|
 This
lesson contains an odd assortment of characters. Some of
the kanji are commonly paired together, other simply look
similar but actually have very different meanings or no
meaning at all.The
"ditto" kanji has no meaning or definite sound.
Instead it simply repeats the sound that comes before it.
Names like Sasaki, Sasaoka, and Nonogaki
use this character.
 |
help, assistance |
 |
(no meaning); character
used as a "ditto" mark |
 |
Travel (over river or sea) |
 |
near |
 |
long |
 |
cape (of land) |
 |
(no meaning) |
 |
island |
 |
bird |
 |
horse |
Watanabe
is a very common Japanese name, composed of the
characters wata and be. Neither kanji has a
"na" sound, but when they are paired, the extra
syllable is added. If wata appears as the lone
character in a family name, it is pronounced
"watari."
The
remaining six kanji have similar appearances. Naga
is the same kanji used in Nagano, the site of the
1998 Winter Olympics, and atomic-bomb ravaged Nagasaki.
While it can be used to form names like Nagashima
and Nagaoka, when it is combined with ya
(Lesson 10) and gawa (Lesson 1), the newly formed
name becomes "Hasegawa."
Go
to Lesson 9
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