Page 46 - Japanese Character Writing for Dummies
P. 46
Can you imagine a mountain summit looking at
this kanji? The most famous Japanese mountain is,
mountain of course, Mt. Fuji, which is called in Japan
SAN/yama Fujisan (not Fujiyama). Japan is a mountainous
country, so you see this kanji used to form fam-
ily names, location names, names of trees, and so
on. Using the kanji for fire, 火, you can make “vol-
cano,” which is kazan. Note that san is pro-
nounced as zan in some kanji compounds.
Radical: 山 Number of strokes: three
Like the kanji for “mountain,” the kanji for “river” is undoubtedly
one of the most faithful in its form to the ancient writing. These
river three lines are easy to memorize. When you write this kanji, you are
reproducing a peaceful flow of water. The longest river in Japan is
Shinanogawa. You probably noticed something here: yes,
SEN/kawa kawa becomes gawa in some kanji compounds. This kanji is also found
in family names or local names, as in the city of Kawasaki.
Radical: 川 Number of strokes: three
40 Japanese Character Writing For Dummies
