Learning Japanese kanji in words

The idea

Start with 水 in 水（みず）, then compare 水曜日（すいようび）. 山 is やま in 山 but ざん in 火山（かざん）; 人 is ひと in 人 and じん in 日本人（にほんじん）. Read the whole word aloud, cover the reading and retrieve it, then use the word in a sentence. Return to it on later days.

Examples

• 私わたしは水みずを飲のみます。I drink water.
• 水曜日すいようびに本ほんを読よみます。I read a book on Wednesday.
• 山やまは大おおきいです。The mountain is big.
• 火山かざんを見みに行いきます。I go to see a volcano.
• 人ひとが二人ふたりいます。There are two people.
• 日本人にほんじんの友達ともだちと話はなします。I speak with a Japanese friend.

Watch out

A character does not have one reading that works in every word. Do not infer a compound’s pronunciation from isolated characters; check the complete word.

Try it yourself

1. Which reading is used for the word “water” on its own? 「みず／すい」

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   みず

   水（みず） means water; in 水曜日 the same character is read すい.

2. What is the complete reading of the word for Wednesday? 「みずようび／すいようび」

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   すいようび

   水曜日 is read すいようび, not みずようび.

3. Which reading does the mountain character have in the word for volcano? 「やま／ざん」

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   ざん

   山 is read ざん in 火山（かざん）, rather than やま as in the word 山.

Use it today

Make two cards for one character: include each complete word, reading, meaning and a short sentence.