4-Stroke Kanji (Part 1)
“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.” - Yogi Berra
ウーフ！ 4-stroke kanji. Now we’re getting into the really meaty stuff. Since there are a lot of 4-stroke kanji, we’ll be breaking things up into multiple chapters, you know, to make it bite-sized. So, start getting ready for the longish-haul.
There aren’t a ton of kanji in this chapter, and they’re the easiest bunch (out of all the 4-stroke kanji). Shouldn’t be too hard to go through, and if anything, it’s the vocab / common words that will take the most time. Definitely study those, though, as it will help you with the on/kun readings of the kanji that you’re learning. As Mario would say… Away we go-wop-wop-wop-wop-wop!
| 漢字(Kanji) | 中 |
| Meaning | middle |
| おんよみ | ちゅう |
| Build | Mouth (口) + Stick (｜) radicals. He put a stick right through the middle of his enemy’s mouth. |
| Memory | Chewbaca (chu) saw a skewered mouth and jumped right into the middle of a battle to get it. |
| くんよみ | なか |
| Common Words |
中（なか）＝ inside 真ん中（まんなか）＝ right in the middle. 中指（なかゆび）＝ middle finger 中々（なかなか）＝ very, considerably 中学（ちゅうがく）＝ middle school / junior high school 中国（ちゅうごく）＝ China 中年（ちゅうねん）＝ middle age 仕事中（しごとちゅう）＝ at work, in the midst of work 中学生（ちゅうがくせい）＝ middle schooler 中国人（ちゅうごくじん）＝ Chinese person 食中毒（しょくちゅうどく）＝ food poisoning |
| Notes | As you can see from the common words above, they all tend to have something to do with concept of “middle” or “inside.” China is the “middle kingdom.” Food poisoning literally comes out to “food inside poison.” Hey, this isn’t so bad, right? It kind of makes sense. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 五 |
| Meaning | five |
| おんよみ | ご |
| Build | Five (五) radical: This kanji is made up of the “five” radical. |
| Memory | Go to the store and buy me five monkey heads. |
| くんよみ | いつ、いつ.つ |
| Common Words |
五月（ごがつ）＝ fifth month (i.e. May) 五日（いつか）＝ fifth day (i.e. the fifth of the month) 五十（ごじゅう）＝ fifty 五つ（いつつ）＝ five (things) 五（ご）＝ 5 |
| Notes | Five is five. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 六 |
| Meaning | six |
| おんよみ | ろく |
| Build | Kettle lid (亠) + fish legs (ハ). After putting the kettle lid on the fish legs soup, he knew it would feed only the six of them. Grandma would have to go hungry another night. |
| Memory | Rock (roku) out dude!” he said for the sixth time. |
| くんよみ | む、む.っつ |
| Common Words |
六つ（むっつ）＝ six (things) 六月（ろくがつ）＝ sixth month (i.e. June) 六日（むいか）＝ sixth day (i.e. sixth day of the month) 十六（じゅうろく）＝ 16 六（ろく）＝ 6 |
| Notes | and six is six. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 円 |
| Meaning | round, yen |
| おんよみ | えん |
| Build | kettle lid (亠) inside of an upside down box (冂). Inside the overturned box she found a kettle lid worth millions of yen. |
| Memory | Enticing(en) as it may be, he had a phobia for things that were round (like yen). |
| くんよみ | まる.い |
| Common Words |
円（えん）＝ money, yen 円い（千円）＝ 1000 yen |
| Notes | although it has a “round” meaning, usually people use a different “round” (丸) than this one. 円 is going to usually refer to money (yen) related words. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 天 |
| Meaning | heaven, sky |
| おんよみ | てん |
| Build | Heaven (天) radical |
| Memory | Ten out of eleven people make it to heaven. |
| くんよみ | あめ、あま |
| Common Words |
天（てん）＝ sky, heaven. 天気（てんき）＝ weather 天才（てんさい）＝ genius (like you!) 天国（てんごく）＝ heaven |
| Notes | Here’s a funny one (that you don’t have to learn). 天寿（てんじゅ）means “natural span of life” AND “250 years old.” I knew the Japanese lived a long time but this? |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 手 |
| Meaning | hand |
| おんよみ | しゅ |
| Build | hand (手) radical. |
| Memory | “Shoo, Shoo!” he yelled, waving his hands at the leopard child. |
| くんよみ | て、た |
| Common Words |
手（て）＝ hand 下手（へた）＝ unskillful 派手（はで）＝ showy 右手（みぎて）＝ right hand 左手（ひだりて）＝ left hand 歌手（かしゅ）＝ singer 空手（からて）＝ karate 手紙（てがみ）＝ letter 切手（きって）＝ stamp (postage) 相手（あいて）＝ companion (or opponent, depending on the situation) 握手（あくしゅ）＝ handshake 手作り（てづくり）＝ handmade 手始め（てはじめ）＝ outset, start 上手（じょうず）＝ good at 選手（せんしゅ）＝ player in a game 拍手（はくしゅ）＝ applause お手洗い（おてあらい）＝ toilet |
| Notes | You’ll notice that while plenty of the common words above have something to do with hands, there are also a lot of situations where the word has to do with a person (and not a hand). One such examples is 相手（あいて）which means companion / opponent. You’ll see a lot of examples where 手 means person, so look out for these!
Also, beware of one particular look-alike! 毛 (fur) has a longer tail on the end, which of course is the fur coming off the hand. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 毛 |
| Meaning | fur |
| おんよみ | もう |
| Build | fur (毛) particle. |
| Memory | Motion Sensorscan’t pick you up if your hands are covered with fur. |
| くんよみ | け |
| Common Words |
毛（け）＝ hair, fur 毛布（もうふ）＝ blanket 髪の毛（かみのけ）＝ hair (on your head) 羊毛（ようもう）＝ wool |
| Notes | Similar to 手 (above), but has a longer tail coming out from the bottom. That tail is an extra bit of fur (毛). |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 文 |
| Meaning | writing |
| おんよみ | ぶん、もん |
| Build | figure (文）radical. The figure started writing me a note… I didn’t stick around to find out what the figure wrote. |
| Memory | bunting (bun) your way onto first base won’t get you written up in the history books. |
| くんよみ | ふみ |
| Common Words |
文化（ぶんか）＝ culture 文字（もじ）＝ letter of the alphabet 文句（もんく）＝ complaint 文法（ぶんぽう）＝ grammar 注文する（ちゅうもんする）＝ order (something) |
| Notes | This kanji has several meanings and is used in a variety of ways. The best thing to do is to learn the words it is associated with to get a better understanding of how this word works. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 日 |
| Meaning | day, sun |
| おんよみ | にち、じつ |
| Build | Sun radical (日). |
| Memory | Nietzsche (nichi, you know, the philosopher) worked all day long to come up with his crazy theories. |
| くんよみ | ひ、か |
| Common Words |
今日（きょう）＝ today 昨日（きのう）＝ yesterday 明日（あした）＝ tomorrow 日（ひ）＝ sun 日本（にほん）＝ Japan |
| Notes | If you think about it, having “sun” also mean “day” makes sense. One sun = one day, right? |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 月 |
| Meaning | month, moon |
| おんよみ | げつ、がつ |
| Build | moon (月) radical. |
| Memory | Get (getsu) up! The moon is falling! |
| くんよみ | つき |
| Common Words |
今月（こんげつ）＝ this month 来月（らいげつ）＝ next month 先月（せんげつ）＝ last month 正月（しょうがつ）＝ New Years! (hoorah!) 十月（じゅうがつ）＝ tenth month (i.e. october) |
| Notes | Although it’s not perfect, one moon cycle takes close to a month, which is why moon = month in Japanese. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 木 |
| Meaning | tree |
| おんよみ | ぼく、もく |
| Build | Tree (木) radical. |
| Memory | Boku は TREE MAN! (ぼくは as in “I am”). |
| くんよみ | き |
| Common Words |
木（き）＝ tree 木曜日（もくようび）＝ thursday 材木（ざいもく）＝ lumber 木造（もくぞう）＝ wooden (made with wood) |
| Notes | Totally looks like a tree, right? |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 水 |
| Meaning | water |
| おんよみ | すい |
| Build | Water radical (水) |
| Memory | Switch (sui) on that faucet and get some water out of there. |
| くんよみ | みず |
| Common Words |
水（みず）＝ water 水滴（すいてき）＝ drop of water 水着（みずぎ）＝ swim suit 水曜日（すいようび）＝ wednesday 噴水（ふんすい）＝ water fountain |
| Notes | You can bet that anything with 水 in it probably has to do with water in some way. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 火 |
| Meaning | fire |
| おんよみ | か |
| Build | fire radical (火) |
| Memory | Can (ka) you hand me those matches to start the fire? |
| くんよみ | ひ、ほ |
| Common Words |
火（ひ）＝ fire, flame 花火（はなび）＝ fireworks 火山（かざん）＝ volcano 火曜日（かようび）＝ tuesday |
| Notes | If it has 火 in it, it probably has something to do with fire |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 犬 |
| Meaning | dog |
| おんよみ | けん |
| Build | Dog radical (犬) |
| Memory | Ken was mauled by the dog when barbie let her chihuahua off its leash. |
| くんよみ | いぬ |
| Common Words |
犬（いぬ）＝ dog 子犬（こいぬ）＝ puppy 負け犬（まけいぬ）＝ loser. Literally “losing dog” |
| Notes | Are you a dog or 猫 person? |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 王 |
| Meaning | king |
| おんよみ | おう |
| Build | earth (土) + line/one (一) radicals. Cover the entire earth and you shall be king. |
| Memory | Oh Damn, get down on your knees. Here comes to king. |
| くんよみ | n/a |
| Common Words |
王様（おうさま）＝ king 王子（おうじ）＝ prince 女王（じょおう）＝ queen 王女（おうじょ）＝ princess |
| Notes | …and in one fell swoop, you’ve mastered the royal family. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 今 |
| Meaning | now |
| おんよみ | こん |
| Build | Rice Paddy Hat (^) + Katakana ラ. Okay, so ラ isn’t a radical, but you should know it by now anyways. “The farmers wearing rice paddy hats started yelling “RA RA RA, We want change NOW!” |
| Memory | NOW you will pay, Rice Paddy Hat workers! NOW I control (kon) your minds! |
| くんよみ | いま |
| Common Words |
今（いま）＝ now 今日（きょう）＝ today 今週（こんしゅう）＝ this week 今月（こんげつ）＝ this month 今年（ことし）＝ this year 今夜（こんや）＝ tonight 今回（こんかい）＝ this time 今度（こんど）＝ next time 今すぐ（いますぐ）＝ at once, right now 今まで（いままで）＝ until now |
| Notes | Most words using 今 usually have something to do with “now” |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 元 |
| Meaning | origin |
| おんよみ | げん、がん |
| Build | Origin radical (元). This just uses the ORIGIN radical. |
| Memory | My ORIGIN is the gen-X era, an age that has come and gone (gan) |
| くんよみ | もと |
| Common Words |
元（もと）＝ origin, source 元気（げんき）＝ health, energy 元々（もともと）＝ originally |
| Notes | This is a pretty funny kanji that gets kind of strange once you get outside it’s “normal-use” zone. So… just stay within the zone for now, okay? |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 公 |
| Meaning | public |
| おんよみ | こう |
| Build | Fish legs (ハ) + Me (ム) radicals. “When the fish legs fell on top of me, it was very embarrassing because I was in PUBLIC.” |
| Memory | In PUBLIC… it is where I cannot go when I have Cholera (ko) |
| くんよみ | おおやけ（pretty useless, so don’t worry too much about it!) |
| Common Words |
公園（こうえん）＝ (public) park 公開（こうかい）＝ open to the public |
| Notes | This kanji will also sometimes have something to do with the government as well. Kind of like how “public service” has to do with the government. Same sort of concept, so look out for it! |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 内 |
| Meaning | inside |
| おんよみ | ない |
| Build | Upside-down box (冂) + Person (人). “There’s a person stuck INSIDE that overturned box!” |
| Memory | INSIDE the box it’s as dark as night (nai). |
| くんよみ | うち |
| Common Words |
以内（いない）＝ within |
| Notes | n/a |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 分 |
| Meaning | understand, divide, minute |
| おんよみ | ぶん |
| Build | Fish Legs (ハ) + Sword (刀). “The fish legs that fell on my sword were DIVIDED into two pieces.” |
| Memory | DIVIDE and conquer, one MINUTE at a time. Daniel Boone (bun) will fall! |
| くんよみ | わ.かる、わ.ける |
| Common Words |
分かる（わかる）＝ to understand 分ける（わける）＝ to separate, divide 自分（じぶん）＝ myself, oneself, I 一分（いっぷん）＝ one minute 気分（きぶん）＝ mood 部分（ぶぶん）＝ portion, part, piece 多分（たぶん）＝ maybe 半分（はんぶん）＝ half 分（ぶん）＝ part, segment |
| Notes | This kanji has a lot of meanings, and the best way to learn them all is to learn the common words in the list above, since they’re all in there. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 切 |
| Meaning | cut |
| おんよみ | せつ |
| Build | Seven Kanji (七) + Sword Radical (刀). “Seven swords are plenty enough to CUT you down.” |
| Memory | CUT me? CUT me? I’ll CUT you,” he said to (setsu) me. |
| くんよみ | き.る |
| Common Words |
切る（きる）＝ to cut 切れる（きれる）＝ (something) is cut 親切（しんせつ）＝ kind 大切（たいせつ）＝ important 売り切れ（うりきれ）＝ sold out 切手（きって）＝ postage stamp 切符（きっぷ）＝ ticket 切腹（せっぷく）＝ ritual suicide 裏切る（うらぎる）＝ to betray 思い切り（おもいきり）＝ with all one’s strength |
| Notes | n/a |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 午 |
| Meaning | noon |
| おんよみ | ご |
| Build | Dry/Antennae Radical (干) + Slide Radical (ノ). “Slide down the antennae at high NOON, and we’ll have our showdown.” |
| Memory | NOON is the time which we will go. |
| くんよみ | うま (not important to learn) |
| Common Words |
午後（ごご）＝ afternoon, p.m. 午前（ごぜん）＝ morning, a.m. |
| Notes | You won’t have to use this a ton, there’s just a couple common words to go with it. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 友 |
| Meaning | friend |
| おんよみ | ゆう |
| Build | One Radical (一) + Slide Radical (ノ) + Stool Radical (又). “One slide stool per person, please. Tell your FRIEND to put that extra one down.” |
| Memory | FRIENDs? FRIENDs with you (yu)? But you’re a zombie! |
| くんよみ | とも |
| Common Words |
友達（ともだち）＝ friend 友人（ゆうじん）＝ friend (formal) 親友（しんゆう）＝ close friend |
| Notes | It’s always nice to have frieeends! |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 太 |
| Meaning | fat |
| おんよみ | たい |
| Build | Big radical (大) + Drop of liquid Radical (丶). This radical looks like a big guy with a drop of something on his pants. If you’re FAT, then maybe you eat too much, which is why there’s a drop of Mountain Dew on his pants. |
| Memory | FAT guys have more trouble putting on their tie in the morning. |
| くんよみ | ふと.い、ふと.る |
| Common Words |
太い（ふとい）＝ fat, thick 太る（ふとる）＝ to become fat, to get fat 太陽（たいよう）＝ sun |
| Notes | This kanji looks similar to 大, right? It has a similar meaning, too (大 means “big,” 太 means “fat.”). Isn’t it nice when the stars align sort of like that? |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 少 |
| Meaning | few |
| おんよみ | しょう |
| Build | Small Radical (小) + Slide Radical (ノ). A small slide is worth but a FEW laughs. |
| Memory | A FEW small slides should be enough to put on a good show (shou). |
| くんよみ | すく.ない、すこ.し |
| Common Words |
少し（すこし）＝ a little bit, small quantity 少ない（すくない）＝ a few, a little 少年（しょうねん）＝ boy (on the younger side, which is why they have 少年 comics) |
| Notes | Be careful of the lookalike 小, which you’ve already learned. 小 means small (as in size), and 少 means few, as in there aren’t that many ____s. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 引 |
| Meaning | pull |
| おんよみ | いん |
| Build | Busted Up Stick Radical (弓) + Stick Radical (｜). “A busted up stick and a regular stick. I know which one I’m going to PULL out of the rack.” |
| Memory | PULL your pants up before you come in. |
| くんよみ | ひ.き、ひ.く |
| Common Words |
引く（ひく）＝ to pull 引き換え（ひきかえ）＝ exchange 引き出す（ひきだす）＝ to pull out 引き分け（ひきわけ）＝ draw / tie (like in a competition) 引っ越す（ひっこす）＝ to move (residencies) |
| Notes | n/a |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 心 |
| Meaning | heart |
| おんよみ | しん |
| Build | Heart radical (心) |
| Memory | Install the HEART shingles (shin) to your house to waterproof it for the winter. |
| くんよみ | こころ |
| Common Words |
心（こころ）＝ heart (the metaphorical heart) 心配する（しんぱいする）＝ worry 心臓（しんぞう）＝ your actual heart (the organ) 安心（あんしん）＝ relief, peace of mind 心配（しんぱい）＝ worry |
| Notes | You gotta have heart if you’re gonna study kanji |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 戸 |
| Meaning | door |
| おんよみ | こ |
| Build | Door radical (戸) |
| Memory | DOORs are in place to prevent the zombie こs (children, 子) from coming inside. |
| くんよみ | と、ど |
| Common Words |
戸口（とぐち）＝ doorway 戸棚（とだな）＝ cupboard |
| Notes | n/a |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 方 |
| Meaning | direction |
| おんよみ | ほう |
| Build | Direction Radical (方) |
| Memory | The DIRECTION you want to go is south of Las Vegas. You’ll find the farmer’s hoe (hou) shop there. |
| くんよみ | かた |
| Common Words |
方（かた）＝ way. *can also be a polite way to refer to another person. 方法（ほうほう）＝ method 言い方（いいかた）＝ way of talking 方向（ほうこう）＝ direction 考え方（考え方）＝ way of thinking |
| Notes | This kanji can be a little confusing, especially when you get into some of its less-than-common vocab words. For now, though, we’ll keep things pretty simple, as above. One thing to know about 方 is that you can add it to the stem form of a verb to make it into “way of doing _____.” For example, 行き方（いきかた）is “way of going,” and 食べ方（たべかた）is “way to eat.” |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 止 |
| Meaning | stop |
| おんよみ | し |
| Build | Stop Radical (止). |
| Memory | STOP! She stole my man purse! |
| くんよみ | と.まる, と.める |
| Common Words |
止まる（とまる）＝ something stops 止める（とめる）＝ to stop something 中止（ちゅうし）＝ suspension |
| Notes | Stop! |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 父 |
| Meaning | father |
| おんよみ | ふ |
| Build | Father radical (父) |
| Memory | FATHER said that I would grow up to be a furry (fu). |
| くんよみ | ちち |
| Common Words |
父（ちち）＝ father 父さん（とうさん）＝ father (someone else’s father) |
| Notes | n/a |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
| 漢字(Kanji) | 牛 |
| Meaning | beef, cow |
| おんよみ | ぎゅう |
| Build | Cow Radical (牛) |
| Memory | COWS are so happy when you give them big hugs. Gyuu!
*Gyuu is the sound of someone squeezing or grasping something in Japanese. Gyuu! |
| くんよみ | うし |
| Common Words |
牛（うし）＝ cow 子牛（こうし）＝ baby cow, calf 和牛（わぎゅう）＝ Wagyu beef / Japanese beef 牛肉（ぎゅうにく）＝ beef 牛丼（ぎゅうどん）＝ rice topped with beef dish (it’s yummy). 牛乳（ぎゅうにゅう）＝ milk (from a cow) |
| Notes | Poor cows. |
| Practice | Smart.fm, Stroke Order |
Before You Move On:
- Learn the above kanji along with the mnemonic memory helpers.
- Go through the vocab words on Smart.fm
- Use this blank kanji sheet to practice the above kanji. The most important thing when practicing kanji writing is to NOT think of it as writing individual strokes. Think of it as writing chunks (i.e. radicals) and putting them together. In many cases, the entire kanji will be made up of only one radical. Great! That makes it even easier, just make sure you don’t think of the radical as multiple strokes. A radical is a chunk, and it’s not made up of anything but the radical itself.