The Joy o' Kanji Essays

豚

Sorry, vegetarians! This essay will be hard to stomach, as the bulk of 豚 terms involve pork. The good news is that 豚 also appears in fanciful sayings, harsh insults, and terms for other animals, including blowfish (“river pigs”), dolphins (“sea pigs”), and aardvarks (“earth pigs”). The bad news is that some of those animals also end up on people’s plates!

曇

Learn how the Japanese use 曇 and 雲 (cloud) differently, associating only 曇 with changeability (both meteorological and emotional). Find out how to say, "It was cloudy, so there wasn't a view," "The steam has fogged my glasses," "His face fell when he heard the news," and "Today there will be sun followed by cloudy skies." Also figure out what "My heart pattern is cloudy" really means.

尿

Find out why a novel and a memoir contain 尿 in their titles. Discover how Edo-era people repurposed excrement for a profit. Learn to say that you want to urinate, and find out how to discuss problems such as frequent urination. Also see why the Japanese are extra-aware of uric acid levels and albumin and why the Japanese word for "albumin" contains characters for "egg white."

粘

Knowing this kanji enables us to talk about sticky substances (from natto and rice to Post-It notes) and about a stick-to-it attitude in life, in sports, and in business. Learn to say, "You hung in there very well, but I won." Find out which term for "tenacious" is positive (i.e., persevering) and which is negative (i.e., persistent). Also learn terms related to clay, adhesion, viscosity, and more.

濃

This kanji brings us intense eye colors, strong cups of coffee, deep love, and flavorful food. Learn to talk about everything from the salt levels in the Dead Sea to hot-pink iPhones, dark soy sauce, and juice sold as a concentrate. Find out how to refer to the pronounced scars of World War II and to unusually well-defined Japanese faces. Also learn to say "chock-full of blueberry flavor."

把

With one essay, you’ll learn to say all of the following: “I don’t have a handle on the situation,” “She has good control over her class,” “We kept track of all our expenses from the trip,” “I grasped the entire structure of his argument,” “He’s the type that doesn’t worry about details,” “Spinach is 100 yen a bunch,” “The pitcher handle was broken,” and “Don’t lump all these issues together.”

杯

If you invite someone out for drinks, use saké cups, make a toast, and count how many drinks you've had, 杯 will come in very handy. And if you drink till you're tipsy and full in a cheap drinking spot filled with people, you'll need 杯 four more times. As if this kanji weren't useful enough, you can also use it when counting octopi (which you might do after enough drinks)!

排

Words with 排 run the gamut from xenophobic policies to culverts that drain water. To make sense of this range, simply perceive 排 as 'pushing out what's bad or unnecessary.' When cars spew exhaust and people scurry to toilets, 排 drives this outward flow. With 排, you can also say that you're overcoming difficulties, doing away with old rules, or doing something at all costs.

輩

Find out about superior-inferior relationships in schools and workplaces and discover what upends that “seesaw.” Learn to say, “He is quite popular with his peers,” “She was promoted over her seniors,” “He is my junior by three years,” “He forgets his position and speaks impertinently to his seniors,” and “Many talented people emerged toward the end of the Edo period.”

梅

See how Japanese apricots (ume) relate to the rainy season, the new year, haiku, Osaka, a god sleeping in poisonous ume pits, shochu, senbei, syphilis, pine and bamboo, and childbirth. See how ume blossoms have inspired paintings, sweets, and color terms. Also read about ume-related pickles, a manly candy, flying ume, and shrines with connections to ume.