Page 31 - Japanese Character Writing for Dummies

This kanji is relatively simple to write. Just like the number five, 五,
nine the name of one of the four main islands of Japan, called
the line with a corner is written as a single line. 九kyū is found in

KYŪ, KU/kokono Kyūshū. This kanji is used for words related to the number nine,
such as kugatsu (September), jūkyū (nineteen), and

kyūnin (nine people).

Radical: 乙 Number of strokes: two

This is an easy kanji to memorize because it reminds you of a cross. It’s no

coincidence, then, that the Red Cross is called sekijūji (literally red
ten character). From ten on, you can add the numbers from one to nine, to
ten get jūichi, jūni, jūsan, and so on. To get the number

JŪ/tō twenty, you place the numbers two and ten consecutively: nijū. By apply-
ing this system, you are able to write up to 99. You can also use this kanji to write

the last three months of the year: jūgatsu (October), 十一月 jūichigatsu

(November), and jūnigatsu (December). Easy enough, isn’t it?

Radical: 十 Number of strokes: two

CHAPTER 3 105 Characters 25