6 Kanji Types (六書: rikusho)
| Von roger @ 22:21 | [ Japanese (日本語) ] |
From Jim Breen's Kanji Types
象形文字 (しょうけいもじ) (shoukeimoji)
These are often called "pictographs" in English (象形 is also the Japanese word for Egyptian hieroglyphs). The characters are rough sketches of the object they represent. 目 is an eye tipped on its side, 木 is tree, etc. Some are so stylized they are not often really recognizable.
Examples: 人,子,女,大,王,口,目,耳,手 ,力 ,足,犬,虫,木,白,生,日,月,夕,雨 ,土,金,山,川,水,火,田,車,文,九,小,入,見,出,貝,玉,竹,天,中
指事文字 (しじもじ) (shijimoji)
These are called "logograms", "simple ideographs" and sometimes just "symbols" in English. They are usually simple and represent an abstract concept such as a number or direction.
Examples: 一,二 ,三,四,八,十,百,上,下,本
会意文字 (かいいもじ) (kaiimoji)
Often called "compound ideographs", or just "ideographs". These are usually a combination of pictographs which combine to present an overall meaning. An example is 峠 (mountain pass) made from 山 (mountain), 上 (up) and 下 (down). Another is 休 (rest) from 人 (person) and 木 (tree).
Examples: 立,年,字,学,先,正,右,左,名,音 ,男,林,森,休,赤 ,校,糸,石
形声文字 (けいせいもじ) (keiseimoji)
These are "semasio-phonetic" or "phonetic-ideographic" characters in English. They are by far the largest category, making up about 85% of characters. Typically they are made up of two components, one of which indicates the meaning or semantic context, and the other the pronunciation.
Examples: 千,青,気,村,花,町,空,円,草
転注文字 (てんちゅうもじ) (tenchuumoji)
This group are sometimes called "derivative characters", and is rather vaguely defined. It refers to kanji where the meaning or application has become extended. For example, 楽 (music, comfort, ease) is thought by some to have began as a picture of a drum, and by others to have represented bells on a plank of wood.
仮借文字 (かしゃもじ) (kashamoji)
These are called "phonetic loan characters" and are used for cases where a word is spelled out phonetically. The writing of America as 亜米利加 (a-me-ri-ka) is an example of the use of this group of kanji. This phonetic usage even happened inside Chinese, where the 無 character was borrowed from an earlier form meaning "dance" to write a word pronounced the same way meaning "stop, cease to be".
Examples: 五,六,七,早
Kanji Quiz
象形文字 (しょうけいもじ) (shoukeimoji)
These are often called "pictographs" in English (象形 is also the Japanese word for Egyptian hieroglyphs). The characters are rough sketches of the object they represent. 目 is an eye tipped on its side, 木 is tree, etc. Some are so stylized they are not often really recognizable.
Examples: 人,子,女,大,王,口,目,耳,手 ,力 ,足,犬,虫,木,白,生,日,月,夕,雨 ,土,金,山,川,水,火,田,車,文,九,小,入,見,出,貝,玉,竹,天,中
指事文字 (しじもじ) (shijimoji)
These are called "logograms", "simple ideographs" and sometimes just "symbols" in English. They are usually simple and represent an abstract concept such as a number or direction.
Examples: 一,二 ,三,四,八,十,百,上,下,本
会意文字 (かいいもじ) (kaiimoji)
Often called "compound ideographs", or just "ideographs". These are usually a combination of pictographs which combine to present an overall meaning. An example is 峠 (mountain pass) made from 山 (mountain), 上 (up) and 下 (down). Another is 休 (rest) from 人 (person) and 木 (tree).
Examples: 立,年,字,学,先,正,右,左,名,音 ,男,林,森,休,赤 ,校,糸,石
形声文字 (けいせいもじ) (keiseimoji)
These are "semasio-phonetic" or "phonetic-ideographic" characters in English. They are by far the largest category, making up about 85% of characters. Typically they are made up of two components, one of which indicates the meaning or semantic context, and the other the pronunciation.
Examples: 千,青,気,村,花,町,空,円,草
転注文字 (てんちゅうもじ) (tenchuumoji)
This group are sometimes called "derivative characters", and is rather vaguely defined. It refers to kanji where the meaning or application has become extended. For example, 楽 (music, comfort, ease) is thought by some to have began as a picture of a drum, and by others to have represented bells on a plank of wood.
仮借文字 (かしゃもじ) (kashamoji)
These are called "phonetic loan characters" and are used for cases where a word is spelled out phonetically. The writing of America as 亜米利加 (a-me-ri-ka) is an example of the use of this group of kanji. This phonetic usage even happened inside Chinese, where the 無 character was borrowed from an earlier form meaning "dance" to write a word pronounced the same way meaning "stop, cease to be".
Examples: 五,六,七,早
Kanji Quiz
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