gō This character comes after a number, making an ordinal number. Rockets and trains are numbered with this suffix. You can find the number system of trains in the timetable like this one below. This is for shinkansen, the Japanese fastest trains. For example, No. 511 Hikari superexpress is called “hikari 511(gohyakujūichi) gō” in Japanese. [...]
Basic Japanese Characters
Japanese Calligraphy Art by Japanese Calligrapher Nao
Browsing the archives for the revised tag
21 Nov 09
Han or Chinese
kan In my understanding, kan is something related to China. Kanji means Chinese characters, which were invented in ancient China and were introduced to Japan in the early centuries of the Christian era. All the Japanese characters I put the tag ,kanji, here are kanji. This is also the name of the dynasty, Han, first [...]
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Filed in Japanese calligraphy
23 Oct 09
To Divide
wa-keru, wa-kareru, wa-karu, wa-katsu, bun, bu The general meaning of this character is to divide. The suffixes, keru, kareru, karu, and katsu, are okurigana. They have delicate nuances. If you divide something, your action is expressed as wa-keru. If something splits, it is in the state of wa-kareru. (Take note that there is another character [...]
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Filed in Japanese calligraphy
27 Sep 09
Event or Thing
koto, goto, ji I should mention that all the meanings I am presenting here are not precisely from the dictionary. Please notice that the usages may be biased. I am focusing on how this character has been used, particularly in my life. My first translation of this character was a thing, because I thought koto [...]
28 Aug 09
A Bitter Feeling
ura-mu, ura-mi, kon To hold a grudge is the verb ura-mu. The noun grudge is ura-mi. The accompanying mu and mi are okurigana. The Korean read it han. The Korean han is more complicated than a grudge. It means mixed feelings of yearning, desire, sorrow, pathos, perplexity, and bewilderment (Japanese Wikipedia). The oppressed feel han; [...]
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Filed in Japanese calligraphy
25 Aug 09
Not, Wrong or Mistake
hi When putting up the character righteousness, I mentioned zehi – right or wrong. The hi of zehi is this character. Perhaps, if you visit Japan, you have seen this pictogram. >>> The word above EXIT is hijōguchi. The jō means ordinary or common. The guchi means an exit. First, draw three horizontal strokes on [...]
After Blossom Viewing
Snow Moon
