mDuo13.com - Blog Post - Testo @ August 27, 2009, 01:46pm

Talking with my friend Dakanya for the first time in a while, I heard that he's been studying for the JLPT2 in December, which is a pretty lofty goal. It does, however, make me feel like I should at least be aiming at something. I had planned on taking the JLPT anyway; I just needed to decide on what level. Being as Appu passed JLPT4 last year and I at least feel like I know more Japanese than he does, the JLPT3 should be within my reach. I just have to learn something like 300 kanji...

On which subject, if you're keeping track you realize that I really ought to blog about 9 kanji today to keep up-to-date. Starting with ones from the last couple of days that I didn't blog:

• 岩 - gan, iwa - "boulder" as in 溶岩 (lava). Also used in proper names.
• 字 - ji - "letter (alphabet/etc.)" as in 漢字 (kanji), ローマ字 (romaji1), 文字 (written character), 数字 (number).
• 魚 - sakana, gyo as in 魚 (fish), 金魚 (goldfish), 漁業 (fishing industry).
• 馬 - uma, ba - "horse" as in 馬 (horse), 馬鹿 (baka), 競馬 (horse racing).
• 書 - ka, sho - "write" as in 書く (to write), 落書き (graffiti, scribbles), 辞書 (dictionary), 教科書 (textbook), 図書館 (library).
• 昼 - hiru, chuu - "noon" as in 昼ごはん (lunch), 昼休み (lunch break), 昼ね (a nap).

And new ones for today:

• 安 - an, yasu - "cheap / safe" as in 安い (cheap), 不安 (unease), 安全 (saftey), 安心 (relief).
• 低 - tei, hiku - "low" as in 低い (low [temperature, blood pressure, volume, hill]), 最低 (the lowest/worst), 背が低い (to be short). Not to be confused with... (short in length).
• 短 - tan, mijika - "short (in length)" as in 短い (short), 短期 (short time), 気が短い (short temper).