Sunday, October 02, 2005

Yes, whale is unbelievably big!

Each kanji has “radical”.
“Radical” of kanji is standard for classification kanji.

For example, kanji with radical “月” usually describe body parts.
Like (arm) (bowel) (breast) (skin) (lung).
Kanji with radical “木” usually describe something regarding wood.
Like (branch) (Japanese cedar) (pillar) (desk) (wood).

There is kanji “魚”.
It’s “sakana”, the meaning is fish.
Also this kanji is used as radical.
The kanji with radical “魚” usually describe name of fish.
In my dictionary, there are 73 kanji with radical “魚”.
The reason/history of each kanji is interesting…

iwashi : sardine
(fish) + (weak)
Sardines are eaten by big fish very easily.
Also they go bad quickly.

kujira : whale
(fish)+ (1,000,000,000,000×10,000)
Unbelievably big fish
( is a unit for counting)

same : shark
(fish) + (cross)
Sharks copulate (have sex) unlike other fish.

saba : mackerel
(fish) + (blue)
The back part’s color is blue.

tara : cod
(fish) + (snow)
Cods come in when it’s the season of snowing.
The fish is white like snow.


One more kanji with “魚”.


sushi : sushi
(fish) + (delicious)
Sushi is delicious!!


13 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:30 PM

    great blog, Akiko!
    interesting topics! everytime i go to eat sushi, i always wonder what the kanji are for fish. since the kanji for fish and animals aren't used very often these days, you never see them!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you!

    Most of kanji for fish and animals are not "jooyoo kanji".
    Even kanji in my list in this blog, all of kanji except 鯨(whale) are not jooyoo kanji.
    So, unfortunately(?) hiragana is usually used for them instead of kanji!

    * "jooyoo kanji" is Japanese basic 1945 kanji.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:37 AM

    akiko:
    very nice blog. i particularly liked your info on the different fish kanji. the way that you break down the meaning of the radicals is very useful for someone studying seriously, and very interesting for someone with just a casual interest.
    keep up the good work.
    otsukaresama!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Jane,
    Thank you very much!
    I'm happy that you found my website on internet and come to my blog. :)
    Also I'm very glad you like it!
    If you have any questions about Japanese, just let me know anytime☆

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Q

    Hajimemashite☆
    Thank you very much for your comments!

    I'm happy to hear that you are interested in my blog and Japanese lessons. :)

    I hope to see you soon.
    Please let me know when you have time for a trial lesson!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous5:11 PM

    明子さん、「任天堂」っていうの名前や「お疲れ様」、部首などの説明は本当に興味のあることですよ!ありがとう!これからのBlog entriesを楽しみにしています。
    ~リズ

    ReplyDelete
  7. リズさん
    コメントありがとう!
    興味があるって言ってくれて嬉しい☆
    何かblogのためにいいtopicがあったら
    教えてください (^ ^)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous5:24 PM

    明子さん、
    一つのアイデアが早く頭に入ってきた:「試験」の「験」の部首は馬だけど「英検」の「検」は木。試験も英検もテストという意味が入ってるからなぜ部首は同じじゃないんですか。ありがとう!
    ~リズ

    ReplyDelete
  9. リズさん

    そうですね。
    確かに「検」と「験」は、読み方が同じで、
    しかも意味がとても近い・・・。
    なんでだろう?
    私も知りたい!
    調べて、ここに書きますね☆
    (今少しGoogleで見てみたけど、いい答えが
    見つけられなかったので、ちゃんと調べてみます!)

    ReplyDelete
  10. 「検」と「験」の違いについて

    調べたのですが、やはり、ほとんど同じ意味のようです。

    確かに試験は「験」、検定は「検」ですが、単語によっては、どちらの「ケン」も使える単語もあります。
    例えば「検査・験査」「検証・験証」など・・・。
    (どちらの単語も通常は「検」を使います。)

    どちらの「ケン」も「調べる」という意味です。

    ただ、詳しく見ると・・・

    「験」は「調べる(to check) ・試す(to try)」という意味。
    「検」は「調べる(to check)・調べたものを記(しる)す(to write down)・取り締まり(regulation・lid)」という意味。

    微妙に違うとも考えられますね。

    「験」の部首に「馬」を使う理由は、「馬は霊感(れいかん)(inspiration)が強いので、何かを決めるとき、馬を使って神意(しんい)(god's idea)を知るようにしていたから」です。

    「検」の部首に「木」を使う理由は、「木簡(もっかん)(wood with writing / documents by wood)を集めて、まとめて、封印(ふういん)(to seal)したから」です。

    この二つの漢字はとても似ているので、日本人でも間違いやすい漢字のひとつです。

    う~ん、私にとっても、いい勉強になりました◎
    リズさん、面白いトピックをありがとう☆
    また何かアイディアがあったら教えてください!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi life in the superStructure,

    Thank you for your comments! (^ ^)

    >can each Kanji character act as a radical or are just a select group used?

    Some kanji are used as radicals, too.
    But some radicals are not used as kanji by themself.
    The number of kinds of radicals are much less than the number of kanji.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous4:29 PM

    Hi Akiko-sensei,

    I always enjoy your Kanji page. I learn new things there. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. MC!!

    Thank you for your comments!
    I was glad to find your comments on my blog! (^o^)

    Hope you post comments again☆

    ReplyDelete