Comments on: The “science” of Kanji, part 1: radicals http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/05/30/the-science-of-kanji-part-1-radicals/ My life as a father, Buddhist, Japanophile and Koreaphile. Tue, 29 May 2012 07:24:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: ロバート http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/05/30/the-science-of-kanji-part-1-radicals/#comment-2745 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:13:06 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=2736#comment-2745 Doraemon link
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4092531737

and the other book that I only now realise is by the same author! 下村 昇
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4039211200

The Doraemon book is nice and compact. The other books have a bit more detail but are 1 to a grade. However they only cost about 500yen each.

about the radical 月
“moon” and “flesh” have different origins and originally different shapes but over the years/ centuries have both been simplified to the same shape when used as a radical.
田　is another radical that is at the end of converging simplification that I can think of.
Sometimes it makes it hard to see the actual origions of kanji meaning.

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/eng/kanji-dictionary/chinese-kanji-etymology-references.cfm
is an interesting site for kanji etymology.

]]> By: Kendall http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/05/30/the-science-of-kanji-part-1-radicals/#comment-2743 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:29:59 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=2736#comment-2743 I’ve noticed this with the kanji as well. Most notable was wood (木) being used as part of forest (林), but I’ve tried to notice those things in other kanji when I can to help memorization. It also made me think of a Japanese character from a game, Tekken, named Mokujin (木人). I knew jin meant person then learning moku for wood I would see his name really just meant wooden man (or tree person). Though knowing the simpleness of the translated name somehow took away the coolness of his Japanese name.

I look forward to the next part in this series.

]]> By: Doug http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/05/30/the-science-of-kanji-part-1-radicals/#comment-2741 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:17:14 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=2736#comment-2741 Wow, those childrens books sound pretty cool. You wouldn’t by chance know where to find them on Amazon JP or something would you? I used to read Doraemon comics in Japanese in younger days, but my reading skills then weren’t very good. I think now I could manage OK. Regarding the “moon” and “flesh” kanji, are you saying they have the same origin?

]]> By: ロバート http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/05/30/the-science-of-kanji-part-1-radicals/#comment-2739 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:00:10 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=2736#comment-2739 Hi, I think about kanji a lot.
I’ve come to see this as part of how to “spell” an individual kanji.
I have two Japanese textbooks for grade school children, that break down a kanji into a short sentence describing verbally how to write it. The Doreamon book lists about 40 stroke combinations that can be remembered by referring them to katakana they resemble or by naming the type of stroke. Then it lists 60 radicals with the names used by Doreamon (only slightly different and only used in some cases) and their real name. This is enough to describe all 1006 grade school kanji in four step sequences. Brilliant!
I’d like to point out 月 which was a revelation to me once.　
because of convergent simplification in kanji writing 月　can be 月　moon　but also 肉 flesh
I’m sure there are others to watch for.

]]> By: Doug http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/05/30/the-science-of-kanji-part-1-radicals/#comment-2737 Sat, 30 May 2009 20:39:44 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=2736#comment-2737 Hi Dan! Are you still studying Japanese?

]]> By: Dan http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2009/05/30/the-science-of-kanji-part-1-radicals/#comment-2736 Sat, 30 May 2009 17:43:40 +0000 http://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=2736#comment-2736 Excellent! Thanks for the lesson.

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