申

Say Humbly

Meaning: Say Humbly

There’s a cross in your mouth, so the things you say are very pious. Everything you say you say humbly.

Reading: n/i

There’s no (important) on’yomi reading, so there’s nothing to learn here. Just move on to the vocab and start learning those!

Vocabulary

Try to learn the meanings of 申’s vocab words. Then, try to learn the readings as well, if you dare… dun dun dunnn.

a 申す（もうす）＝　To Say (Politely)

• Meaning: The meaning is pretty much the verb form of the kanji itself.
• Reading: Think of moss (もうす) when you think about speaking humbly. Moss stays out of the way. It’s quiet. The things it says are very humble.

a 申し入れる（もうしいれる）＝　To Propose, Suggest

• Combo: 申し (say politely) + 入れる (insert)
• Meaning: You’re inserting what you’re saying into the conversation – that’s a proposal!
• Reading: If you know 申す and you know 入れる, you should be able to read this.

a 申し上げる（もうしあげる）＝　To Say, Tell (Humble Form)

• Combo: 申し (Say politely) + 上げる (raise up)
• Meaning: Someone’s speech is rising into the heavens (not yours), making you more humble and therefor more polite.
• Reading: If you know the reading of 申す and the reading of 上げる you know the reading of this word too.

a 申し申し（もうしもうし）＝　Hello! (On the phone)

• Meaning: This is just what you say when you answer the phone in Japan. Moshi moshi!
• Reading: If you know the reading of 申す then you know the reading of this. It’s just the stem form of 申す twice.

Notes

Lots of good words in the vocab section, though the kun’yomi word itself (申す) won’t be so useful until you’re more advanced in Japanese and we start going over keigo (where you learn to speak really politely).

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