For this lesson, we will be talking the kanji 雨,雪, and 雷.
The first kanji, 雨 (ame), is the basic kanji for rain. When looking at the kanji, it looks similar to a window pane with rain droplets pouring down. This kanji generally takes this pronunciation, as it almost always tends to be this meaning by its own. 
The next kanji, 雪 (yuki), is a combination of two kanjis we have gone over. The top kanji, 雨, is for rain, and the bottom kanji is similar to a turned on its side 山, the kanji for mountain. Typically on mountains, cold precipitation usually leads to snowy weather, which is exactly what this kanji means! Together, 雪 means snow.The final kanji is 雷 (kaminari). This kanji is also a combination of two kanji we've learned, being both 雨 and 田. As 田 (da) means rice field, and 雨 (ame) is rain, these kanji when put together means electricity. It would be explain as power (similar to the kanji 男) runs through the rice field with rain like qualities, and that electricity would be formed.
With Japanese, as vocabulary grows, we see that many symbols and kanji can be put together and can form complex meanings. Although they can be intimidating at first, breaking them down can help them be understood better. Within the book, "Read and Write Japanese Scripts," on page 104, it explains kanji like 雨, are "simpler" kanji, and are typically used to create "complex kanji's."
If you're learning a language or know a language, how do you break it down for your best learning?
Thanks for reading, I hope these posts can be helpful into your potential journey in learning another language. さよなら！ (Goodbye!)
When learning Kanji myself, I learn groups of about 5-10 similar kanji at the same time. This helps me compare and contrast them to each other which really helps my memorization and understanding. I like how you are learning two simpler kanji to create a complex kanji, but when you learn kanji that aren't like those, do you prefer learning one at a time or multiple at once?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great question Bradley! I suppose you are right, when learning kanji that aren't as complex or after learning simpler ones and seeing in them complex, I prefer to study in groups and be efficient. :) I particularly enjoy doing in subjects or relevancy, then it helps me really remember when kanji might be useful!
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