Well ! Let’s recap a bit of everything we’ve seen so far :
1/ We are very familiar with all the rules for using kanji.
2/ Each kanji has a purely Japanese reading and a Sino-Japanese reading.
3/ We know that we must use the first pronunciation when we use a kanji alone, and the second pronunciation when we combine kanji to create more complex words.
4/ We know the rule of accents and the rule of pauses in Sino-Japanese words.
We will therefore be able to move on to creating words in kanji.
For this, I will give you a list of thirteen kanji with which we will be able to create lots of Japanese words. These kanji that I have selected are obviously very common in the Japanese language and are a bit the basis of the kanji to know. Most are completely new, others are already known to you.
You will see some things that will seem strange to you at first, but don’t worry, everything will be explained in detail.
Here we go !
北 .
きた .
ホク → North
南 .
みなみ .
ナン → South
東 .
ひがし .
トウ → East
西 .
にし .
セイ → West
海 .
うみ .
カイ → Sea
魚 .
さかな / うお .
ギョ → Fish
砂 .
すな .
サ → Sand
国 .
くに .
コク → Country
京 .
みやこ .
キョウ → Capital
本 .
もと .
ホン → Origin ; Book (in its Sino-Japanese pronunciation)
中 .
なか .
チュウ → Middle, interior
日 .
ひ .
ニチ → Day
Well, we have our thirteen kanji. With all these kanji, we will be able to create new words. Let’s start with a few simple words : northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest. How are we going to write them ? It’s very simple, watch below :
With the kanji of « north » and the kanji of « east », we can create the word « northeast ».
北 . きた . ホク +
東 . ひがし . トウ
→ 北東 . ホクトウ
When you got here, you understood that to say « the north », we say きた (purely Japanese pronunciation of the kanji 北) and to say « the east », we say ひがし (purely Japanese pronunciation of the kanji 東).
With the kanji of « north » and the kanji of « west », we can create the word « northwest ».
北 . きた . ホク +
西 . にし . セイ
→ 北西 . ホクセイ
With the kanji of « south » and the kanji of « east », we can create the word « southeast ».
南 . みなみ . ナン +
東 . ひがし . トウ
→ 南東 . ナントウ
With the kanji of « south » and the kanji of « west », we can create the word « southwest ».
南 . みなみ . ナン +
西 . にし . セイ
→ 南西 . ナンセイ
Well, this is all very pretty. Let’s try something a little more complicated. If we want to mean « the seafish » :
With the kanji of « sea » and the kanji of « fish », we can create the word « seafish ».
海 . うみ . カイ +
魚 . さかな / うお . ギョ
→ 海魚 . カイギョ
Again, we take the Sino-Japanese pronunciations of the two kanji to create this new word. You will have noticed that the kanji of « fish » has two purely Japanese pronunciations. We will not use purely Japanese pronunciation うお in this course, but know at least that this case exists.
Another word. If we want to say « the sea sand » :
With the kanji of « sea » and the kanji of « sand », we can create the word « sea sand ».
海 . うみ . カイ +
砂 . すな . サ
→ 海砂 . カイサ
(This word refers to the sand collected at the bottom of the ocean, unlike that which is used as a component of concrete.)
I consider that you have understood the principle. Let’s go on. If we want to say « the capital of the east » :
With the kanji of « capital » and the kanji of « east », we can create the word « capital of the east ».
東 . ひがし . トウ +
京 . みやこ . キョウ
→ 東京 . トウキョウ
Now watch how the new word is pronounced : Tōkyō. Yes, it is the name of the capital of Japan which is located east on the Japanese archipelago. They simply took the kanji of « capital » and the kanji of « east » to create the name Tokyo. Isn’t it wonderful ? And don’t forget to lengthen the « o » in Tōkyō.
Next word. If we want to say « the Middle’s Country » :
With the kanji of « middle, interior » and the kanji of « country », we can create the word « Middle’s Country ».
中 . なか . チュウ +
国 . くに . コク
→ 中国 . チュウゴク
Note that here the コク becomes ゴク for easier pronunciation. And imagine that this is how the Japanese call China. They say チュウゴク which literally means « the Middle’s Country ».
In English, you may have heard the term « the Middle Empire » in reference to that time when China was already the richest and most powerful country in Asia. Besides, even today, in the media, they happen to be called China « the Middle’s Country » or even « the Middle Empire ». Even the Chinese, in their language, name their country as well.
Next word, a little more complicated. If we want to say « the land of the rising sun » :
With the kanji of « day », the kanji of « origin ; book » and the kanji of « country », we can create the word « land of the rising sun ».
日 . ひ . ニチ +
本 . もと . ホン +
国 . くに . コク
→ 日本国 . ニッポンコク
You will have noticed that the Sino-Japanese pronunciation ホン become ポン. We place an emphasis on katakana ホ. The チ in ニチ disappears to become a pause.
Literally, it means « the country of the origin of the sun » but we would rather say « the land of the rising sun ». And there, I think that tells you something because it’s the nickname we give to Japan. Why ? Because, for the Chinese, when they saw the sun rising, the sun rising in the East, they saw the sun rising from Japan. So, they decided that Japan was the land of the rising sun. When the Japanese recovered the Chinese sinograms, they katakanized the Chinese sounds to adapt them to their language and called their country ニッポン or ニホン. There are two possible pronunciations for saying the same word. It happens sometimes so remember both.
We have finally come to the end of this chapter. I invite you now to continue with the next course which is called « Advanced Kanji Analysis ». And in this course, we will analyze a lot of things about hiragana and katakana. You will see, it will be a truly exciting course.
With that, I leave you to your revisions. I count on your seriousness. Be diligent, continue to practice your kana and kanji, both orally and in writing. Revise your first vocabulary words carefully because we will see many more later and I will wait for you at the next lesson.
Introduction