parts of the body

kanji	kun-yomi			on-yomi
目	め	目	eye, look, insight
耳	みみ	耳	ear, hearing
口	くち	口	mouth; gate; opening
	いりぐち	入口	entrance
手	て	手	hand, arm	じょうず	上手	skilled
足	あし	足	foot, leg

Aside from meaning ‘eyes’ here are other interesting uses of 目:

• we use it to state order, e.g., ‘the third person’ is 三人目 (san-nin me)
• ‘in front of my eyes’ (目の前に, me no mae ni) means ‘in front of me’

person

kanji	kun-yomi			on-yomi
男	おとこ	男	man, male
女	おんな	女	woman, female	しょうじょ	少女	girl
子	こども	子供	child	いす	椅子	chair
				ぼうし	帽子	hat, cap
人	ひと	人	person, man	アメリカじん	アメリカ人	American person
	ひとり	一人	one person	さんにん	三人	three people
王				おう	王	king, monarch
名	なまえ	名前	name	ゆうめい	有名	famous

‘ko’ (child) is a common ending for female names; although usually a name has several possible spellings (discussed here), the following are ‘-ko’ names that we can spell with kanjis from Kentei 9 and 10:

• 花子 (Hana-ko): flower child
• 星子 (Hoshi-ko): star child
• 森子 (Mori-ko): forest child
• 友子 (Tomo-ko): friendly child
• 春子 (Haru-ko): spring child
• 夏子 (Natsu-ko): summer child
• 冬子 (Fuyu-ko): winter child
• 秋子 (Aki-ko): autumn child
• 明子 (Aki-ko): bright child (a diff. spelling)

and here are a few more from pop culture:

• 真理子 (Mari-ko): from James Clavell’s ‘Shogun’
• 貞子 (Sada-ko): child with integrity, from ‘Ringu’
• 爽子 (Sawa-ko): refresing child, from ‘Kimi ni todoke’

animals

kanji	kun-yomi			on-yomi
犬	いぬ	犬	dog
虫	むし	虫	insect; temper
貝	かい	貝	shellfish, sea shell

Hachikou was an Akita owned by Hidesaburou Ueno, a university professor. Every day, Hachikou waited at the train station for his return home. One day, in 1925, the professor died while lecturing at the university and didn’t return. Hachikou continued going daily to the station to wait for his return, for nine years, until it died in 1935. Since then, Hachiko has been considered an example of loyalty and fidelity, and his memory has been kept in monuments and movies, e.g., there are statues of Hachiko at Shibuya station and at the University of Tokyo, and the movie ‘Hachi: a Dog’s tale‘ is a recent drama about Hachiko’s life.

plants

kanji	kun-yomi			on-yomi
木	き	木	tree, wood	もくようび	木曜日	Thursday
林	はやし	林	grove, forest
森	もり	森	forest, woods
竹	たけ	竹	bamboo
花	はな	花	flower, cherry blossom	かびん	花瓶	flower vase
草	くさ	草	grass, weed, herb	すいそう	水草	water plant

Probably the most traditional yearly event in all Japan is 花見 (hana-mi, flower viewing), when millions of people get together and have parties under blossoming cherry trees, a tradition more than a thousand years old [wikipedia].

Japanese people are also very fond of fireworks, which have the appropriate name of 花火 (hana-bi, fire flowers). Firework festivals are called 花火大会 (hana-bi tai-kai, fire-flower large-party). Many Japanese dress traditionally, in yukatas and kimonos, for these festivals that include street food and games. Look here for more great pictures of these festivals.

Firework festivals appear often in pop culture. Comes to mind the final episode of the anime オオカミ少女と黒王子 (‘ookami shoujo to kuro ouji’, ‘Wolf Girl and Black Prince’), which takes place in Kobe during a hana-bi tai-kai.

Did you notice that every character in the title of this manga is a 1-st grade character?

オオカミ少女と黒王子:

• オオカミ: ‘ookami’ is ‘wolf’ (it’s written in katakana)
• 少女 (little-woman): ‘shou-jo’ is ‘girl’
• 黒: ‘kuro’ is ‘black’
• 王子 (king-child): ‘ou-ji’ is ‘prince’

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Other N5 words: