana, ka A flower is “hana.” A bouquet is “hanataba.” The language of flowers is “hanakotoba.” The names of some flowers and plants have today’s character. Sazanka (a sasanqua) is a Japanese camellia. Its name consists of yama, cha, and hana. “Hanamizu ki” is a flowering dogwood. A safflower is benibana, of which the [...]
neko, byō “Neko” is a cat and “koneko” is a kitten. Like the English word “cat,” the Japanese “neko” has got idiomatic words and phrases. Here are some examples. “Neko no hitai” is a cat’s forehead. It’s a small piece of land. People sometimes express their land as “nekono hitaihodo.” It means their property is [...]
tori, chō A bird is tori. A little bird is kotori. A migratory bird is wataridori. The dori of wataridori is a voiced sound of tori. Torime is a bird’s eyes. It means night blindness. If somebody suffers from this symptom, they are as blind as a bird because of a lack of vitamin A. [...]
kami, shi kami is paper, a material that you write on, print on, fold, tear, or recycle. Something made of paper has a name with this character. “Kami” is added to the beginning of a word to form such a name. For example, a cup is “koppu” in katakana. “kami” is added to “koppu” to [...]
hako-bu, un The verb “hakobu” means to carry, to convey, to transport, or to waft. The noun “un” means destiny, fortune, or luck. To remember these two words at the same time, the phrase “un wo hakobu” might be helpful. It means to waft one’s destiny. The particle “wo” between them indicates that the noun [...]
mawa-ri, shū “Mawari” is a noun meaning circumference. If it’s specifically the edge of a circle, say “enshū.” By putting a particle “ni,” you can change some nouns into adverbs. Japanese adverbs come before verbs or adjectives. In other words, modifiers generally come before modified words. “Mawarini” is such an adverb. It modifies verbs. For [...]
yue, ko This style is called sō sho, a cursive style. This character’s meanings can be summarized as old, solid, and therefore, dead. The kaisho style is here. We posted it three days ago. Some other information about this is also included there. Old Customs and a Bad Accident (kaisho) -> here
hoso-i, hoso-ru, hoso-meru, koma-kai, koma-ka, koma-yaka, sai Thin or Narrow The adjective futoi is the antonym of hosoi. Things that may be thin are strings, cables, and faces. A thin string is “hosoi himo”; a thin cable is “hosoi kēburu”; and a thin face is “hosoi kao.” Some people are thin, too. “Hosoi hito” means [...]