当
Right
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| とう | あた.る |  + ヨ |
Meaning: Right
The “right” for this kanji is like “correct” or something along those lines. It’s like when you get a question correct. “You’re Right!” – There’s a triceratops and a wolverine. What are they doing together? You’d think they’d fight, but they took their battle to another venue… they’re competing in Jeopardy! One of them answers a question, and the host says “You’re right!”
Feel free to think through several questions and answers, but make sure they’re all right, because that’s what we’re focusing on. Also make sure to focus on the triceratops and the wolverine themselves. You want to make sure that when you see these two radicals you automatically know they’re playing Jeopardy, not doing anything else, like fighting or racing or playing or something.
Reading: とう
When we need to remember the reading とう, we use the word “toe.” – The last question in the Jeopardy match is the following: “The thing that’s on the end of your foot.” The triceratops answers first. “What is, your toes?” Right again!z
What a ridiculously easy question to ask. Think of it from the poor wolverine’s perspective… he could have won if he had hit the buzzer more quickly. Ugh!
Vocabulary
Learn the vocab meanings before moving on (and the readings too, if you’re able – especially the on’yomi ones).
a 当てる（あてる）＝ Hit Something, Guess Something
- Meaning: Same as the kanji, but verb form.
- Reading: The kun’yomi reading. You have to remember the あ part. Just think about trying to guess answers, and getting one right. What answer did you pick? The あ answer (in Japanese, answers are listed as あ い う え お instead of a b c d and e.
a 当たる（あたる）＝ To Hit, Be On Target
- Meaning: Same as the kanji, but verb form. This is when you’re doing the hitting.
- Reading: Reading is also the kun’yomi reading. If you know 当てる’s reading, you can figure out this one’s reading too.
a 当たり（あたり）＝ A Hit, A Success
- Meaning: The noun form of the kanji
- Reading: The kun’yomi – just make sure you know the others and you’ll know this one too.
a 当て字（あてじ）＝ Kanji Used Phonetically
- Combo: 当て (hit) + 字 (letter)
- Meaning: This is when the kanji meanings themselves don’t actually make sense with the word. For example, 寿司 (すし) has the kanji 寿 (longevity) and 司 (director), which doesn’t have anything to do with what sushi is.
- Reading: The kun’yomi reading of the 当て (hint is that there’s hiragana sticking out) and the on’yomi reading for 字 (that’s the only important reading there is for it).
a 本当（ほんとう）＝ Really
- Combo: 本 (true) + 当 (hit)
- Meaning: If something is a true hit, then it’s real. Really.
- Reading: The on’yomi readings of the individual kanji.
a 弁当（べんとう）＝ Bento (Box Lunch)
- Combo: 弁 (dialect) + 当 (hit)
- Meaning: When you “hit” different dialects, it’s like a bunch of sections of the same language, all in one box… kind of like a Bento box, right? It’s something for food with sections of food in it too.