9 docs tagged with "kanji-readings"

Ateji (当て字) assigns kanji to a word for its sound, not its meaning. Why 寿司 and 珈琲 use those kanji, the Meiji story, and the jukujikun boundary.

Go-on, kan-on, and tō-on are the three historical layers behind a kanji's multiple on'yomi: where each came from and how to tell them apart.

How to predict the reading of a kanji compound: the on+on default, jūbako and yutō mixed patterns, the 形声 phonetic shortcut, rendaku, and when to look up.

Jūbako and yutō readings, sorted: the four on/kun patterns in two-kanji compounds, why 本屋 is hon-ya, why 場所 is ba-sho, and a prediction heuristic.

Jukujikun assigns one reading to a whole kanji compound, not its characters. Learn the definition, examples like 大人 and 今日, and the ateji boundary.

Nanori are the name-only kanji readings that ignore the on'yomi and kun'yomi rules. Learn what they are, the patterns behind them, and why names need furigana.

On'yomi vs. kun'yomi explained for beginners: why a kanji has two readings, how the katakana and hiragana dictionary convention works, and when to use each.

Reading 生 means handling two on'yomi, six kun'yomi stems, ~30 nanori, and jukujikun like 芝生. A worked walk through every reading the kanji can take.

Rendaku in kanji compounds, sorted for N3+ readers: why 紙 voices to -gami in 折り紙, why 学校 and 図書館 do not, and how Lyman's Law fires inside compound kanji.