成
Become
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| せい | な.る | 戈 + 刀 |
Meaning: Become
There’s a drunkard with a sword (the sword radical is a little modified). When the drunkard takes a sword, in his mind he will become a samurai.
Imagine a drunkard walking down the street with this sword. He keeps yelling… “I have become the samurai!” as he waves his sword in the air. People get out of the way and call the cops.
Reading: せい
But, then he drops his sword, tears off most of his clothes, and decides he wants to become hard gay (せい). “SEI SEI SEI!” he yells.
He’s a terrible hard gay, though. Being drunk isn’t helping this guy at all.
Vocabulary
The first vocab word is the most useful of all, though it’s usually written in kana alone (like this: なる). Still, you gotta know this kanji and word, since sometimes it’s going to be more common with combo-kanji words like the second one (and many more, coming up after you learn more kanji).
a 成る（なる）＝ Become
- Meaning: Same as the kanji, verb form
- Reading: Usually written in kana, so to be honest, you shouldn’t worry about this too much right now. If you know the verb なる already, too, this should be pretty easy to associate.
a 平成（へいせい）＝ Heisei (Era)
- Combo: 平 (peace ) + 成 (become)
- Meaning: Heisei Era is a time in Japanese history… in fact, it is right now! After the war, it became Heisei. That’s “become peace” era!