We use Kanji’s everywhere when we write or express in Japanese. Not all Japanese words has appropriate Kanji’s, but I would say 90% of them do. Things around the house, outside (nature, public places, etc..) There are all sorts of Kanji’s and the process of learning Kanji’s are almost endless. Typically in Japan, elementary students start learning with easier and simpler ones starting at 1st grade. From there on, they continue to study new Kanji’s every year until the end of high school. Even if you were able to memorize them all throughout your elementary, middle school, and high school, there are more to memorize. You will encounter some Kanji’s that you might not know how to read or pronounce even though you might have an idea what the Kanji might mean.

In today’s post, let me show you some of the Kanji’s that are related to “animals”. All of these animals have just one Kanji to be applied.  Inside the (), there are transliteration, Hiragana and Katakana are listed.

 

犬 (Inu, いぬ、イヌ) – Dog

猫 (Neko, ねこ、ネコ) – Cat

猪 (Inoshishi, いのしし、イノシシ) – Wild Boar

牛 (Ushi, うし、ウシ) – Cow

兎 (Usagi, うさぎ、ウサギ) – Rabbit

馬(Uma, うま、ウマ) -Horse

狼(Ookami, おおかみ、オオカミ) – Wolf

蛙 (Kaeru, かえる、カエル) – Frog

亀 (Kame, かめ、カメ) -Turtle

狐 (Kitsune, きつね、キツネ) – Fox

鯨 (Kujira, くじら、クジラ) – Whale

熊 (Kuma, くま、クマ) – Bear

犀 (Sai, さい、サイ) – Rhinoceros

猿 (Saru, さる、サル) ーMonkey

鹿 (Shika, しか、シカ) －Deer

鯱 (Shachi, しゃち、シャチ) －Orca

象(Zou, ぞう、ゾウ) – Elephant

狸(Tanuki, たぬき、タヌキ) –  Raccoon

虎(Tora, とら、トラ) – Tiger

鶏 (Niwatori, にわとり、ニワトリ) – Chicken

鼠 (Nezumi, ねずみ、ネズミ) – Mouse

羊 (Hitsuji, ひつじ、ヒツジ) – Sheep

豹(Hyou, ひょう、ヒョウ) – Leopard

豚 (Buta, ぶた、ブタ) – Pig

蛇 (Hebi, へび、ヘビ) – Snake

鰐 (Wani, わに、ワニ) – Crocodile

 

Next time when you see the above Kanji’s, at least you will know what they mean now..  Some of them are not easy to write it, but for reading and understanding purposes, it’s not too bad, right?