Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > Reference > Study Hall > Suki desu

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Originally Posted by Momiji ^

Ah, I see. But if it's 'shitte(i)masu', why did you use 「知」 instead of 「視」?

Isn't　「知」 the kanji for ち, and 「視」 the kanji for し?

Just wondering, because I'm relatively new and kanji's so confusing!

「視」 Has an on reading of "shi" but the kanji means "to inspect"

「知」 Has an on reading of "chi" but for this verb we use the kun reading of "shi".

To refresh you. Kanji have two readings (actually there is a third but let's not go there). There is the onyomi reading which is often used when the kanji is used in compounds and such which are approximations to their Chinese sound. Then there is the kunyomi readings, the readings used when the character is used on its own or in a verb. An example is the character 「水」 which is the character for water. All alone it is read as "mizu"; that is to say we use the kun reading. But in 「水曜日」 (read: suiyoubi; meaning: day of water, Wednesday) the kanji 「水」 is read as "sui". "Sui" is its on reading. This is why kanji are a pain in the ass. Moreover, if you want to write Japanese, you have to learn the proper stroke order. Though it is important to know the stroke order if you ever want to search for the kanji since knowing the stroke order can tell you how many strokes there are in it.

EDIT:
More information:
Wiki article on Kanji - Readings (Kinda detailed so might be too much information)
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide - Kanji (A more simple explanation)

BTW Tae Kim's Guide is <3 It is useful when looking up grammar I have yet to learn as well as the various slang forms of grammar that I already know.

[Momiji]

Haha, that was not a refreshment for me at all, but something I did not know at all. I haven't even touched kanji yet, because I want to make sure I have all of the kana memorized first (I've got hiragana down, but katakana...not so much).

However, I understand what you're saying.

So...does that mean 「知」 alone has something to do with 'to know' or 'to understand'? 'Chi' means 'blood' though, right? Is that a different kanji?

[Zeromus_X]

Yes. The kanji "chi" for blood is 血.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

「知」 itself means "to know". When used in the verb 「知る」 it is read as "shiru". I have no examples about when in a compound for 「知」 though. :/

The thing is many kanji can have the same kun or on reading. For example, both 「二」 and 「日」 have a reading of "ni". The first character, 「二」 (two), has an on reading of "ni" and a kun reading of "futa". 「日」 (sun/day) has on readings of "ni", "nichi" and "jitsu" (according to WWWJDIC) and kun readings of "hi", "bi" and "ka".

EDIT: Zeromus_X beat me too it. But basically what I was trying to say is that many kanji can have similar readings and sounds, but it is through writing the kanji that we get the difference in meaning. Thus writing in only hiragana sometimes can suck since you have no hint at what the word could mean, though if you recognize a kanji in a word at least you can take a stab at the meaning if you are not able to read it properly.

[Momiji]

Originally Posted by The Summoner of Leviathan ^

「知」 itself means "to know". When used in the verb 「知る」 it is read as "shiru". I have no examples about when in a compound for 「知」 though. :/

The thing is many kanji can have the same kun or on reading. For example, both 「二」 and 「日」 have a reading of "ni". The first character, 「二」 (two), has an on reading of "ni" and a kun reading of "futa". 「日」 (sun/day) has on readings of "ni", "nichi" and "jitsu" (according to WWWJDIC) and kun readings of "hi", "bi" and "ka".

EDIT: Zeromus_X beat me too it. But basically what I was trying to say is that many kanji can have similar readings and sounds, but it is through writing the kanji that we get the difference in meaning. Thus writing in only hiragana sometimes can suck since you have no hint at what the word could mean, though if you recognize a kanji in a word at least you can take a stab at the meaning if you are not able to read it properly.

So in other words, there's no trick to figure out what means what, except just memorizing everything?

[Muhyo]

I know. It sucks.

But not many kids in the modern day remember stroke order for Kanji and remember as much as they did before.

Some things that english classes do for a Japanese lesson is more or less... old. Modern japanese talk isn't like a new language but it's a bit different... Unfortunately some things you have to be a native to know. I know a lot of people who pick up Japanese to understand what their favourite anime is saying. I never say it to them, but the chances of them understanding it under the teachings of a normal class... is rather minimal. Because things are just taught too formally.

Anyway back to the topic, the Kanji stuff is basically like... like Homophones. They sound exactly the same but the meaning is different! So like you said there is no other way but to memorise. Just like how we learn words. We learn them by listening to other people. Like the words 'where' and 'wear' they sound the same but there is no trick to knowing the difference. We just learn and remember.

That's why I just said that some may be hard to learn unless you have been speaking that language for a while. As demotivating as it is, it's those who don't give up that achieve highly.

[Momiji]

I have no intentions of giving up at all. It will be difficult, but I know I can do it if I stick with it.

[Muhyo]

その気で行ったら絶対うまくなります。頑張ってください！いつか一緒に会話できたら良 いですね。