23

Bundle 23: Rate of Change

This bundle presents life at a range of speeds. Two essays focus on gradual change—for better and for worse—in everything from health to the economy. By contrast, three essays touch on sudden developments, including the outbreak of war, a surge of energy, the rapid rise of subcultures, getting an erection, standing up abruptly, bursts of wit, quick enlightenment, and sudden death. Tying these extremes together, 頓 runs the gamut; when it means "to stay in place" or "stop," this kanji involves setbacks and stalemates, but as "sudden" it pops up in words for wild, crazy behavior.
To view Joy o' Kanji essays, you must be logged in to Kanshudo. Please LOG IN (or REGISTER).
gradually
JOK: 1385
Learn to read signs about slowing down, and discover who the target audience is. Find out how to say, “She gradually became arrogant,” “I was nervous at first but gradually relaxed,” “The city plan is gradually getting under way,” and “The number of people who prefer to marry late is gradually increasing.” Learn a word that can mean both “quickly” and “slowly,” prompting confusion!
gradually
JOK: 1503
Learn to discuss gradual changes, saying things such as, "They're gradually making progress toward the goal" and "Someone with dementia gradually loses cognitive abilities." Also acquire adverbs that help you say, "The dispute was finally settled," "My daughter is barely 15," "Discipline is rather lenient at this school," "He finally broke up with her," and "I barely made the 9:20 train."
suddenly
JOK: 2081
Learn to say, "I didn't have the slightest idea what they were talking about." That might be your experience if you hear とみに, やがて, ひたと, and ひたすら without having read this essay. It investigates those adverbs, as well as sudden movements and motionlessness (what a huge range!), wit and idiocy (another big range!), Dotonbori in Osaka, setbacks, tidiness, indifference, and much more.
sudden
JOK: 2113
Learn to talk about the sudden rise of the Nazis and the outbreak of war. Find out how to say, “World War II broke out in 1939” and “A series of events caused the war to break out.” Also see how the Japanese refer to handlebar mustaches and what formed one prominent manga artist. And learn how the Japanese speak of penile erections and the lack thereof!
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language. To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard. You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly. For an overview, take the tour.
×