moto-meru, kyū   Classical classified ads would say, “motomu!” It means “help wanted.” Help-wanted ads are called “kyūjin kō koku.” Kyūjin means recruiting or offering jobs. Kō koku means ads. Compounds such as kyūjin consist of a verb and an object. You can regard kyū as a verb meaning to pursue and jin meaning a [...]

mi-ru, kan This character is occasionally used as the verb miru, which means “to watch” or “to monitor.” In other words, it implies “to look at something carefully.” Nursing is kango. A nurse is “kango shi.” Taking care of the sick is kanbyō. A signboard is called kanban. A prison guard is kanshu. Draw the [...]

tsuka-eru, shi, ji Shigoto is work, a job, or duty. Shiwaza is somebody’s deed, which is often bad. Who has done this deed is not clear in the beginning but it is often gradually revealed. The verb tsukaeru means to serve, which is used when a servant serves. Miyazukae used to be the court service. [...]

kura-beru, hi The verb kuraberu means to compare. If one thing is way better than another, you can say that they are “kurabemononinaranai,” which means, you cannot compare them. But people tend to compare themselves with others and therefore we sometimes hear somebody tell us not to compare ourselves with others, that is, “kurabenai” or [...]

ke, mō One’s hair or hair on every part of one’s body is called ke. Hairy people are criticized as kebukai while people with thin hair might hear somebody whisper “ke ga usui” behind their back. Usui means thin. You should not talk about the amount of “ke” very much. Mōfu is a blanket. Umō [...]

a-u, e, kai Meetings and gatherings are kai. People gather for so many different reasons. This character also means a society or an association. We call gatherings for a girls’ chat “jo shi kai,” which has become popular recently. Girls address themselves as “jo shi.” Here is a list of other traditional meetings. A field [...]

soda-teru, soda-tsu, iku The verb “sodateru” means “to raise somebody” or “to grow something such as animals and plants.” Sodatsu is an intransitive verb meaning “to grow up.” Kyōiku means education. The verb kyōikusuru means “to educate.” The board of education is “kyōiku iinkai,” of which the iinkai means a committee. Physical education is taiiku. [...]

tsuto-meru, ben Both “benkyō suru” and manabu are verbs meaning “to study.” “Benkyō suru” requires active efforts while manabu implies “to learn.” Students study. When they take this action “benkyō suru,” they sit at their desk and study. Merchants also use the word “benkyō suru.” When they say, “benkyō shimasu,” they mean you can haggle [...]

mune, shū Religion is shūkyō. Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism etc. are shūkyō, too. The names of Buddhist sects end with the suffix “–shū”: Shingonshū (the Shingon sect), Jōdoshū (the Jōdo sect), Jōdoshinshū or Shinshū (the True Pure Land sect), Nichirenshū (the Nichiren sect), Zenshū (Zen Buddhism in general), Sōtōshū (the Sōtō sect of Zen Buddhism), [...]