Page 47 - Japanese Character Writing for Dummies
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ocean, sea
Remember this kanji! Because Japan is made up of islands surrounded by water, you will see it
a lot in Japan. For example, kaigan means “seashore.” We also find it in kaigai,
KAI/umi meaning “overseas.” When you say umi, that’s “ocean.”
Radical:⺡ (This radical is used with water-related kanji.) Number of strokes: nine
rice field
Rice is a staple food in Japan, so you can see rice fields in many agricultural areas. Rice fields
are also called rice paddies in English due to their water-filled fields. There are narrow path-
ways around the rice paddies, as shown in this kanji; you can also just imagine a small check-
DEN/ta
erboard to help memorize it. This kanji is found in many Japanese surnames, such as
Tanaka.
Radical: 田 Number of strokes: five
CHAPTER 3 105 Characters 41
