The Joy o' Kanji Essays

This page provides a synopsis of all 550 kanji that have so far been featured by Joy o' Kanji. Each section provides the ability to purchase and download a kanji essay (), study flashcards for the essay content (), play entertaining study games (), or view the kanji's details on Kanshudo ().
Show: Sort:
Search for essays:
persimmon
JOK: 1946
Learn to say, “Some boys made off with all the ripe fruit on my persimmon tree.” Find out why a persimmon was named after a writing brush, which animal adores persimmons, and what a “persimmon house” might be! See what people go through to make persimmons edible, and discover how this fruit connects to a spicy snack, sushi, mochi, alcohol, tea, and skewers.
raise
JOK: 1947
Let Japanese teach you about English! That is, Japanese terms for "lactation" and "mammal" are closely related. This is also true of "mammary" and "mammal," but English speakers rarely perceive such a link. Similarly, one Japanese word can mean "bringing up" and "breastfeeding." In English, "suckling" covers both meanings, but we miss this until we study Japanese!
model
JOK: 1948
To understand Japanese writing fully, one needs to know about the three main scripts in which kanji and kana appear. Those styles affect stroke order, stroke count, and above all legibility! This essay contrasts the three main scripts and introduces three more, then focuses on the standard, square style, explaining how it looks and showing where one is most likely to encounter that style.
intimate
JOK: 1949
This spiky character may not look the part, but it is the kanji of reconciliations, cease-fires, and peace treaties, as well as harmonious marriages and lovers' talk. The Japanese use 睦 most when referring to friendships, particularly those that are deepening. Practice reading 睦 terms with a description of the TV show 'Friends' and a summary of the British film '45 Years."
iron pot; kettle
JOK: 1950
Pots look lifeless, but 釜 is full of fun. It plays a great role in a folktale and has connections to necessities in life, plus car crashes, cross-dressing, and demons who boil people in cauldrons. It pops up in colorful place names. And of course this kanji has a culinary side, appearing in terms for "rice cooker," the names of rice and udon dishes, a salty fish dish, a way of making tea, and more.
tie
JOK: 1951
Take a walk on the dark side with 錮! Find out how to discuss the length and severity of prison sentences (possibly including hard labor) and punishments in the past that involved exile to remote islands. Along the way, learn several words for "imprisonment" and "judicial sentence," and read about spiral shells, tinkering with molten metal, and political unrest in ancient China.
bribe
JOK: 1952
The Japanese are known for honesty, but there’s still a long history of bribery (especially in the Edo era) and plenty of ways of talking about it. Learn to say, “Did you or did you not accept the bribe?”, “Everybody suspected him of taking a bribe,” and “He is the last man to take a bribe.” Also find out about mnemonics involving Cairo and greasing someone’s palm with mayonnaise!
capture
JOK: 1953
Discover why 勾 means both “hook” and “arrest.” Find out about an ancient bead (one of three sacred treasures) that may symbolize anything from a soul to the moon! Learn how the Japanese discuss steep streets and sloped roofs. Read about an important stone wall curved like a crescent moon, and see how that curve prevents the wall from bulging like a pregnant woman’s belly!
destroy
JOK: 1954
Learn about a long-term movement that nearly eradicated Buddhism in Japan, destroying many thousands of temples. See what "praise and criticism cancel each other out” means. Discover how to say, "The best thing is to destroy them," "They called off their engagement," "That destroyed all his dreams," "The old building was demolished," and "The actress sued the magazine for libel."
lose strength
JOK: 1956
Learn to talk about withering and atrophy, as in "Flowers wither when exposed to frost," "The flowers wilted in the summer heat," "Old vegetables wilt and cannot be sold," and "Unused muscles will atrophy." On the figurative side, find out how to say, "I shrink in her presence," "I lost my motivation to work," and "Losing signal from the spacecraft dampened hopes for a moon landing."
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.
×