Elementary Kanji | Grade 1

1. Welcome: Hello and welcome to elementary kanji grade one. My name is Andy and in this course you will learn 80 kanji characters and 240 vocabulary words. This course also includes a quiz set with 240 vocabulary words and printable practice sheets so you can practice writing the characters in case you didn't know. The Japanese writing system has three different alphabets, Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Most Japanese learners start by learning Hiragana, Katakana, then Kanji. Being able to read Hiragana and Katakana is a prerequisite for this course. If you haven't already check out my Hiragana and Katakana courses as well. In this course you'll find a video explanation for each individual kanji character. We'll go over the meanings, readings, and stroke order. With each character, you'll learn three example words that use the character. By the end of this course, you'll have learned the 80 characters that first graders learn in Japanese elementary schools. Best of luck and I'll see you in the first lesson. 2. Introduction to Kanji: Hello and welcome back to elementary kanji grade on E. Before we learn our first character, let's get a general overview of the kanji writing system. In this video, we'll cover a brief history of kanji and how to read kanji characters. A History of Kanji. Kanji is a system of writing used in Japan that utilizes Chinese characters. The history of kanji dates back over 2000 years and has undergone significant changes throughout its development. The origin of kanji can be traced back to ancient China, where symbols were used to represent objects and ideas. These symbols eventually evolved into a writing system that was adopted by the Japanese around the fifth century 80. At this time, the Japanese language had no writing system of its own. The adoption of kanji allowed the Japanese to record their own language in writing. Believe it or not, Hiragana and Katakana are actually derived from Kanji. Around the ninth century AD, the Japanese simplified several kanji characters to create phonetic alphabets to better fit the Japanese spoken language. These phonetic alphabets are what we know today as Hiragana and Katakana. There are an estimated 50,000 kanji characters in existence, but the majority of these characters are no longer used in modern Japanese. During the Meiji Period in the late 19th century, Japan underwent a period of modernization and westernization, which included a reform of the writing system. Many of the more complicated kanji characters were simplified, and the government established a standardized set of kanji characters that were considered essential for everyday use. A 2010, this list includes 2136 characters which are known as the jo jo kanji Kanji for common use. Many of the first kanji characters you'll learn are pictographs. These characters originated from the image of an object. For example, notice how this character, which means mountain, vaguely resembles a mountain. Other examples of pictographs include the character for River Free fire and person. Other kanji characters you'll encounter early on are ideographs which represent an abstract concept or idea. For example, this character which means up and this character which means down. How to read Kanji hiana are phonetic alphabets, meaning that each character generally represents one sound. For example, this character is pronounced, the character itself doesn't hold any particular meaning. But just from looking at it, we know that it's pronounced Kanji is the exact opposite. Kanji characters are logograms, which means that each character represents an object or idea, but can be pronounced differently depending on the context. For example, this character means water, but it can be pronounced zu in the word izumi or in the word sue. You'll often see Hiragana character is written above or to the side of kanji to tell you how the kanji is read. These characters are referred to as an characters have two different types of readings. The reading or omi, and the reading or yomi. The komi refers to the Japanese reading of the character, in this case izu, which is the Japanese word for water. The yomi is derived from the Chinese reading of the character, in this case sui, which originates from the Chinese reading In a dictionary, the kumi is usually written in hi and the yomi is written in Katakana. Many characters have multiple kumi and yomi. For example, this character means day, and it has two komi, K and along with two yomi, ichi and jitsu. Note that some kumi and yomi are a bit archaic or are only used in names. There are also instances where words deviate from the original readings. For example, this word which refers to the rainy season in Japan. This character means plum and can be pronounced um or by this character means rain and can be pronounced me, ama, or. However, when these two characters are combined, the word is pronounced. You'll also find that at times a 10.10 or a small is added to the reading when combined with other characters. For example, the yomi for this character is sen, but it's read Zen in the worden. The yomi for this character is, but it's red with a small t in the word. For this reason, I highly suggest focusing on learning words rather than memorizing the kyi and yomi for each individual character. As you learn more words, you'll naturally get a grasp of how each character can be pronounced. Stroke order. Each kanji character has a standard stroke order to follow when writing the character. In reality, not everyone follows the correct stroke order when writing Japanese. But it's a good idea to pay close attention to stroke order when you're first learning the characters. Practicing kanji using a consistent stroke order can help you learn the characters faster and it'll make your writing more legible. Stroke order for kanji characters follow a general pattern which you'll catch on to as you practice writing the characters. Simply remember that characters are usually written from top to bottom and left to right, like in the character for river. You may also want to remember that T shaped usually written with a horizontal line first, like in the character for ten, a box is written with just three strokes, like in the character for mouth. I've provided downloadable practice sheets with a stroke order for each character. Be sure to print them out and practice writing. As you learn each character. Keep in mind that in today's digital age, you may have few opportunities to write kanji by hand. Even native Japanese people are starting to forget how to write some of the more difficult characters. It's a good idea to write each kanji character a few times when you first learn them. But after that, you can decide how much attention you want to devote to writing. It is worth noting that being able to write Kanji can be quite satisfying even if there's not much practical use for it in daily life. Kanji can be a rather complex writing system, but it actually makes reading Japanese easier once you get the hang of it, just take things one character at a time and learn to enjoy the process. Good luck and I'll see you in the next lesson. 3. One 一、Two ニ、Three 三: This character means it. Reading is its own. Reading is Chi. Some example words include Chia, which means January. Hits which means one thing, and hit, which means one person or a lone. It hit hit. This character means two. Its reading is its own reading. Some example words include Nia, which means February, which means two things, and Mika, which means second floor. Igas putas kai. This character means three. Its reading is its own reading. Some example words include sagas, which means march, su which means three things, and sanka, which means triangle. San. Goat, meat, sano. 4. Four 四、Five 五、Six 六: This character means four. Its reading is its own. Reading is some example. Words include she got, which means April which means four things, and yuban, which means number four, she got, um, ban. This character means five. Its reading is its own reading. Some example words include, which means which means five things. And go, which means 05:00 Go got, sir, sir, go. This character means six. Its reading is mu. Its own reading is docu. Some example words include cugat which means june, usu which means six things. And kunen which means sixth grade coca. Us can say 5. Seven 七、Eight 八、Nine 九: This character means seven. Its reading is nano. Its own reading is chichi. Same example. Words include chichi gas, which means July nats which means seven things. And nano, which means the seven chichi goats, Nana, nanoca. This character means eight. Its reading is ya, ya. Its own reading is chi. Example words include chitu which means August, yasu which means eight things, and you got, which means the eights. Chi got ya. This character means nine. Reading is its own reading is some example words include ugas which means september, which means nine things, and Q, which means nine years old. Coca, Coca, not so. Q. 6. Ten 十、Hundred 百、Thousand 千: This character means ten. Reading is its own reading. Some example words include jugs, which means October, tolga, which means the tenth, and it, which means the tenth floor. Juul, this character means 100. Its reading is its own. Reading is Aua. Example words include au which means 100, y ya which means fruit and vegetable shop, and chat which means department store. Chau ya, ya at This character means 1,000 Its reading is its own reading is some example. Words include sen, which means 1,000 San Zen, which means 3,000 and which means or en san Zen. 7. Moon 月、Fire 火、Water 水: This character means month or moons, reading is Suki. Its own reading is Gets. This character represents the shape of a crescent moon. Some example words include suit which means moon, gesu which means Monday, and chat, which means November, the key chats. This character means fires. Reading is B whole. Its own reading is this character represents the shape of burning fire. Some example words include he which means fire, kayo which means Tuesday, and nabi which means firework. Yo nab. This character means water. Its reading is its own. Reading is su. This character represents the shape of splashing water. Some example words include zu, which means water. Suyo which means Wednesday, and such, which means underwater. Music C, B C. 8. Tree 木、Gold 金、Soil 土: This character means tree or wood. Its reading is its own reading is this character represents the shape of a tree. Some example words include ke, which means three, cube which means Thursday. And mozi which means lumber, key, mo, cuyo, Mochi. This character means gold. It on reading is Kane Ganet. Its own reading is Ken. Some example words include Ken which means gold king, Job which means Friday, and Kane which means money, king, king. Oh, get. This character means soil, earth, or ground. Its reading is such its own reading is some example. Words include che, which means soil, doo, which means Saturday. And toch, which means land. Chi, yo vi to chi. 9. Sun 日、Up 上、Down 下: This character means day, sun, or Japan. Its reading is its own, reading is niches. This character represents the shape of a sun. Some example words include he, which means day or sun, ichi which means Sunday, and jitsu which means weekday. He nib. This character means above. Its reading is Kami noble. Its own reading is Joel. Some example words include out, which means up or above. Aga which means to rise or go up. And j, which means good, out, out, I, j. This character means below, down, descend, give or inferior. Its reading is a ****. Its own reading is get. Notice that the character is pointing in an upward direction and the character for down is pointing in a downward direction. Some example words include ha, which means down or under, Sagar which means to descend or go down, and Joe, which means up and down. Sit a Saga, Joe Get. 10. Left 左、Right 右、Name 名: This character means left. It reading is Dad. Its own reading is some example. Words include dad which means left, sass which means left turn, and hidatwhich means left hand. Hi, Dad, sat, hid. This character means right. Its reading is its own. Reading is. Note that the character left and right follow different stroke order patterns. The character for left starts with the bottom left stroke and the character for right starts from the top right stroke. Some example words include ige which means right, su which means left and right, and sets, which means right turn. Get this character means name or reputation. Its reading is not its own, reading is L. Some example words include, which means name, bus, which means specialty, and adana, which means nickname. No, me, but I done that. 11. Big 大、Middle 中、Small 小: This character means it, reading is its own. Reading is, this character represents a person taking a big stance with both arms and legs spread out. Some example words include oki which means big, gaku which means university. And sets, which means important. Okay, that sets. This character means inside, middle, or center. Its reading is nach, its own reading is. Notice the line that passes through the middle of this character. Some example words include naa, which means inside, which means middle school student, and u, which means China. A chew chew, this character means small reading is its own reading. So this character is represented by three small lines. Some example words include chi site, which means small, shola which means elementary school student. And kya, which means cabin sight, show. Guck, say ya. 12. Person 人、Hand 手、Foot 足: This character means person. Reading is its own. Reading is in, in this character represents the shape of a person. Some example words include hit, which means person, nini which means popular, and ij, which means Japanese person do In ke ni jen, this character means hand. Its reading is its own, reading is 0. This character represents the shape of a hand. Some example words include, which means hand, which means singer, and it at, which means bad at t. So this character means leg, foot, or enough. Its reading is its own, reading is some example words include, which means foot or leg, which means to be enough. And man, so good, which means satisfied as she taddy it, man. Look. 13. Eye 目、Ear 耳、Mouth 口: This character means insights. Reading is its own. Reading is this character represents the shape of an I. Some example words include met which means I, tiki which means purpose, and zahi which means alarm, clock, met Tiki, me. This character means ear reading is its own reading. This character represents the shape of an ear. Some example words include, which means ear, Jim, which means ear, and eye. And Sami, which means mishearing me, meat, moca, me, meat. This character means mouse reading it, reading. This character represents the shape of a mouth. Some example words include, which means mouth, Jen, which means population, and which means bank account. Could en, gol, calls up. 14. Woman 女、Man 男、Child 子: This character means woman or female. Its reading is met. Its own reading is no. This character represents the shape of a kneeling woman. Some example words include, which means woman, which means female, and mega, which means goddess, nano to Jose Mega. This character means reading is its own reading. Some example words include which means man, dan, which means male, and an which means oldest son, Otto Coto dan sat on an. This character means child. Reading is its own reading is she? So this character represents the shape of a child. Some example words include domo, which means child, nano which means girl, and an she, which means electron do nano, then she. 15. Year 年、Mountain 山、River 川: This character means years. Readings on reading is n. Some example words include toshi which means elderly, shi which means this year, and nien which means next year. So cosi n, n. This character means mountain. Its reading is Yama. Its own reading is san. This character represents the shape of a mountain. Some example words include Yama, which means mountain, Fujian which means Mount Fuji, and Kazan, which means volcano. Yama Huan Kazan. This character means river. Its reading is its own. Reading is Sen. This character represents the shape of a river. Some example words include ka, which means river, Kawazoe which means along the river, and abet, which means river bank. Kawa, azo abet. 16. Grove 林、Woods 森、Rice field 田: This character means grove or forests. Reading is yashi. Its own reading is in some example words include yashi which means grove, sandin which means forest, mountain, and mitsu which means jungle. Asi sanding. This character means forest or woods. Reading is its own. Reading is shin. Notice how the characters for grove and woods are made with the character for tree. Some example words include more, which means forest shining, which means woods and forests. And most, which is a Japanese surname. De Shin Modista. This character means rice field or rice paddy. Its reading is its own. Reading is Den. This character represents the shape of a rice field. Some example words include which means rice field. Den, which means pay field, and which is a Japanese surname. Tumble, Sweden. Time. Got. 17. Sky 空、Rain 雨、Stone 石: This character means empty sky or vacant. Reading is a su, its own reading. Some example words include soda, which means sky, which means open and which means air. A soda, a cookie. This character means rain reading is a amit. Its own reading is this character represents the image of rain. Some example words include am, which means rain, amaz which means rainwater, and u, which means rainforest. I met me in this character means stone. Its reading is he. Its own reading is ski. This character represents the image of a stone at the bottom of a cliff. Some example words include, which means stone which means jewel, and schizo which means stone, statue, E holes, sky's all. 18. Heaven 天、Spirit 気、Evening 夕: This character means heaven, sky or imperial. Reading is A. Its own reading is ten. Some example words include ten, which means sky or heaven. Tempura which means tempura. And ama, noaa, which means Milky Way. 1010 Buddha amo gaa. This character means spirit, mood, air or atmosphere. Its own reading is k k. Some example words include tenke, which means whether, **** which means Nasa, and izu, which means to notice ten. K ****. Kz, this character means evening. Its reading is its own. Reading is Ski. Example words include, which means evening, which means dinner and heat, which means evening. Sun, you got that you un you. 19. Grass 草、Bamboo 竹、Flower 花: This character means grass, right? Or draft. It reading is Gus, its own reading is sole. Some example words include Usa which means grass, a sole which means weeds. And Aki which means grass and trees. So Kai, this character means bamboo. Its reading is take, its own reading is Chu. This character represents the shape of bamboo. Some example words include take, which means bamboo, chiku which means bamboo forest, and taken, which means bamboo shot, Take, greeting, take. This character means flowers reading. Its own reading is some example. Words include hana, which means flower cabin which means vase, and bana, which means spark, a cabin, Bana. 20. Dog 犬、Insect 虫、Shellfish 貝: This character means do it reading in its own reading is Ken. Some example words include u, which means dog in which means puppy, and banken which means watchdog, u. This character means insect, bug or temper. Its reading is its own reading is some example. Words include she, which means bug, which means parasite. And she, b, which means cavity to hi. This character means shellfish. Its reading is this character represents the shape of a shell. Example words include, which means shellfish, gata which means sea shell, and docu, which means shellfish. Poison. Kai, kai got a kai docu. 21. King 王、Ball 玉、Power 力: This character means king or rule. Its own reading is some example. Words include sama, which means king. Z which means queen. And cut, which means kingdom, Sam zu. This character means jewel or ball. Its reading is its own reading is some example. Words include amagi which means onion, dama which means eyeball, and yakama which means 100 en coin. Tamaki a aka this character means power, strength or exert. Its reading is A. Its own reading is Uk. Example words include cha which means power or sti which means heat or fire. Power and ki, which means own power. Chica, cardio GD, keep. 22. Thread 糸、Car 車、Sound 音: This character means thread. It reading is its own. Reading is she, This character represents the shape of twisted thread. Some example words include 0, which means string, kito which means yarn, and it gum, which means spinning wheel. To do um, this character means cars. Reading is uma. Its own reading is a. This character represents the shape of a car. Some example words include, which means ha, which means train, and ish, which means sh, then shot, jinisha, This character means sound or noise. It reading is net. Its own reading is some example words include, which means sound or noise. Which means reading and which means pronunciation. Oh, only your me, ts on. 23. Learn 学、School 校、Yen 円: This character means study or learning. Reading is its own reading. Some example words include manabu, which means to learn, which means student, and gain, which means grade. About, got, got in this character means school or exam. Its own reading is some example. Words include, which means school, sholl which means elementary school, and zeng which means entire school. Go, go, go, go, Zen, cool. This character means circle yen or rod reading. Its own reading is some example. Words include Maui, which means round zu which means ten yen, and u, which means circumference made. And 24. Ahead 先、Life 生、Correct 正: This character means before ahead or future. Its reading is Saki. Its own reading is Sen. Some example words include Saki which means before or first sets which means last month, and spi which means superior sake sets say this character means life or reading is u k nama. Its own reading is show some example words include since which means teacher, du which means to live, and namao which means raw egg, sin say term. This character means correct or justice. Its reading is Masa. Its own reading is. So some example words include tadashi which means right or just. Shots which means New years. And sakai which means correct. Ta da, shi, oh, so got, say. 25. Letter 字、Literature 文、Book 本: This character means character, letter or word. It's kuai is a its own reading is some example. Words include mi which means romi which means number, and moji which means letter or character. No, this character means literature, style, art, or figure. It's reading is fumi, its own reading is some example. Words include, which means literature, which means classical literature, and emo, which means bongo, coburn, mozi. This character means main origin, true or real. Its reading is its own reading is some example. Words include, which means book, which means Japan, and at, which is a Japanese surname, Hun hunt. 26. Village 村、Town 町、Early 早: This character means village or town. Reading is mu. Its own reading is son. Some example words include muda, which means village, muda which means villager. And kimura, which is a Japanese surname, muda, dato muda. This character means town or block. Reading is machi. Its own reading is chol. Some example words include machi which means town, chita which means downtown, and choke which means neighborhood association, match, stomach, Jon. This character means early or fast reading is its own reading. Some example words include a, which means early, solo which means early morning. And sask which means promptly. So soccer. 27. Red 赤、White 白、Blue 青: This character means red. Its reading is aka. Its own reading is ski shau. Some example words include aka which means red, akai which means deficit, and skin which means red rice I skin. This character means white. Reading is so shia. Its own reading is. Some example words include shito which means white, shiga which means gray hair, and kuji which means white person shed she got cuz this character means blue, its reading is its own reading is. So some example words include a, which means blue, A zora which means blue sky. And say schoen, which means young people. Oh, oh, say so then. 28. Stand 立、Rest 休、Look 見: This character means stand up, rise, or set up. Its reading is its own. Reading is this character represents the image of a person standing. Some example words include tau, which means to stand, which means independence. And dazu, which means to stand out. That's it. Good eats it may, that's it, this character means or retire. Reading is as its own reading is. Some example words include ya sum, which means to rest, su which means stay off, and naam which means summer vacation. Ya sum natu, yasui. This character means see, idea, or opinion. On reading is its own reading is some example Words include tu, which means to see, kena which means to observe, and ken, which means opinion meter king co ken. 29. Enter 入、Exit 出: This character means enter, insert. It reading is its own reading. Some example words include du, which means to be inside, du which means to insert, and nuga, which means school admission. Du Du. Na, this character means exit, go out or put out. Its reading is its own, reading is Sui. Example words include du, which means to leave. Du, which means to put out susie, which means attendance, du. That's it, She's sick.