形
Shape
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| かた | かたち | 一 + 廾 + 彡 |
Meaning: Shape
You discover something strange under the ground. You find twenty hairs there. The really strange thing isn’t actually the hair itself… it’s how they’re arranged in a swastika shape.
Really, really strange, right? Do a double take. Look again. Did you really find hair underground shaped like a swastika? Turns out you did.
Reading: かた
To remember the reading かた we will use the word “cutter” (like a box cutter). – As you dig further into this swastika hair pattern, you come across something sharp. It’s the cutter (かた) that originally cut these twenty hairs.
Ouch! You also cut yourself on this cutter. How terrible. Feel the twinge of pain. Watch a drop of blood fall onto the swastika shaped hairs. Worry about it possibly infecting. Wonder why you weren’t more careful about the old Nazi cutter down there.
Vocabulary
There’s a lot of different pronunciations for 形, three of them are displayed below. There’s more when you get up to higher level kanji, but know that かた/がた are going to be the most common, so focus on that one. You will have to remember 人形 a little more from scratch, though, because it’s an exception pronunciation.
形（かたち）＝ Shape
ハート形（ハートがた）＝ Heart Shaped
- ハート (heart) + 形 (shape)
人形（にんぎょう）＝ Doll
- 人 (peron) + 形 (shape)
When you know the meaning, the on’yomi, and the vocab’s meaning, move on to the next section.