州
State
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| しゅう | n/i | 川 + 丶 + 丶 + 丶 |
Meaning: State
Think about Japan. Japan is a country made up of islands. Those islands are kind of like states in a way. These three drops in the huge river that makes up the Pacific Ocean are just Japanese states in the water.
Also, another way to think of this is that the river radical is actually just three rivers, separating drops, which are capitals of various states. Rivers are usually great ways to divide up a country, and states are one way to do it!
Reading: しゅう
Each state is known for something in particular, right? Let’s take the United States. Think through the ones you know in your head, asking each one what they’re known for. Strangely, every single state says they’re known for their shoes (しゅう), which is weird to you.
Each state representative even shows you their shoe. Each one is different and weird – maybe each and every state is known for their shoes.
Vocabulary
Learn the meanings of the kanji (and the readings too, since it’s just on’yomi).
a 州（しゅう）＝ State, Province
- Meaning: Same as the kanji
- Reading: On’yomi reading. Going to usually be combined with some other word, like カリフォルニア州. Japanese have prefectures, though. That kanji is 県, as in 愛知県
a 九州（きゅうしゅう）＝ Kyushu
- Meaning: This is the big South West island of Japan.
- Reading: On’yomi readings.
a 本州（ほんしゅう）＝ Honshu
- Meaning: This is the main (and biggest) island that makes up Japan.
- Reading: On’yomi readings.
a ニューヨーク州（ニューヨークしゅう）＝ State Of New York
- Meaning: Not to be confused with ニューヨーク市 (City of New York)
- Reading: On’yomi readings (though, ニューヨーク is just New York)
Notes
Interesting how some islands of Japan are broken up by 州 (like, some bigger islands). Must have been considered separate sections back in the day, though now everything is broken up by prefectures (県).