Kanji | Kanji
Jun.12.2009
If you saw the following, what would you think the word meant?
山荒 (yamaarashi) mountain + rough
The kanji 荒 (KŌ, ara(i), ara-, a(reru), a(rasu), -a(rashi): rough, crude, natural, wild) contains the “grass” radical 艹, so maybe this is a type of plant that grows on mountains.
Then again, the...
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Jun.05.2009
If I saw the following word out of context, I would puzzle over the breakdown:
大荒れ (ōare: great storm) big + being wild
Sample Sentence with 大荒れ …
I would wonder, exactly who or what is big and being wild? An untamed horse or a pro wrestler would come to mind. The breakdown even sounds illicit...
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May.29.2009
To “strong-arm” someone, we use threats or intimidation to coerce that person into doing what we want. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say “we.” I like inclusiveness, but I’m not sure “we” serves me too well here. (I also like to be a bit more discreet about my use of threats and intimidation.)
Turns out,...
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May.22.2009
Let’s say you encountered this sentence:
新聞はあなたの脇にあります。
You likely know 新聞 as shinbun (newspaper, new + hearsay), so you could read the whole sentence, except perhaps for one troublesome character smack-dab in the center. Trying to work around it, you would have this:
Shinbun wa anata no ___ ni...
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May.15.2009
If you asked me to refer in Japanese to four species of Antarctic penguins, I might try to squeeze ペンギン (pengin: penguin), 4種類 (yon shurui: four kinds), and いる (iru: to exist) into a sentence. In the penguin sign I’ve mentioned (yes, we’re still talking about it!), ペンギン and 4種類 certainly appear....
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May.10.2009
Growing up, my mother equaled my nightmare. We disagreed and fought. She loved ocha (tea ceremony), but I hated it. She often ended up saying to me, "I told you so."
I was like a young Amy Tan in the piano-lesson scene in "Joy Luck Club." In the scene, Amy starts crying...
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May.08.2009
Two weeks ago, I introduced the following sentence:
ペンギンと背比べ！南極に生息する4種類のペンギンの脇に立ち、あなたの身長と比較してみて下さい。 Pengin to seikurabe! Nankyoku ni seisoku suru 4 shurui no penginno waki ni tachi, anata no shinchō to hikaku shite mite kudasai. Stand beside the four Antarctic penguin species and see how tall...
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May.07.2009
Crazy for Kanji
When I first started studying Japanese years ago, I became immersed in learning the written language, from hiragana and katakana (the phonetic language systems) to the actual characters—the kanji. And Celeste Duncan, the protagonist in my forthcoming novel, Love in Translation...
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May.01.2009
It’s May 1. So what does that mean for us? Well, it’s a holiday in many parts of the world, but not for me, so that definitely wasn’t on my mind. Wrong answer!
May 1 is also my husband’s birthday. Happy birthday! This year, after my birthday rolls around, we’ll both have prime numbers as our ages...
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Apr.24.2009
First off, there’s some housekeeping to attend to; I promised that today I would provide answers to the most recent contest and make the winners famous. The top three contestants did a great job. They also happened to be the only contestants! Congratulations to the following people:
Devon Bartlett...
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