As one of the resolutions for 2016, you might be already working hard towards the goal of “learning Japanese(Nihongo Gakushu, 日本語 学習、にほんご がくしゅう)”. I am here to hopefully assist you on the journey of perfecting your Japanese from different aspects, reading, writing, and speaking. For that purpose, I have set my own agenda for the next few months, to dedicate my article on Kanji’s. I realize I have not touched on it for a few months now, and that no matter what level of Japanese you might be studying currently, learning Kanji is an essential part of learning Japanese as we combine, Hiragana (平仮名、ひらがな), Katakana (片仮名、かたかな), and Kaji (漢字、かんじ) in the writing system.

So, starting with the topic of learning Kanji’s, I would like to show you some of the trickiest Japanese Kanji’s below. The way we read these Kanji’s are a bit unusual where you almost have to just memorize the way it’s pronounced. If you are familiar with “On and Kun (音と訓、おんとくん)”, which is the basic method of reading Kanji’s, forget the rule for now. You will see what I mean below.

 

明日 (あす) Asu – Tomorrow

大人 (おとな) Otona – Adults

母さん (かあさん) Ka-san – Mother

昨日 (きのう) Kinou – Yesterday

今日 (きょう) Kyo – Today

果物 （くだもの）Kudamono – Fruits

今朝 (けさ) Kesa – This morning

景色 (けしき) Keshiki – Scenery

今年 (ことし) Kotoshi – This year

上手 (じょうず) Jo-zu – Good at ~

一日 (ついたち) Tsuitachi – First day of the month

手伝う (てつだう) Tetsudau – help

父さん (とうさん) Tosan – Father

時計 (とけい) Tokei – Watch, Clock

友達 (ともだち) Tomodachi – Friends

兄さん(にいさん) Ni-san – Older brother

姉さん(ねえさん) Ne-san – Older sister

博士 (はかせ) Hakase – Doctor (Scientist)

二十日(はつか) Hatsuka – 20th of the month

一人 (ひとり) Hitori – One person

二人 (ふたり) Futari – Two people

下手 (へた) Heta – not good at

部屋 (へや) Heya – Room

迷子 (まいご) Maigo – Missing child

真面目(まじめ) Majime – Serious

真っ赤 (まっか) Makka – Blood-red

真っ青 (まっさお) Massao – Pale

眼鏡 (めがね) Megane – Glasses

 

Reading Kanji’s could be a bit tricky sometimes, but I would say that the above Kanji’s are typical ones that you probably just want to memorize the way they are pronounced. These Kanji’s are introduced in 3rd and 4th grade in Japanese text book. Each Kanji character itself is not hard to read, but when combined with another character (Jukigo, 熟語、じゅくご), it becomes a bit tricky to read them.