存
Aware Of
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| そん | ぞん.じる | ナ + ｜ + 子 |
Meaning: Aware Of
A narwhal has a stick coming out of its face (that’s its horn!). Even a child is aware of this.
Everybody loves a narwhal. You can even imagine an adult and a child talking, where the child knows more about narwhals than the adult. I can’t believe the adult isn’t aware of narwhals and their awesome unicorn horns.
Reading: そん
Just like we talked about in the previous part of the mnemonic, someone is talking to a child about Narwhals. This kid knows a ton about Narwhals, it’s kind of weird. Turns out, the kid is the son (そん) of the world’s leading Narwhal researcher. That explains it.
Imagine the kid talking about evvvverrrything regarding Narwhals. Then, he starts talking about his dad, and how awesome his dad is at finding Narwhals, or something like that. When his dad comes out, he says “son, stop harassing this poor man with your Narwhal knowledge.”
Vocabulary
Learn the meanings of these words and the readings too, if you’re able.
a 存じる（ぞんじる）＝ To Know / Be Aware of (Humble Form)
- Meaning: A common phrase when asking someone if they know something is: ご存知ですか？ This is a very polite way of asking “do you know (about) ____?” It humbles yourself and make the other person feel nice and fuzzy inside.
- Reading: Kun’yomi reading. You have to remember the ぞん part. Are you aware of the Discovery Zone? (ぞん) – that, or come up with some other zone you’re familiar with and know of.
a 存在する（そんざいする）＝ To Exist
- Combo: 存 (be aware of) + 在 (exist) + する (to do)
- Meaning: Think of some newly discovered animal. They didn’t exist until you became aware of them. So, when you do that (become aware of some thing’s existence) they suddenly exist. Did they exist before your knowledge of them? Who knows… maybe, maybe not… that’s deep stuff, man.
- Reading: On’yomi readings of the kanji, that’s nice of them!