Hello, I just started learning japanese. I learned hiragana and wanted to get a sense of the language before I plunge down into the seas of grammar and vocalbulary. I'm probably missing something very obvious, but here is my question: Let's take any Kanji, 人 for example. Its kunyomi is "hito", its onyomis "jin" and "nin". I'm aware of the general rules of when to use which reading. However, when I want to say any sentence containing word "person", how do I know which reading to use? For example "This is person is ..." and add anything I want to say.
Speaking japanese
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nekojita
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- 14 Jan 2009
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Nobody speaks in kanji. You don't go English → Kanji → pronunciation.
If you don't know which word to use in a given sentence you use a dictionary which contains words and their meanings and uses, rather than looking up individual kanji readings. Ideally look for a dictionary meant for specifically beginners English→Japanese which shows you example sentences. This so you don't accidentally land on something obscure/slangy/archaic, which is an issue with some of the online dictionaries, and so that you can distinguish between which translation you need for e.g. "strawberry jam" and "traffic jam" and "jam session"
Words can be read with on-readings, kun-readings, mixed on/kun, or special readings which are none of the above. Common example: 今日 (today) is きょう. No relation to the kanji readings (there are historical reasons for this which are interesting but not necessary to learning the language)
人 by itself meaning "person" as in an individual human being is ひと. "this person" could be この人(hito)、この方(kata)、この人物(jinbutsu)、 こちら (not normally written with kanji) and probably some other phrasings that aren't coming to mind right now depending on circumstances.
"person" more generally could be all kinds of things depending on the context - e.g. "I saw it in person" or "He had stolen goods on his person" are not going to be 人.
Looking at this, you might wonder what the point is in learning the individual readings is. My personal opinion is that there isn't a point to learning them outside of words - you don't learn "hito, jin, nin", you learn words like 人 (hito), 日本人 (nihon jin) 三人 (san nin), or at least patterns ("jin" is always used when referring to nationalities, for example).
In some cases you will see readings listed for kanji that are actually relatively obscure. If you look at a list of readings for something like 生 you'll go dizzy but many of those readings are only used in one or two words. You don't need to learn every single possible reading the first time you come across a kanji.
It is useful to do some background reading about the construction of kanji. e.g. some elements are meaning hints, particularly those at left or bottom - 金 - metal. 銀、銅、鉱 all have 金 at left and are all related to "metal". Some elements are on-reading hints (e.g. 鉱 takes its on reading, こう, from the right hand side 広) - this doesn't always work but it's a common enough pattern that it's worth making a mental note of.
If you don't know which word to use in a given sentence you use a dictionary which contains words and their meanings and uses, rather than looking up individual kanji readings. Ideally look for a dictionary meant for specifically beginners English→Japanese which shows you example sentences. This so you don't accidentally land on something obscure/slangy/archaic, which is an issue with some of the online dictionaries, and so that you can distinguish between which translation you need for e.g. "strawberry jam" and "traffic jam" and "jam session"
Words can be read with on-readings, kun-readings, mixed on/kun, or special readings which are none of the above. Common example: 今日 (today) is きょう. No relation to the kanji readings (there are historical reasons for this which are interesting but not necessary to learning the language)
人 by itself meaning "person" as in an individual human being is ひと. "this person" could be この人(hito)、この方(kata)、この人物(jinbutsu)、 こちら (not normally written with kanji) and probably some other phrasings that aren't coming to mind right now depending on circumstances.
"person" more generally could be all kinds of things depending on the context - e.g. "I saw it in person" or "He had stolen goods on his person" are not going to be 人.
Looking at this, you might wonder what the point is in learning the individual readings is. My personal opinion is that there isn't a point to learning them outside of words - you don't learn "hito, jin, nin", you learn words like 人 (hito), 日本人 (nihon jin) 三人 (san nin), or at least patterns ("jin" is always used when referring to nationalities, for example).
In some cases you will see readings listed for kanji that are actually relatively obscure. If you look at a list of readings for something like 生 you'll go dizzy but many of those readings are only used in one or two words. You don't need to learn every single possible reading the first time you come across a kanji.
It is useful to do some background reading about the construction of kanji. e.g. some elements are meaning hints, particularly those at left or bottom - 金 - metal. 銀、銅、鉱 all have 金 at left and are all related to "metal". Some elements are on-reading hints (e.g. 鉱 takes its on reading, こう, from the right hand side 広) - this doesn't always work but it's a common enough pattern that it's worth making a mental note of.
- 27 Apr 2014
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As pointed out above, it's not very predictable which reading of a kanji should be used in a certain word. Some further examples:
恋人 (lover) = こい-びと (not こいひと)
黒人 (black person) = こく-じん
他人 (stranger) = た-にん
大人 (adult) = おとな (irregular)
素人 (amateur) = しろうと (irregular)
So indeed, best to learn on a word-by-word basis. That said, 人 is a pretty extreme one, most other kanji act more regularly.
There are also plenty of examples where the left-hand radical is completely unrelated to both the meaning and the readings of the kanji. E.g. 木 (tree, common readings き and もく):
検 (investigate, けん)
概 (concept, がい)
極 (extreme, きょく)
格 (character, かく)
枚 (counter for flat objects, まい)
恋人 (lover) = こい-びと (not こいひと)
黒人 (black person) = こく-じん
他人 (stranger) = た-にん
大人 (adult) = おとな (irregular)
素人 (amateur) = しろうと (irregular)
So indeed, best to learn on a word-by-word basis. That said, 人 is a pretty extreme one, most other kanji act more regularly.
There are also plenty of examples where the left-hand radical is completely unrelated to both the meaning and the readings of the kanji. E.g. 木 (tree, common readings き and もく):
検 (investigate, けん)
概 (concept, がい)
極 (extreme, きょく)
格 (character, かく)
枚 (counter for flat objects, まい)
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Thank you both for your answers. I think I understand better now. I somehow got into my head that every kanji = individual word and then got confused. So I'll start learning and hopefully with experience the readings will come as well.
Also, what does the dash mean? I mean the dash in 恋人 (lover) = こい-びと. I've seen something similar with a dot in the middle of some kanji reading. Is it the same as the dash or something different?
Also, what does the dash mean? I mean the dash in 恋人 (lover) = こい-びと. I've seen something similar with a dot in the middle of some kanji reading. Is it the same as the dash or something different?
nekojita
先輩
- 14 Jan 2009
- 1,660
- 444
The middle dot ・ (中黒) which is a bit of punctuation you don't normally see in English, is used as a separator in Japanese, a bit like a dash or forward slash (to type it you actually type /). In dictionaries, you may see it used to split the reading of a word by which kanji the word belongs to, or into a part that is written in kanji and a part that is in kana. A dash might also be used to show that something is a suffix or prefix. The dictionary should have a page explaining what symbols they use for what purpose.
As Mike said, you need a textbook. If possible, a beginner's class is also a good idea. You can also get tutoring via Skype and similar systems. For textbooks, look for something like the Genki series or other beginner textbooks that are used at universities.
As Mike said, you need a textbook. If possible, a beginner's class is also a good idea. You can also get tutoring via Skype and similar systems. For textbooks, look for something like the Genki series or other beginner textbooks that are used at universities.
