Essential Kanji Collection
This page lists 88 characters chosen for everyday use in Japanese. Each entry includes readings, Mandarin pinyin, a sound bridge, common compound words, and a memory note.
The kanji are grouped by function (verbs, adjectives, nouns, places, time, daily life). Mandarin helps with meaning and many on’yomi readings — but kun’yomi, compound words, and stroke order still take real study time. Treat this as a reference you return to over weeks, not a page to finish in one sitting.
For each kanji, a useful drill: (1) read meaning from shape (often familiar from Chinese), (2) guess on’yomi from Mandarin pinyin, (3) learn one compound word. Three steps per character adds up — spread the work across several sessions.
This page (part 1 of 3) covers place and direction, time, and food/daily-life kanji. Continue to People and Nature Kanji and Action and Abstract Kanji for the rest of the collection.
4. Place and direction 場所と方向
Section titled “4. Place and direction 場所と方向”Ten kanji for navigating space: cardinal directions, inside/outside, locations.
| Kanji | Meaning | On’yomi | Kun’yomi | Mandarin | Sound Bridge | Common words | Memory note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 東 | east | トウ (tō) | ひがし (higashi) | dōng | d- → t-, -ong → -ō | 東京 (Tokyo), 東口 (east exit), 関東 (Kanto region) | 日 (sun) rising through 木 (trees): sun in the trees = east |
| 西 | west | セイ / サイ (sei/sai) | にし (nishi) | xī | x- → s-, -ī → -ei/-ai | 関西 (Kansai), 西口 (west exit), 東西 (east and west) | Bird settling into its nest at sunset: westward direction |
| 南 | south | ナン / ナ (nan/na) | みなみ (minami) | nán | n- preserved, -an → -an/-a | 南口 (south exit), 東南 (southeast), 南米 (South America) | Inside a greenhouse 冂: warm southern sun |
| 北 | north | ホク (hoku) | きた (kita) | běi | b- → h-, -ei → -oku | 北海道 (Hokkaido), 北口 (north exit), 東北 (Tohoku/northeast) | Two people back-to-back turning away from cold north wind |
| 外 | outside, foreign | ガイ / ゲ (gai/ge) | そと / ほか (soto/hoka) | wài | w- → g-, -ai preserved | 外国 (foreign country), 外 (outside), 例外 (exception) | 夕 (evening) + 卜 (divination): outside in the evening |
| 内 | inside, within | ナイ / ダイ (nai/dai) | うち (uchi) | nèi | n- preserved, -ei → -ai | 内 (inside), 国内 (domestic), 以内 (within/less than) | 冂 (border) + 入 (enter): entering within borders |
| 間 | interval, space, between | カン / ケン (kan/ken) | あいだ / ま (aida/ma) | jiān | j- → k-, -ian → -an/-en | 時間 (time), 人間 (human), 間 (room/interval) | 門 (gate) + 日 (sun): sunlight streaming through the gate gap |
| 地 | ground, earth, place | チ / ジ (chi/ji) | — | dì / de | d- → ch-/j-, -ì → -i | 地図 (map), 地下 (underground), 土地 (land) | 土 (earth) + 也: also earth, ground |
| 場 | place, venue, scene | ジョウ / チョウ (jō/chō) | ば (ba) | chǎng | ch- → j-/ch-, -ang → -ō | 場所 (place), 場 (field/place), 市場 (market) | 土 (earth) + 昜 (sunrise): open ground at sunrise |
Place names often break down like Mandarin compounds: 東京 (Tōkyō) = 东 (east) + 京 (capital) — same logic as 北京 (Běijīng). 北海道 (Hokkaido) reads as north + sea + road.
5. Time 時間
Section titled “5. Time 時間”Nine kanji for when things happen: day parts, seasons, weeks.
| Kanji | Meaning | On’yomi | Kun’yomi | Mandarin | Sound Bridge | Common words | Memory note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 朝 | morning | チョウ (chō) | あさ (asa) | cháo | ch- preserved, -ao → -ō | 朝 (morning), 朝食 (breakfast), 朝早く (early in the morning) | 月 (moon) still visible as 日 (sun) rises: dawn |
| 昼 | noon, daytime | チュウ (chū) | ひる (hiru) | zhòu | zh- → ch-, -ou → -ū | 昼 (noon), 昼食 (lunch), 昼間 (daytime) | Sun 日 under a line: sun at its zenith |
| 夕 | evening | セキ (seki) | ゆう (yū) | xī | x- → s-, -ī → -eki/-ū | 夕方 (evening), 夕食 (dinner), 前夕 (eve of) | Crescent moon appearing: early evening sky |
| 夜 | night | ヤ (ya) | よる / よ (yoru/yo) | yè | y- preserved, -è → -a | 夜 (night), 今夜 (tonight), 夜中 (midnight) | 亠 (lid) + 人 (person) + 夕 (evening): person under the night cover |
| 週 | week | シュウ (shū) | — | zhōu | zh- → sh-, -ou → -ū | 今週 (this week), 来週 (next week), 週末 (weekend) | 辶 (walk) + 周 (circuit): one complete cycle of days |
| 曜 | weekday (day of week) | ヨウ (yō) | — | yào | y- preserved, -ao → -ō | 日曜日 (Sunday), 月曜日 (Monday), 曜日 (day of the week) | Only used in weekday names — 日曜 = sun day = Sunday |
| 春 | spring | シュン (shun) | はる (haru) | chūn | ch- → sh-, -un preserved | 春 (spring), 春休み (spring break), 青春 (youth) | 日 (sun) + 屯 (sprout): sun warming new sprouts |
| 夏 | summer | カ / ゲ (ka/ge) | なつ (natsu) | xià | x- → k-/g-, -ia → -a/-e | 夏 (summer), 夏休み (summer vacation), 真夏 (midsummer) | Person 夂 with head covered: seeking shade in summer heat |
| 秋 | autumn | シュウ (shū) | あき (aki) | qiū | q- → sh-, -iu → -ū | 秋 (autumn), 秋葉 (autumn leaves), 秋分 (autumn equinox) | 禾 (grain) + 火 (fire): harvest grain before winter fires |
| 冬 | winter | トウ (tō) | ふゆ (fuyu) | dōng | d- → t-, -ong → -ō | 冬 (winter), 冬休み (winter break), 冬眠 (hibernation) | Final stroke like icicles hanging: end of the cycle |
6. Food and daily life 食べ物と日常
Section titled “6. Food and daily life 食べ物と日常”Nine kanji for food, clothing, medicine, and everyday items like umbrellas. 茶 (cha) and 酒 (shu) are close to Mandarin chá and jiǔ — saying them aloud is a quick check on how on’yomi can line up with pinyin.
| Kanji | Meaning | On’yomi | Kun’yomi | Mandarin | Sound Bridge | Common words | Memory note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 魚 | fish | ギョ (gyo) | さかな / うお (sakana/uo) | yú | y- → gy-, -ú → -o | 魚 (fish), 金魚 (goldfish), 焼き魚 (grilled fish) | Pictograph of a fish with head, body, tail, and fins |
| 肉 | meat, flesh | ニク (niku) | — | ròu | r- → n-, -ou → -iku | 肉 (meat), 牛肉 (beef), 皮肉 (irony: “skin + meat”) | Two cuts of meat on a hook — identical to 肉 (ròu) |
| 米 | rice (grain) | ベイ / マイ (bei/mai) | こめ (kome) | mǐ | m- preserved, -ǐ → -ei/-ai | 米 (rice), 米国 (America: “rice country”), お米 (rice) | Rice plant with grains branching: also “America” in compounds |
| 茶 | tea | チャ / サ (cha/sa) | — | chá | ch- preserved, -á → -a | お茶 (tea), 茶色 (brown), 喫茶店 (coffee/tea shop) | 艹 (grass) + 余: tea leaves are a plant; cha ≈ chá with little change |
| 酒 | alcohol, sake | シュ (shu) | さけ (sake) | jiǔ | j- → sh-, -iu → -u | 酒 (sake), 日本酒 (Japanese sake), 居酒屋 (izakaya pub) | 氵 (water) + 酉 (wine vessel): liquid in a fermentation jar |
| 薬 | medicine, drug | ヤク (yaku) | くすり (kusuri) | yào | y- preserved, -ao → -aku | 薬 (medicine), 薬局 (pharmacy), 薬品 (medicinal product) | 艹 (grass) + 楽 (music/comfort): herbs that bring comfort = medicine |
| 服 | clothes, obey | フク (fuku) | — | fú | f- preserved, -ú → -uku | 服 (clothes), 洋服 (Western clothes), 克服 (overcoming) | 月/肉 (body) + 又 (hand): hand adjusting what covers the body |
| 靴 | shoes, boots | カ (ka) | くつ (kutsu) | xuē | x- → k-, -ue → -a | 靴 (shoes), 靴下 (socks), 長靴 (boots) | 革 (leather) + 化: leather transformed into footwear |
| 傘 | umbrella | サン (san) | かさ (kasa) | sǎn | s- preserved, -ǎn → -an | 傘 (umbrella), 雨傘 (rain umbrella), 傘下 (under an umbrella/umbrella org) | 人 (person) under a canopy — exactly what an umbrella is |