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Do you asPire tO be a kanji heavyweight by passing*JLPTLevel 1 0r 2/but find that the enthusiasln you once had for kanii
learning has waned?Do you sometilnes question whether thekanji― learning inaterials you are now using will eventually lead
you to mastery of the l′ 945 general‐ use(joyo)kanii′ or eVen Ofthe
l′006 education(kyoiku)kanji?IIave you ever felt discouragedwhen comparing your own progress in JapaneSe tO that of yourChinese classmates?If 50/Welcome to Kanji Breakthrough.
Unlike our Chinese counterparts′ those of us hailing frOm the″�rong″ side of the Kanji Wall face the fOrmidable/triple task of
tackling the shape′ lneanings′ and pronunciations of kanji.Kanji
Breakthrough wil1 9ffer a wealth of practical advice to learners
from non‐ kanji backgrounds on how they can break thrOugh theseemingly impenetrable Kanji Wall′ master JLPT Level l and 2kanii′ and achieve true literacy in JapaneSe.
In the first several installments′ we will explore the most
effective ways to learn the shapes of kanii′ before turning our
attention to their meanings and inyriad pronunciations.
Japanese elementary school students′ with their uncritically
receptive lninds′ lnemorize the shapes of l′ 006 characters in six
years― thrOugh rote learningo Since ntost adults possess advanced
POWerS Of 10gic′ abstraction′ and concentration rarely seen in chil―
dren′ it should nOttake them six years to accomplish the same task.
Many adults find that a systematic′ logic‐ based approach t0 1earn‐
ing the shapes of kanjiis more effective than rote memorization.″Component analysis″ systematically breaks each kanji
down into cOmponent parts of one to ten strokes/and then assigns
a name to each and every component.Many of these components
are traditional radicals/such as 暉(sword)′ 月5(stone)′ andメ詩 (bird).
Learners can easily recall the correct shape of othen″ ise hopelessly
complex kanji by linking the names of their components together
in vivid stories.
Using component analysis′ learners view kanji not as whole
units but as the sum oftheir parts.Let/s get started with a building
block approach to learning kanii!オJLPT=Japanese Language Proficiency Test
◆Take a 100k at the fo‖ owing 12 diagrams.They represent some of the more common pat‐terns of kanii conStruction. 下のAか らLま での12種類の図を見てください。漢字の構成を表す代表的なパターンです。
く12 Diagrams of Kanii cOmponents>
)4.在 ( )5.数 ( )6.囲 (
,lo.働 ( )11.散 ( )12.式 (
)16.測 ( ,17.戻 1 )18.装 |
)22.腹 ( )23.延 | )24.包 |
=文
||■1111.(例 ト
||||111■ ||||・ 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
図|□□□□□□□
□□□□□□□□22.
□□□□□□□□Kanii Heavyweight Strategiesl)Keep a kanji― shape noteb00k,Sketch the 12 diagrams above(as■ vell as others yOu encounter on your
own)in the nOtebookり one to a page′ and file neッv kanil yOu、vantto learn on the appropriate page.
2)lVith youF perSOnal computer and printer/(or a copy lnachine enlarger)′ lnake large‐ lettered versiOns
of kanji you are learning.Cutthem up into components.Lay the cOmponents out and see how many
different kanii yOu can construct fFOm memory.Race a partner to see who can build kanji faster(A
full set of kanji cOmponent cards is available at www.okunokaruta.com:『 漢字博士 No l』 |¥1800/奥野か
やつてみよう !(2)in the diagrams below′ write the components of each of the 24 kanil in their proper
spaces.(You wi‖ need to dravv the lines first}.The shape ofthe kanii mav become somewhatdistorted when its components are broken apart. 次に上の漢字を、パターンに従って、下の枠の中に書き入れて
Many adult kanil learners froln non‐ kanji backgrounds have
a deep need to see order― not chaos― in kanii′ and a natural inclina…
tion to break thelll dol■ n into lnanageable parts.1年 hen you learned
好 (〃like″)early in your JapaneSe studies′ for example′ you mayhave utilized the following silnple innemonic device:″ lVomen女like children子 .〃
Your teacher probably introduced you to′′radicals/′ the 214
kanji components traditionally used to classify characters in kanii
dictionaries.You learned that some radicals are general― use liοノο)
kanji(e.g.′ 貝 shell′ 舌 tongue)or altered versions Of them(e.g.ァ ツ/
水 wateル 1/手hand)ァ and you prObably became familiar with a few
other common radicals′ as well(e.g./這 rOad′
「
diff)。 As you tack‐
led the shapes of increasingly complex kanji′ howeverァ you mayhave lostthe ability to decompose each ne、 v character into all of its
component parts′ causing your kanii Study to become ll■ired in the
mud.Fortunately′ several self‐ instruction kanii teXtbOoks systemat‐
ically break the l′ 945ノοy∂ Characters down into all of their compo‐
nents.One of them/=″K′″″ ABC~′″′takes a building block
approach′ presenting graphically silnPle kanji first so they can be
used for inemorizing the shapes of more complex characters.The
book prOvides one concise keyword for 483 different components:
Some of these are visually silnPle kanii and traditional radicals′
、vhile others are combinations of components used to avoid unrea‐
sonable fragmentation of kanii(e.g・ ′ ・・ herbs′ X frol■l heaven′ 見
satan′ and tt structure).
Knoッvledge of kanji components can be invaluable as you
march confidently forl″ ard to break through the Kanji Wall and
achieve true literacy in Japanese.How many ofthe 30 kaniiCOmpo…
nents in today/s lesson do you already know?
(Note:For each of the 30 example components belo、 v′ one
JLPT Leve1 2 kanji containing the component′ as well as the lnean―
ing ofthe kanji′ is provided).
=K′777:ABC-4 Sysォθlll′ ′′εA′μ″ο′ε力`ο
Jα″′″θSa Cみα″′ε`θ“
by Andreas Foerster&Naoko Tamura′ Charles E Tuttle Co′ 1994
50日本語ジヤーカレ
Mary Sisk Noguchiメ アリー・シスク・野口
Associate Professor′ Meijo University/The Japan Timescolumnist,Kanii Cmnic{http:〃 www kaniiclinic com}
f彗I「1::I:II:::::11,I,1111''1'1
やつてみよう !(1)Some kanii cOmponents are″ yO kanil・ Match each lioyo kanil‐ COmponent below wtth■ s
keyword.Can you find the componentin each example kanil?常用漢字がそのまま漢字の構成要素となっているものです。 1~ 10の構成要素の意味はA~」のどれですか。
また、例に出した漢字の構成要素を見つけられますか ?
1.コ「{職 emplovment}2.3({接 contact} 3.
5.王 (望 wish} 6.皿 {理霊sa瞳} 7.9.戸偏shou‖en 10金隊�on}
己
穴
瘍:11:=、:‖ギi:1lni。 1:ilsarealteredversionsof′σyδ kanil.These are not independentkanil. Match each altered‐kanii connponent with the kanii frOnn which it originates.
やつてみよう !(2)Read each of De Roo′ s stOries aloud while writing the components it contains in the
proper spaces in the box.The core meanings of the kanil are written under their boxes.Keywords for components and core meanings for kanil are Capitalized within the stories.
(Sサο″ソ)RANK is a PER‐ (Stο ′ν)A GRAIN of (Stο /7) The ancient (Stο ′ノ)TW0 0LDERSON′S STANDING inthe unc00ked RICE STANDS Chinese were expected to BROTHERS STAND face‐social order. alone′ apart from the oth‐ suppress emOtions.ヤ Vhen to‐ face′ ready to COM‐
ers. ルVEEPING′ tears(made of PETE for power in the予VATER)were supposed family.to STAND in the eyesinstead of running downthe face.
Kani:Heavvweight Strategiesl)Perhaps you have discovered that inechanically copying characters over and over does not insure
theiF Shapes willremain in your memory weeks or months later.Instead′ learn a vivid story for every
kanji you hope to master/and develop the habit of repeating it to yourself as you write out the char―
acter.When Paper and pencil aren/t available′ use your finger to sketch out kanjl on your palnl or in
the air.
2)Read reviews of〃 2001 Kanii〃 and OtheF teXtS that provide kanii StOries at www.kanjiclinic.com
(Stο ry)People in ancientChina used to listen forthe SOUND ofthetemplebell′ morning and even…ing′ at the moment whenthe STANDING SUN wason the horizon.
□PARENT
(Stο り)Responsible PAR…ENTS living near a forest′
(a STAND of TREES)′carefuHy WATCH theirchildren′ who lnight be in
danger of wild aniinals or
bandits.
NEW(Stο ′ノ)lⅣhen a NEWhomestead was built inChina′ a forest(a STANDof TREES)had to be cutdown with AXES.
In Kanji Breakthrough we are taking a logical′ systematic
approach to remembering the shapes and lmeanings of kanji.Using〃component analysis/′ learners break characters down into all of
their components― each of■ vhich has been given a specific English
name′ or″keyword〃 一and then remember a sto7 that ViVidly links
togetherthe components and the core meaning ofthe kanii.Textbooks such as Joseph R.De Roo/s〃 2001 Kanii〃 (See last
month/s lesson)provide lllemorable/ready― made componentanalysis stories. But some devotees find that kanii stOries of their
olvn creation etch the characters lllore deeply in long― terln memorア・
Perhaps from tilne to tilne you have utilized your olvn life experi‐
ences and imagination to create mnemonic stories for kanji.Whatyou may have lacked■ vas an Organized systen■ fOr isolating and
nallling all of your″ story pieces′〃the components ofthe 1/945 gen‐
eral use liσ ノο).
JameS W・ Heisig provides iust Such a system in his self―
instruction text′′Remembering the Kanii I′ A Complete Course on
How Not to Forget the �leaning and Writing of JapaneseCharacters/″ (Japan Publications Trading Company).Heisig alsodemonstrates how to create effective kanii mnemOnics by sharing500 of his own humorous/grotesque and other■ vise entertaining
kanji tales.He then asks learners to create their own stories for the
remaining 1/500 characters.
While Heisig names some components based on traditionalusage(e.g.′ ′′
soil〃 t and〃 sheep〃 羊 )′ he assigns memorablyhumorous names to others′ such as〃turkey/′
〃ketChup′〃and″ sun‐
glasses.″
A block‐ by‐ block′ story‐ by‐ story apprOach like Heisig′ s lnay
be just l″ hat you need to breathe life back into your kanii studies.
To find out if his lnethod is right for you/take a look at the first
125 pages of″ Remembering the Kanii I′〃especially Heisig/s
provocative 12‐ page critique of the kanii learning methods tradi…
tionally used for adult foreign learners(Accessible from the links
Page at WWW・ kaniiClinic.com).
ルVhether you utilize ready… lnade kanji stories′ or create your
own′ eliminate the phrase〃 K′″ノ′て′α′″″z″た,sカプ′′′from your lifeforever.No kanji is too〃 difficult〃 ―you silnply haven′ t discovered
graph/section′ Inelody/econol■ lize′ be lnoderate′ principle′ andfidelity. Halpettn selects″ joint〃 and〃season of the year′
〃as the
two core meanings for this semantically complex character.
Core ineanings are easy to memorize and enable the learner
to grasp the fine differences and silnilarities between kanji syn―
onyms.C)ther ineanings can be added later with relative ease′ in
the same way that children moving into adolescence add new
meanings to words they already〃 know″ in their native language.
Four‐year old English speakers′ for instance′ are aware that〃 party〃
refers to a birthday party′ only later do they learn that it also refers
to a〃 political party.〃 This lifelong coping ability― to gradually
attach additional nleanings to a particular vocabulary item― has
been largely overlooked in foreigners'kanji studies.
Resist your desire to learn all the lneanings of individual
kanii at Once′ and inemorize core meanings insteado Watch anorganized systeln of core llneanings for the l′ 945ノσッσ kanii pay richdividends in yourlong― Fange kanji studies,
56 日本語ジャーナル
くPart 2>漢字の意味を学ぶ
6.漢字の核となる意味を覚える
漢字の持つ性質として最も特徴的なこと
は、音と意味の両方を伝えられる、という
点です。1945字の常用漢字1つ 1つが、複
数の、時には1ダースかそれ以上の意味を
持っています。非漢字圏出身の学習者にと
って、漢字それぞれの全意味を含めたあら
ゆる面についてマスターしたいという欲求
は、学習意欲をそぐこととなり、逆効果で
す。個々の漢字についての1彰大な意味を覚
えようとする代わりに、ジャック・ハルベン
(春遍雀来)の『新美英字典』輌升究社)が提唱
する革新的な言己障法を利用してみましょう。いわゆる漢字辞典がそうであるように、
それぞれの漢字がもつ詳しい意味の紹介に
加えて、ハルペンは個々の漢字の根本的な
意味を伝える簡潔な英語の言葉を1つ選ん
でいます。この「核となる意味」は、その
漢字の持つ多様な意味を、まとまった概念へと発展させる「要」となるものです。例
えば、日本語能力試験 2級の漢字の1つで
ある「節」はやっかいな漢字で、つなぐ、
縁・きずな、結び目、季節、場合、年中行
事、段落、部分、メロディ、節約する、適
度な、節操、貞節など、20以上もの意味を
持っています。ハルペンはこの中から,oint
とseason of the yearの 2つ を、この,美字
の「核となる意味」として選んでぃます。「核となる意囃 は、言己隠しやすいととも
に、学習者が類義語との異なる点と相似点
を把握する助けをしてくれます。それ以外の意味は、子どもが、知っている言葉の新
しい意味を成長して知るようになるのと同
じく、簡単に覚えることができます。例え
ば、英語ネイティジの4歳児が知っている
panyと は「証牛日パーティJのパーティです
が、後に「政党」の意味もあることを知り
ます。このような生涯続く能力、固有の言
葉に徐々に意味を追加して覚えていく能力
は、漢字学習者に見落とされてきました。
個々の漢字のすべての意味を覚えたいと
いう欲求を今は我慢して、代わりに「核と
なる意味」を覚えましょう。常用漢字それ
ぞれの核となる意味の体系的なシステムに
注目することは、あなたの長く続く漢字学
習にとっての豊かな効豊となるのです。
Mary Sisk Noguchiメ アリー。シスク・野口
Associate Professor′ Meilo UniVersityノ The Japan Tirnescolumnist′ Kanii C‖ nic{http:〃www kan,clinic com)
鼈 漱 I徹 ユ 」ct二 :mmttng from‖ elist ttow br each J thef酬 o�"JLPT Level2…3 kanil.SiX meanings for each have been provided.A‖ meanings are from Halpern′ s″ New
蝙 ::::1::]点 ス :ftl争 :。 nvey the sense of characters as they occur in high‐ frequencvcompounds.Use Halpernls core meanings to match the fo‖ owing kanii compOunds vvith their
Adult kanji learners who hope tO achieve full literacy in
Japanese need to read extensively in their target language′ withouttime‐ consunting dependence upon a kanii diCtionary.In order to
do this′ they lnust develop the ability to guess the ineanings of
unfamiliar kanji compound wOrds′ or等″た″gο・〃Although a single
kanji can stand alone to represent an individual word′ countless
Japanese wOrds areノ″たrrgο composed of two(the majOrity)′ three′
or more kanii・ As we saw in last month′ s lesson′ kanji can haveseveral distinct ineanings′ as well as a variety of nuances′ whichserve as building blocks for producingノ IIた7rgο .Remembering one――or atlnost two― ―COre nleanings for each of Japan′ sl′945 gener‐
al― use liOノο)kanji will eventually enable you tO discern the lnean‐ings of rnOst high‐ frequencyノ Irた″gο .
As you strive to achieve this goal′ you will want to utilize
another highly effective tool for guessing the lneanings of two―
character compounds:knowledge ofノ″/・・IJgο patterns.Kanji are not
joined together randOmly to form cOmpOunds,careful analysis
reveals a number Of patterns in their construction.In the next three
lessons′ we will look in detail at nine commonノ ″たIrgο patterns′beginning this month with the three below:
#l VERB‐OB」 EC丁
寄等prohibit+呪 璽smoke=裂費畑E nO smOking(l・ 三llセ 71)
避 avOid+妊 becOme pregnant=避 妊 contraceptiOn(71′Jl`rr)
返 return+金 mOney=返 金 repayment(77θ雄 物)
#2 MODIFIER(noun or adjective)‐NOUN国 natiOn+語 language=国 語 the Japanese language(7cttIIgο )
Read more about kanii cOmpOund wOrds at www.kanjiclinic.cOm′ and watch fOr three moreノ“た7rgο
patterns in next month′ s Kanii Breakthrough.Until then′ happy kaniilearning!熟語についてはwww kanlた inに COmで さらに知識を増やすとともに、来月紹介する残りの3つのパターンにつぃても見ておきましょう。では来月まで楽しい漢字学習を !
4.陸上 gFOund+自 衛 self_defense+隊 fOrce=陸 自Ground Self―Defense Force にたrrJiJ)
5.民 citizens+選 ch。。se=民選 pOpulaF eleCtion(″ ″″sι→
6.正 proper+式 ―style=正式 formal(s′ ,sみ′た0
7.広 spacious+大 big=広 大 immense(たσ′α→
8.無 without+職 emp10yment〓 無職 unemployed(″″sみοたク)
9.段 step+段 step=段段 gradually(′α″′αa_
Next montt in Part 3 of Kanii Breakthrough′ we will turn our attention to the pronunciations of
kanii・ Until then′ see you at―・kanjidinic.com.You can drop Mav a line at [email protected].来月は、この「漢字の壁を打ち破ろうJの Pan 3と して、漢字の発音に焦点をあてていきます。それまでは、ll― kattb‖�C∞m でお会い
瘍 IユlF磁 1liltlcttponentcommontothekanilineaChand write its ON‐ pronunciation.Then Ⅵ′rite the ON‐pronunciationgle genera卜 use kanil exCeption to the pattern.
晟馘鰺驚 P二繁 糞 ユ れe鯖しハether ttku‖ お the bn.or the οn‐/om′ of肉 (meao,The coトrect answer is οn‐/οmi but the chances are goOd that your friend wi‖ sav″ niku″ is a々 un‐yomi Whv?This Chinese‐ derived prOnunciation has become so entrenched as a vocabularyitem in the Japanese ianguage that it is often assumed to be a native Japanese wO「 d.By thewavrthe{rareiv used}々 urPづた,m′ forレ村is″ shishi″ .
hand′〃unskilled″ )一―are two eXamples of the approximately 100 kanji
■vords、″ith irregular readings approved by the Ministry of Education′
F鰍#淋琳麟蓋棚regular ο″
is normally
is nonmally
pronounced lll′ J).
Other irregular readings of kanii wOrds aFe eXamples of′ 7″たItiJ―
た″″″(熟字訂1)′ in which two or more kanji are assigned― ―because of
the appropriateness of their lneanings―‐to a natiVe JapaneSe wOrd′
while the customaryた 7r″ and οrr readings of the kanil are disregarded.
土産 (local― prOduce′″souvenir〃 )′ fOr eXample/is not read With an οll―
m pronunciation一 such asあ ―s αrl一 butヽvith the special reading
鉤 織 :i棚 『 笏
熙 織 僻 1[善 ilSome of the kanii wOrdsapproved by the MiniStry are of lilnited use in l■odern― day Japan
(e.gり 早乙女 sクοオο“θ′
〃rice‐planting girl′
″寄席 yο S′′″Variety houSe′
′).
謝ξオi肥協「〕冒∬∫″概身L明孵朧選譜お鰯(た″′απο
“ο′
″fruit〃 )′ and‖摯雨 (`s″ νZ′ rainy season)′ for example.
Although they are generally written in hiragana′ you are also
likely to stumble across kanii WOFdS With unapproved pronunciations
i磁]憂驚愛鷲望鱗」]県I象鱗盟day)/明後日 (α sαオサο′the day aftertomorrow).
You lvill have to rely on your powers of rote memory t0 1earn
the pronunciations of kanji■ ●ords with irregular readings.But figur‐
ing out the meanings of kanii wOrds′ including those with irregular
readings/can be easy if you knOV:an English keyword for each oftheir comprising characters.Take大 入′for example:Itis lnade up of
大 (big)andブ、(persOn)and means― you guessed it―一〃adult″ (οナοrfα ).
In today′ s exercises/1et′ s get familiar、vith the readings and
meanings of some ofthe ll■ ost comlnonly used words on the �linistry‐
approved list of irregular readings.
●|"1暮ξ●OriplenllregⅢⅢⅢkaniileaflll
62日本語ジヤー渕レ
翻■■E.: ■■
薔やつてみよう !(1)鶴鑢鹸欝Match the fo‖ owing kanii COmpounds′ a‖ of vvhich have irreguiar readings′ vvith theirEnglish meanings.(The English keywords provided for each kanii shOuld give you some exceトlent clues).Do you know their pronunciations?
瘍よ話島鷲ris鳳 :‖∞耐ar retth"h“ mmbers h‖em…∝山e�ma G“the pronunciation and meaning for each ofthe fo‖ ovving:以下の語は、数字を含むか、または時を表す語です。発音と意味を答えてください。
||■占:側):一人:″″あ″,`五tpe轟:|
1.二人
6.明 日
やつてみよう !(4)Give the pronunciation and meaning for each ofthe fo‖ Owing words representing an ele_
ment of traditiOnal Japanese culture:
伝統的な日本の文化を代表する次の言葉の読みと意味を答えてください。
||||ltlⅢ I‐七夕:す′″αb"|'||||||||二|"`||||
1.浴衣 2.海女 3.三味線 4.相撲 5.草履 6.足袋 7大和 8.神楽
This lesson brings the Kanii Breakthrough series tO a close.As you continue to l■ love towardsmastery of the shapes/meanings/and prOnunciations of the l′ 945ノσノο kanji′ 1 look fOnvard to lneeting
you at KanjiClinic.com(w― .kanjiclinic.com).Let me know how your kanii Studies are progressing′ at