Looking to clarify some kanji readings etc.

[Angel Valis]

Hi, at the moment, I'm trying to make some flash cards to help me with kanji.

I'm basically filling them out with the info blocks from my Genki I and II textbooks, but I'm running into some inconsistencies and I'd like to find out what you all think.

1. For 授 it lists さずか as a reading, but then it lists 授かる as a vocabulary word (in fact the IME agrees with 授かる as well), is this a typo in the listed reading, or a special reading?

2. When the book introduces the kanji for repetition, 々, and again with 色, one of the example vocabulary words is 色々な, yet one of the phrases introduced with 所, いろいろな所, is written without kanji for the adjective part. Is there a reason for it not to be written in kanji in this phrase?

Thanks in advance for your help.
よろしくおねがいします。

P.S. I suppose while I'm talking about kanji readings, I should go ahead and ask, what reading do you like most for 神恵? There seem to be about 64 different readings for this compound (at least according to my kanji dictionary) and I can't completely decide which I like best. Thanks.

 

[Glenn]

1. It doesn't have ・る after さずか? Actually, it should be さず・かる and さず・ける (音読み is ジュ).

2. Style. Sometimes people use the kanji, sometimes they don't. You'll see さまざま a lot too, as opposed to 様々.

What combinations? It looks like it should be しんけい, unless it's 神恵院. 広辞苑（こうじえん）has it as しんけい, with the meaning 神の恵み. Straightforward, eh?

 

[Angel Valis]

Thanks for the reply.

Nope, my book just lists さずか as a reading. Admittedly, my textbook usually only lists a couple readings for each kanji, sometimes not even all the readings used in the vocabulary in it's block. An example that comes to mind is leaving out the へ reading for 下 but listing 下手な in the vocabulary.

But now that you mention it, I have noticed that readings that are always followed by certain endings are usually listed with those endings (either seperated by a dot or in parenthesis), but I don't think my textbook does that.

Also, 神恵 is being used as a name in this instance, and I've been told (by my 先生) that when used as a name, it's fine to use any reading. She likes the reading かんけい for it, and I have to say I kind of like that too, but I'm just wondering what people's opinions are.

 

[Glenn]

I don't think へ is an actual reading for 下, or at least you're probably not likely to find it in a kanji dictionary. Try plugging it into the search function at 漢字の正しい書き順(筆順). It doesn't list it either. 下手 seems to be a case of 熟字訓 (no English page), where characters are put to a word to show it's meaning irrespective of the readings of the individual characters. Although た is listed as a reading for 手. I don't know. That one's a bit tricky.

If it's a name, your best bet is asking the person whose name it is (unless you can find them on Wikipedia). If it's a fictional character, it'd be mean not to put furigana unless it's an obvious one like 太郎 or 一郎 or 二郎. かんけい seems like a strange name to me, but then again I've probably seen stranger (to me). Also, other than that I'm stumped as to how to read it.

 

[Angel Valis]

Ahh that makes sense. It's like 今日 and 大人 then. But still, my textbooks usually only give a few readings per kanji (1-2 usually, occasionally 3-5). Such as, my book only gives two readings each for 上 and 下 but my kanji dictionary lists MANY more.

And umm well, 神恵 is actually my name...so it's really up to me how I want to read it. I've generally been using しんけい but I do sort of like かんけい as well (I think mainly because of the fact it sounds like 関係).

Like I said, my kanji dictionary gives 8 readings for each character so there're 64 combination readings. Some of them are WAY too long like みわさとし and some sound too similar to other words (with the exception of かんけい which I like) like こうえ (声) and しんえ (死ね).

I was just curious about others' opinions on what they personally liked as a reading for it.

 

[Glenn]

かみえ might not be bad. I'd run that by a native speaker, though. Plus, it sounds kind of girly. But then again, it's hard to avoid that with 恵 in the name.

Yeah, 上 and 下 definitely have more than 5 readings.

 

[Toritoribe]

かなえ is another option for 神恵, sounds like a female name, too, though. Incidentally, しんけい is possible as a Buddhist/Shinto priest's name, since they often have on'yomi names.

 

[Angel Valis]

I've come across another inconsistency in my book.

In the info block for 比, it lists ヒユ, figure of speech, as a vocabulary word. However, the reason I didn't type that word in kanji just now is because the book lists a kanji that I can't seem to make (and after looking through the IME, I don't think the IME knows at all).

When I type ヒユ and convert it to kanji, I get 比喩, however, my book uses a slightly different second kanji. It has the same left side radical, 口, but the right side looks like the right side of 愉 (which I looked up just so I'd have something to reference).

Are the two kanji I'm describing the same kanji but different forms or are they completely different?

 

[Glenn]

They're the same. That right side is interchangeable, with the 喩 version being older, I believe.

 

[Toritoribe]

The left one is 正字 or the proper kanji, and the right one is considered as 俗字 or the simplified form. The right one would be more commonly used when handwritten.

 

[Angel Valis]

Thank you very much for your replies. I'm glad to know that 喩 is not wrong.