nae, nawa, byō Do you recognize the lower part of this character? It depicts rice fields. The upper part is a radical representing grass. Nae means seedlings of a plant you intend to transplant and to grow. While it includes tree seedlings, you can use naegi for this particular plant. Write the horizontal stroke. Write the [...]

imo We call potatoes imo. Round potatoes with brown skins are called jagaimo. Larger and sweet ones with red skins are satsumaimo. Satoimo is a kind of taro. They have brown hairy skins. The upper part of the character depicts a plant. The lower part looks like a part of another character that means pride. [...]

na, sai Today’s character means green vegetables. Yasai means vegetables. The ya of yasai means a field or wild. Vegetarians are saishoku shu gi (sha). Shugi means –ism. Saien is a vegetable garden. En means a garden. Nabana or nanohana is oilseed rape. Rapeseed is natane. Write the horizontal stroke on the top. Write the [...]

kuki, kei Kuki is a stem or a stalk. It is the main body of a plant but is thinner than the trunks or branches of trees. Kuki connects roots to leaves and flowers. Kuki seen above the ground is chi jō kei and subterranean kuki is chi ka kei. Chi jō means on the ground [...]

ni, ka Nimotsu is something you are carrying. A load is ni or tsumini. Tenimotsu means luggage or baggage. Ni or nimotsu can be a burden. By adding prefix o- to nimotsu, you can express it as a burden. That is onimotsu. A heavy burden is also expressed as omoni. Packing is nizukuri. Zukuri comes from [...]

mo-eru, mo-e, hō If you are otaku or a big anime fan, you probably know this word, “moe.” Moe is not a traditional word. This is a kind of affection toward particular anime characters. The verb “moeru” means to bud. This word is hardly used these days. Hōga meaning young buds or portents is also [...]

kusa, sō Kusa is a green plant growing where soil exists. “Kusa sprouts and grows” is translated as “kusa ga haeru.” We don’t call lawn kusa. Lawn is shiba. Kusa is more like a weed. From the point of view of gardening, all kusa should be removed. In other words, gardeners need to weed. The [...]

yume, mu Yume is what you see while you are sleeping. Here is the list of some kinds of dreams you see while sleeping. Yo chi mu … a dream that predicts the future Masayume … When you see this dream, what you see in the dream happens in reality. Sakayume … When you see [...]