Today’s second #kanji is #集, which is made of #ふるとり（隹） and 木. Its original form was 雧 (= 3 x…
歌
Today’s first #kanji is #歌, which is listed under the radical of #欠. 欠 has a meaning of “yawning” and…
音
Today’s second #kanji is #音, which is made of 立 (to stand) and 日 (the Sun), but 音 is classified…
同
Today’s first #kanji is #同. My Kanji dictionary lists it under #口 but some dictionaries list it under #まきがまえ（冂）. There…
不
Today’s second #kanji is #不, which is listed under the radical of #一. There seem to be a few different…
以
Today’s first #kanji is #以, which is listed under the radical of #ひと（人）. 以 is apparently a logogram and suggests…
回
Today’s second #kanji is #回, which is listed under the radical of #くにがまえ（囗）. However apparently 回 is a pictograph depicting…
度
Today’s first #kanji is #度, which is listed under the radical of #まだれ（广）. There are 4 ways to read this kanji.
部首 – kanji radicals
Many kanji characters are composed of 2 or more components. These components are called 部首（ブシュ）, radicals. Radicals are divided into…
台
Today’s second #kanji is #台, which is listed under the radical of 口. You can remember this character as ムロ…
牛
Today’s first #kanji is #牛 and it makes its own radical. Apparently it is a pictograph of an animal’s head.…
鳥
Today’s second #kanji is #鳥, which makes its own radical. 鳥 is a pictograph depicting a bird with a long…
犬
Today’s first #kanji is #犬, which makes its own radical. When this radical is used as a へん (the left…
声
Today’s second #kanji is #声, which is listed under the radical of #さむらい（士）. The original form was 聲 which has…
首
Today’s first #kanji is #首, which makes its own radical. Apparently it is a pictograph depicting a person’s face and…
顔
Today’s second #kanji is #顔. It is made of 彦 and 頁. 彦 means “a man with virtue and talent”…
頭
Today’s first #kanji is #頭, which is made of 豆 and 頁（#おおがい）. In my kanji dictionary, it is listed under…
弱
Today’s second #kanji is #弱. My kanji dictionary lists this under #ゆみへん（弓）, but apparently 弱 is a pictograph. Its original…
遠
Today’s first #kanji is #遠, which is listed under #しんにょう（辶）. 辶 indicates association with “going.” 袁 is not used by…
7 kinds of kanji
In China, Kanji characters can be sorted into 6 categories （六書（リクショ））. They are: 象形, 指事, 会意, 形声, 転注, 仮借. Apart…
