Key numbers of hieroglyphs in Chinese. Keys for kanji - keys to the kanji section

In Japan, there are 2136 hieroglyphs (kanji), the study of which is mandatory school curriculum. They are called "joyo kanji" - "commonly used characters". The first 1006 kanji are taught in primary school, another 1130 - in the middle. In fact, there are many more hieroglyphs, but the rest are very rarely used.
How do the Japanese manage to memorize so many hieroglyphs?! This task is facilitated by the fact that all complex kanji are composed of simple ones. That is, each of them necessarily has an element that is part of other hieroglyphs. Such elements are called keys" or " radicals".
For example, the names of fish usually include the key 魚 (fish), the names of birds - the key 鳥 (bird), etc.
The character 心 "heart" can often be found in words that denote thoughts or feelings.
The key 水 "water" is found in many characters associated with water, the key 木 "tree" is found in the names of trees and things related to trees. Although it happens that "water", "tree" and all that else is part of the hieroglyphs, which are not related to either water or trees. For example: 沐 - wash hair (water and wood), 淋 - lonely (water and forest). However, with familiar clues, it is easy to remember the spelling of these words and look them up in any dictionary. By the way, in many hieroglyphs there are two or more keys.
Some keys have abbreviated spellings to make it easier to include them in complex hieroglyphs. In the table below, such abbreviations are given in gray squares. They are not used separately, but are often found in different kanji.

Almost all Japanese characters are borrowed from Chinese writing, so they usually have several readings (usually 2 or 3). One of them is called kunnoe" - This Japanese pronunciation the corresponding words. Another is called onnoe- adopted from the Chinese original name hieroglyph. Usually, hieroglyphs, which in themselves are a separate word, are read by kun readings, and if they are part of other words, then by on. For example, the hieroglyph 人 has a kun reading "hito", on "nin" And "jin". Read: 人 - hito(person), 人間 - nin gen (humanity), 外人 - guy jin(foreigner).
The tablet underlined kun, that is, Japanese readings. At first, it is not necessary to learn all these readings, it is enough to know the meanings of the keys and be able to recognize them as part of other hieroglyphs :)

There are 214 keys in total, but some of them are used very rarely. Here I will list the most common ones. And if anyone does not know where to start learning hieroglyphs, start with these keys. They will constantly come across in many words!

Recently I shared my personal experience for the study of hieroglyphs. In 2 years I learned kanji from the fifth to the first level. It took me about another 1.5 years to hone my skills and memorize readings in different types words, but today I will show one of the tricks that will quickly help you remember hieroglyphs, no matter how you memorize them (although, of course, this method will work best with mnemonic-associative memorization of kanji). As always, I apologize that I often interfere with non-Polivanovskaya transliteration, with Polivanovskaya in relation to kanji - after all, this is a complicated word. It seems that for five years I have been saying “kanji”, but when transferring the word, it is reproduced as “kanji”. However, enough lyrical indents.

So, the trick is called "kanji key". In fact, many students know it, especially those who study at intermediate or intermediate levels of Japanese. But, be that as it may, very few people have had the opportunity to systematize these same keys. But I did this work and I present it on my blog.

For those who are not familiar with the trick of using keys to quickly memorize kanji, I am writing what this very trick is: remember how the key is “written” in kanji, then try to give a context for it = what the hieroglyph means, then see the meaning of the hieroglyph , and thus associatively, by key, you are left with at least the value of the kanji. To improve memorization, look at reading hieroglyphs, remember at least one familiar word, and let the key + hieroglyph, which includes this very key, be associated with this word.

And now, the list of keys.

Key　水

Here are some of the kanji that include this key.
水 (water) 永 (long) 池 (pond) 決 (determine) 沢 (swamp) 沈 (sink) 沖 (open sea) 泳 (swimming) 注 (pour, pour, comment) 法 (law, rule) 油 (oil ) 洋 (ocean) 海 (sea) 洗 (wash) 浅 (shallow) 酒 (sake) 涙 (tear) 浴 (drink, bathe or shower) 湾 (bay, bay)

So now oh practical application of this method, based on the key “water”:
Step 1. Make a list of hieroglyphs that you found in Yarksey for this key (by the way, you can “decompose the hieroglyph” into its component parts by right-clicking on the hieroglyph itself in the main window). Write down their main translations
Step 2. Try to remember the translations and meanings of all hieroglyphs, especially since they are all associated with the key (in our case, almost all hieroglyphs are associated with water, except for the words “long”, “determine”, “law”)
Step 3. Come up with an association to words that you do not associate with the key in any way, try to remember them as exceptions
Step 4th. Write only hieroglyphs on the cards (with reverse side write the card reading + value, or put its number, and make a separate list in the notebook by meaning, by reading, and only enter the hieroglyph and the number in the list on the card). See how many: 1) values ​​2) readings from the list do you remember?
Step 5th. Create lists by different keys. For example, in one “seat” you can have 5 out of 17 words in water, 6 out of 30 words with a field, and 10 out of 40 words with a person in your head. In total, you can memorize 5 + 6 + 10 kanji at a time. Without straining. The strategy is to simply and effortlessly memorize the character from the first viewing. It will be very good if at this stage you remember familiar words with a hieroglyph (for example, you could see洗 (wash) in 洗濯 - in the word "wash", which is probably taught in many courses and attached to many beginners' textbooks). The word association trick is desirable, but not required. The best part is “memorizing kanji in bunches”. But, I repeat once again, you don’t need to look at kanji 100 times, write it, read it, visualize it, and so on. The point is to create lists of several hundred kanji and memorize at least 1/5-1/10 of them the first time. Then you can set aside all those kanji that you remember the first time, well, and then return to them when time will pass. Those who remained will be dealt with later - the next day, in a couple of days or at the end of the week. Remember - the most important thing in this method is not to strain and not spend too much time (making cards or lists should also not take too much time).

Here are some other keys:

Man

人 (person) 仏 (Buddha) 仁 (philanthropy) 仕 (serve someone) 付 (attach, attach) 代 (era) 以 (because of, in view of) 他 (other, other, and the like) 仙 (xian, Taoist flying magician) 休 (rest) 任 (instruct) 件 (case, incident) 伝 (transmit) 伊 (I - hieroglyph, often used in names, surnames and titles) 仮 (temporary, false, “trial”) 仲( relationship with someone) 仰 (to look, depend on, rely on someone) 伎 (skill) 体 (body)

There are already even more associations with a person, humanity and some qualities ... No? then remember where you could see these hieroglyphs? In what words? what associations do you have?

For example 付 may not immediately seem like a "humanoid" kanji. But take 受付 - reception, reception - a word that we read almost from the first year (especially when studying Minna no Nihongo) and we associate it with a girl (or boy?) in the hall, often pretty, who receives documents.

Or another example of associative memorization for less obvious kanji以 - if, after digging in the dictionary, you find 以心伝心　－ then you will memorize a simple word from the first level “telepathy”. And thus link the hieroglyph以 with a person

Key 手 - hand

(hand) 抗(resist) 抄(make nori or paper) 押(press, press button) 拝(worship) 拡(expand) 担(carry on shoulder) 拍(beat time) 招(invite, beckon, beckon, beckon) 拠( be based on something) 拙(unskillful, bad) 持(hold, have, own) 指(finger) 挑(challenge, for example, take off the glove from the hand and in the face) 挙(catch, grab, perform a ceremony) 捕 (to catch fish or birds)

Here there are even more associations with the key than with the previous hieroglyphs.

key tree 木


木 (wood) 本 (source, base, roots) 末 (end, end) 札 (paper money, and paper is made from wood) 机 (table, school desk) 朴 (magnolia) 朽 (rot, smolder) 来 (come, come , to arrive) 束 (a bundle, for example, brushwood, or firewood) 村 (village) 材 (timber) 杉 (Japanese cedar) 枚 (gag, because before they put a rag in their mouth, but a stick) 林 (grove) 東 (east) 松 (pine tree) 板 (board) 杯 (sake cup) 枝 (branch) 析 (analyze, for example, count annual rings on a tree) 査 (smell) 栄 (bloom) 染 (dye)

Here, there may be implicitly associated words. But, sometimes, exceptions to the rules can be remembered better. In any case, in step 3m you will have to issue an association.

Conversation Key 言

言(speak) 計(measure) 訂(correction, editing) 記(record, chronicle) 討(to hack) 託(to dissuade) 訓(kun-reading of character) 設(arrange, equip) 訳(translate) 訪(enter) 訟 (sue) 評 (judgment, opinion) 詞 (word) 証 (evidence) 診 (examine the patient) 訴 (complain) 詠 (compose poetry) 詐 (lie, impersonate another) 詔 (imperial edict) 話 (talk, conversation lead) 試 (test, check)

thread key 糸

糸 (thread) 約 (a promise that binds fingers) 級 (rank, rank) 紅 (red pigment, for dyeing fabrics) 紀 (period, era) 糾 (question, inquire) 紙 (paper) 純 (pure, innocent) 納 (contribute, pay) 紛 (mix with something) 素 (element, chemical for example, and the elements are connected by a table)


Heart key 心

心 (heart) 必 (essential) 忙 (busy) 快 (pleasant, beautiful) 念 (thought, mind, feeling) 性 (sex, gender) 忠 (loyalty, devotion) 怖 (terrible) 怪 (doubtful, suspicious) 思( think) 急 (hurry) 怒 (angry, angry)

Mouth key 口

口(mouth) 右(right) 古(old) 台(stand) 号(magazine number, generally serial number) 司 (govern, rule) 叱 (scold, scold) 向 (opposite, that side) 名 (name) 同 (same) 合 (suitable for something) 各 (each) 吸 (inhale, draw in, smoke)

Earth Key 土

土 (land) 地 (land, area, district) 在 (to be, stay) 坂 (hill) 声 (voice) 均 (equal, make even) 志 (goal, intentions) 坊( spiritual person in Buddhism) 壱 (one, in documents, especially land) 吉 (luck, happiness) 幸 (happiness, luck)

house roof key 宀

安 (cheap) 宅 (house, apartment) 守 (protect) 宇 (space, outer space) 完 (completion, end) 実 (fruit) 定 (establish order, including in the house) 宛 (address) 宗 (sect , religious school) 官 (civil service) 宙 (sky, air) 宝 (treasure)


Key of day or sun 日

日 (sun) 旦 (morning and evening, end of the year) 早 (fast) 明 (light, clear) 昔 (long ago) 昇 (to climb. climb) 易 (easy, simple) 昆 (insect that flies to the light) 昨( yesterday) 春(spring) 映(reflect, fall) 星(star)


In this posting, I gave 10 main keys and 11-17 examples of words. There are about 200 values ​​in total. Try to read it, copy or write down the hieroglyphs, and, without peeping, try to remember at least the meanings of each kanji. If you remember 15-20% or higher, then the method is perfect for you and you can apply the full algorithm described above. I hope it suits you, because this method is one of the best to “learn” a lot of characters at a time, at least reading, at least the meaning, but it’s necessary at one time when you study, for example, at the second or first level of Japanese language. Good luck!

This message is my own experience, and my vision of one of the ways to learn kanji, which was explained to us in the center. When copying this material, a link to the original source, i.e. on my posting is required!

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In serious study of the Japanese language, the study of characters cannot be avoided.

Having finished studying the Japanese alphabets hiragana and katakana, you need to start studying hieroglyphs as a continuation of Japanese writing. Very often they are faced with the fact that they do not know how to use hieroglyphic dictionaries to search for a particular hieroglyph.

How to find a hieroglyph in the dictionary if you don't know how to read it?

There are several ways to find hieroglyphs in the hieroglyphic dictionary:

1. by keys;

2. along the first line;

3. by the number of features;

4. phonetic reading.

What is a "hieroglyphic key"? hieroglyphic key- this is a graphic element of complex hieroglyphs, which can carry a semantic or phonetic load. The key of the hieroglyph can also be considered the element that performs the function of a thematic classifier (you can read about the classification of hieroglyphs). The key is also often referred to as the "radical".

The most common option is the first one, i.e. finding the desired character by key (bushyu, 部首). The emergence of keys is associated with the need to combine hieroglyphs into groups according to the commonality of concepts.

For example, the hieroglyph "hand" is at the center of such concepts as pushing, holding, hitting, etc.

By combining the hieroglyphs according to this principle into a group, we will see that most of them have the hieroglyph “hand” in their composition, which will be the key.

Based on the traditional key system most of hieroglyphic dictionaries of the Japanese language. To find a hieroglyph in a hieroglyphic dictionary, you need to determine which part of the hieroglyph is the key.

In most cases, this is not difficult to do, but it must be remembered that there may be discrepancies between dictionaries.

In addition, the table of key signs has undergone significant changes over time.

As a result, many dictionaries have additional indicators that allow you to find a character by reading, the number of strokes, etc., which does not exclude the need to be able to use the key table.

TABLE OF KEYS

You can find out what the hieroglyphic keys mean, as well as how many features this or that key consists of, from my . In the audio course, 214 keys are given, as in most tables, but 301 keys.

3 groups of keys

1. "Strong" keys.

This group includes 16 keys, under each of them is placed a large number of hieroglyphs:

9. 人 person

20. 糸 thread

32. 土 land

61. 心 heart

64. 手 hand

75. 木 tree

85. 水 water

86. fire

118. bamboo

130. 肉 meat

140. 艹 grass

142. 虫 insect

149. 言 to speak

167. 鉄 metal

196. 鳥 bird

2. Less "strong" keys.

This group includes 28 keys, under each of which there are fewer characters than in the previous group:

37. 大 Large

38. 女 Woman

40. 宀 Roof

46. ​​山 Mountain

50. 巾 Cloth

53. 广 Bedspread

66. 攴 to strike

72. 日 day

94. 犬 dog

96. 玉 Jewel

102. 田 field

104. 病 sickness

109. 目 eyes

112. Stone

113. 示 to show

115. 禾 cereal

154. 貝 Shell

157. 足 leg

162. 辶 to run

163. 邑 village

170. 阜 Hill

177. 皮 skin

181. 頁 head

184. 食 food

187. 馬 horse

195. 魚 fish

3. "Weak" keys.

All other keys belong to this group.

The keys of the first and second groups are considered the main keys. Most of them are used as independent hieroglyphs. If there are two keys in the hieroglyph, preference is given to the stronger one.

To find the key in the hieroglyph, you need to do the following:

1. Determine whether the character itself is the key or not.

Example: the hieroglyph 木 "tree" consists of 4 lines, we find it in the table of key characters - 75 key.

Example: in the character 国 "country", the enclosing element is 囗 "fence" - key 31 (not to be confused with key 30 - 口 "mouth").

3. We determine whether there are horizontal elements in the hieroglyph. If there are at least two elements that can act as a key, then the element located on the left is preferred.

Example: in the character 明 "clear, light, bright", the key is the left element 日 "day" - 4 strokes, 72 keys.

4. If the left element of the character is not in the key table, then the role of the key is played by the right element of the character.

Example: the character 顔 "face", there is no left element in the key table, so the key in this character will be the right element 頁 "head" - 9 strokes, key 181.

5. If the hieroglyph contains two elements located vertically, then the upper element is preferred.

Example: in the hieroglyph 家 "house", the upper element 宀 "roof" (it is not an independent hieroglyph) contains 3 lines, 40 keys.

6. If the top element in the key table does not appear, you need to check the bottom element.

Example: in the hieroglyph 急 "fast" the top element in the key table is missing, the bottom element 心 "heart" has 4 strokes, the key is 61.

Problems in translation from Japanese very often arise with names and geographical names. For translation, let's take the name of a famous Japanese writer - 芥川龍之介.

There are 5 hieroglyphs in the name. The first is 芥 the top element 艹 "grass" consists of 3 strokes, is the 140th key. We find a page with key 140 in the dictionary (as a rule, the key is indicated in the upper outer corner of the page), then, to speed up the search, we count the number of strokes in the character, there are 7 of them, since in the group of key 140 the characters are grouped by the number of strokes. This character for "garbage, dirt, dust" reads like akuta.

By analogy, we find the rest of the hieroglyphs. The second hieroglyph in the name is 川, kawa/gawa - "river", 47 key, 3 dashes. The third 龍 consists of 14 strokes, is the 212th key, reads like ryu - "dragon". 之 is the fourth character, the upper element of which 丶 is the 3rd key, consisting of one line, the character is read as no (a bunch in names). In the last hieroglyph 介, the upper element consists of 2 lines, is the 9th key, reads as kai/suke/tasu - “to mediate”.

The name of the writer 芥川龍之介 / Akutagawa Ryunosuke is Akutagawa Ryunosuke.

P.S. If you are just starting out Japanese and want to learn how to memorize hieroglyphs effectively, sign up for a free one! You will receive lessons by email.

If you have any questions regarding hieroglyphs, ask them in the comments below!