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I don't understand the reason to learn Onyomi and Kunyomi of the kanji. Do
they have any use besides reading out loud? Can't a person just learn the
meaning and read?
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2015-01-01T05:46:21.050
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2016-08-15T01:33:03.407
2016-08-15T01:33:03.407
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question
kanji
What is kanji pronunciation used for?
弥次郎兵衛 is a way of writing the word ヤジロベエ. None of the kanji tell you what this
word means. The only way you can tell what it means is by recognizing the
word. [(It refers to a kind of traditional Japanese toy that balances on a
small point, for example in the shape of a
dragonfly.)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvUAZvZ21kE)

What if someone's name is 良? You can't call them Good. That's not their name.

What if you see the kanji 百葉箱? This word means "Stevenson screen", but unless
you know the actual word the kanji represent, you're unlikely to understand.
What's a "hundred leaves box"?

What part of your body is the 盲腸? How about the 虹彩? The 喉仏? The 網膜? The 鎖骨?
All of these kanji are used to represent _words_ , and unless you can
associate the kanji with those words, you'll have trouble figuring out what
they mean.

It's true that you can often figure out an unfamiliar word from the kanji
alone. But kanji are used to write the Japanese language, and you won't get
very far if you skip the actual step of associating the writing with the
language itself. That doesn't mean you have to sit around memorizing
individual _on_ and _kun_ readings, but you need to be able to read words if
you want to understand Japanese writing.
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2015-01-01T06:14:21.037
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2015-01-01T06:14:21.037
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answer