氏
Family Name
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| し | n/i | 氏 |
Meaning: Family Name
The only radical that makes up this kanji is duck. Even though it looks the same, the radical has a different name from the kanji (because the meaning of the kanji is such a bad mnemonic word). So what is “Duck?” You have that piece from the radical. The word “Duck” is your family name.
Just imagine your last name being “Duck.” Say your first name plus “Duck” out loud. Think about your family and parents, and how their last names are “Duck” as well. Say as many of your family’s name plus Duck as you can to help solidify the meaning of this kanji. “Duck” if a “Family Name.”
Reading: し
Who else is a part of your family and who else shares your family name now? Turns out that Charlie Sheen married into your family, so now his last name is the same as yours: Charlie Duck.
Make sure you feel a bit angry about his joining your family and using your Family Name like that. A Sheen doesn’t deserve to be a Duck! C’mon!
Vocabulary
The on’yomi shows up a lot, but the kun’yomi (though it exists) isn’t all that common. You’ll do yourself a favor learning only the on’yomi for now, and saving those valuable brain grapes for something that’s more useful (like these words, which use the on’yomi). So, why don’t you use those extra brain grapes you’ve saved to learn this one vocab word?
a 氏（し）＝ family name
- Meaning: Same as the kanji.
- Reading: Same as the kanji.