99812
One thing that puzzles me, is how to guess a meaning of a kanji by deducting
its radicals. For instance 神 (god), is constructed of ｜ 日 礼 田 . What's the
idea behind it? A stick combined with a sun combined with bowing/ceremony in a
rice paddy? How do I have to see a god in that combination of radicals? I know
some kanji radicals combined make more sense, but in many cases I cannot guess
the meaning of the kanji by just combining the radicals.
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2023-06-01T11:39:25.653
99808
2023-08-19T05:58:36.567
56671
question
meaning kanji radicals
How to make sense of radicals that form a kanji
> For instance 神 (god), is constructed of ｜ 日 礼 田

It is not. This character is made with the radical 礻(which is the character 示,
just a little deformed when it appears as a radical) and the character 申. The
radical 礻 (示) was originally an altar, so characters with this radical has
meanings related to deities.

  * 祝 blessing (from deity)
  * 福 prosperity (bestowed by deity)
  * 祭 ceremony (used to be ceremony where one worship their deity) in this character 示 is on the bottom
  * 祥 Another term for prosperity/peace
  * 禍 woes (comes from deity)
  * 神 deity or God
  * and so on.

This 示 is the meaning-component, while the 申 is the sound component. 申 is
pronounced SHIN, and how is 神 pronounced in on-yomi? SHIN. This method of
combining a meaning-component to indicate a general meaning and a sound
component to indicate the sound is called 形声字, which is one of the six methods
Chinese characters are made/used. The six methods, collectively are known as
六書(six-writing). I suggest you watch [this
video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOj4zOcNdak), which explains 六書
clearly. So yeah, while for some kanji ALL components pertain to the meaning,
but for 形声字's only one part is meaning-related and the other part is sound-
related.
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2023-06-01T16:13:25.033
99812
2023-06-01T16:13:25.033
39855
99808
answer
Many times the shape of a Kanji character may not really make sense. At such
times you need to create some stories about it. The same is the case with the
radicals.

The best way is to remember the 51 radicals used in [jōyō
kanji](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Dy%C5%8D_kanji). Remembering these
most [common Kanji radicals](https://www.ejable.com/japan-corner/remembering-
kanji/most-common-kanji-radicals/) can really do wonders in learning Kanji
fast.

There are many Kanji characters that clearly depict the object they represent
- for example, the Kanji of vehicle (車) or mouth (口), and many others, however
many such as 前 may not readily make sense - and in that case, it's better to
create stories (mnemonics) around them.
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2023-08-19T05:58:36.567
100710
2023-08-19T05:58:36.567
54544
99808
answer