KM Scholar

Kanji Memories

We provide free resource videos on Learning Kanji for teachers to add to their lessons. You can also go to our Kanji Memories YouTube channel
Please also see our disclaimer at the bottom of this page.


Birth

257. Birth 産 [N3]
Give birth to new life while standing on a cliff

Returning

256. Returning 戻 [N3]
Returning through the big door is best

Root

255. Root 根 [N2]
A tree made from silver must have good roots

Measure

254. Measure, Plot or Plan 計 [N4]
Say it ten times to get the measure

Correct

253. Correct 正 [N4]
It is correct to stop below the line

Stop

252. Stop 止 [N4]
A stop sign has two posts with one pointing out

Carry

251. Carry or Transport 運 [N4]
Carry everything like an army on the move

Music

250. Music, Pleasure 楽 [N4]
Four sparks of white above a tree inspire music

Wide

249. Wide or Spacious 広 [N4]
This cliff is where I have to spread myself wide

Bad

248. Bad 悪 [N4]
It is bad for your heart to be under Asia

Old

247. Old 古 [N4]
Ten mouths to feed would make you feel old

Begin

246. Begin or Start 始 [N4]
A woman needs a platform to begin

Platform

245. Platform or Pedestal 台 [N4]
Bend my arm on a platform for a mouth

Rotate

244. Rotate or Revolve 転 [N4]
Rotation comes when two cars mostly meet

Move

243. Move 動 [N4]
To move something heavy needs power

Heavy

242. Heavy or Pile up 重 [N4]
A double wheeled vehicle can carry heavy loads

Borrow

241. Borrow 借 [N4]
A person in olden times had to borrow

Serve

240. Serve or Attend 仕 [N4]
A person who is a samurai serves here

Stand up

239. Stand up or Erect 立 [N4]
Standing up on both legs makes you appear large

Consider

238. Consider, Think 考 [N4]
Old man leans on bent stick and considers his future

Thousand

237. Thousand 千 [N5]
Ten people join for a thousand years

Ten

236. Ten 十 [N5]
Make a perfect cross for ten out of ten

Nine

235. Nine 九 [N5]
A loopy ten with a hook is only worth nine

Soil or Earth

234. Soil or Earth 土 [N5]
Add ten shovels of earth to ground level to make a perfect pile of soil

Eight

233. Eight 八 [N5]
Only eight can divide three times

Half or Midway

231. Half or Midway 半 [N5]
Headless cow is divided, then you get half

Picture or painting

230. Picture or painting 絵 [N3]
Threads meeting make a picture

Circular,  Round or Yen

229. Circular, Round or Yen 円 [N5]
Yen coins are circular so roll out of an upside down box

Accomplishment

228. Accomplishment, Achievement or Plural 達 [N3]
The movement of sheep on an earth road is an accomplishment

Private, I or Me

227. Private, I or Me 私 [N4]
I keep my private wheat to myself

Visit or Call on

226. Visit or Call on 訪 [N3]
A visit is when you say words in a particular direction

Ten thousand

225. Ten thousand 万 [N5]
Ten thousand dollars might make you lose direction a little bit

Direction

224. Direction 方 [N4]
One sword blade gives most direction, which also adds a bit to ten thousand

Coloring or colouring

223. Coloring or Colouring 彩 [N1]
Designers gather colors then add some fur

Vegetable

222. Vegetable 菜 [N2]
Gather green plants for vegetable dish

Pick

221. Pick 採 [N2]
To pick fruit from a tree, an extra hand helps gather

Gather

220. Gather, Appearance or Dice 采 [N1]
To gather fruit you must claw it from the tree

Carve, Sculpt or Engrave

219. Carve, Sculpt or Engrave 彫 [N1]
Carve three curving lines around the perimeter of each sculpture

Shadow or Shade

218. Shadow or Shade 影 [N1]
If you wear fur to visit scenery, stay in the shade

Bloom or Blossom

217. Blossom or Bloom 咲 [N2]
This blossom looks like mouths with heavenly horns

Springtime

216. Spring or Springtime 春 [N4]
Three people enjoy the sun in Spring

Voice

215. Voice 声 [N3]
Hear the voice of the samurai with the split flag

Color

214. Color or Colour 色 [N4]
Person kneels to have their eyes colored

Scenery

213. Scenery or View 景 [N3]
Sun on the capital city provides perfect scenery

Capital

212. Capital 京 [N4]
The Capital is where the tall and small come together.

Strange

211. Strange 奇 [N1]
It can be strange when big is allowed

Baggage or Luggage or Load

210. Baggage, Luggage or Load 荷 [N2]
What do you put on your baggage? Daisies, of course

River

209. River 河 [N2]
Rivers can allow water to flow

What

208. What 何 [N5]
What is a person allowed to do?

Allowed, Permitted or Can

207. Allowed, Permitted or Can 可 [N3 or N4]
They allow mouths to be nailed on this street

Street or City block

206. Street or City block 丁 [N1]
You mark out a street or city block by nailing in metal spikes

Pagoda or Tower

205. Pagoda or Tower 塔 [N2]
Fit together a daisy chain from the pile of earth at the pagoda

Answer, Reply or Solution

204. Answer, Reply or Solution 答 [N4]
Bamboo that fits together gives the answer

Wish or Thought

203. Wish or Thought 念 [N3]
A wish is what is in your heart now

Include or Contain

202. Include or Contain 含 [N2]
Now you may include things in your mouth

Recite

201. Recite 吟 [N1]
When the poet recites, now is not the time to open your mouth

Pick up

200. Pick up or Gather 拾 [N2]
Hands fit together well, so you can pick up anything

Supply

199. Supply or Salary 給 [N3]
Efficient supply means fitting together every thread in your plan

Cloud

198. Cloud 雲 [N2]
Clouds that produce rain have two layers and a bolt of lightning below

Fit together

197. Fit together or join 合 [N3]
To fit something together you gather for mouth to mouth communication

Meeting

196. Meeting 会 [N4]
A meeting is two people gathering to introduce themselves

Now

195. Now 今 [N5]
Now is the time to gather - see the hands of the clock

Journey

194. Journey 往 [N1]
When the lord and master of the house sets out on a journey, he always starts by going left

Pillar or post

193. Pillar or Post 柱 [N2]
The lord and master of the tree house ties his dog to a pillar

Pour or concentrate on

192. Pour or Concentrate on 注 [N4]
The lord and master of the house pours water from a candlestick

Dwell or reside

191. Dwell or Reside 住 [N4]
Who dwells here? The person who is master of the house

Master (of the house)

190. Master (of the house) or Lord 主 [N4]
The master of the house is a king with just a drop of power

Drink

189. Drink 飲 [N4]
When we lack food, we turn to drink

Life

188. Life or Living 生 [N5]
Life shoots out of the earth, then a bloom appears

Melodious

187. Melodious 朗 [N1]
A good moon makes one cheerful and melodious

Eyeball

186. Eyeball 眼 [N1]
Like a pirate's eyeballs, one good eye but one bit missing

Eat

185. Eat or Food 食 [N5]
Lift a lid to uncover good food to eat

Silver

184. Silver 銀 [N4]
Silver is a good metal but we are missing a bit

Good

183. Good 良 [N3]
White can be a good color if you add extras

Mirror

182. Mirror 鏡 [N1]
Mirrors are polished metal where humans stand, making noises about how good they look

Gold metal

181. Gold or metal 金 [N5]
The King keeps two bars of gold at the foot of his covered bed

Arrow

180. Arrow or Dart 矢 [N1]
The drop in the sky is an arrow, falling in your eye!

Tall

179. Tall or Expensive 高 [N5]
This tall tower has two openings, one hidden under a box and one just under the lid

Happiness

178. Happiness 幸 [N3]
The ten spicy experiences that give happiness

Little

177. Little or small 小 [N5]
Just three drops make little difference

Resign

176. Resign or quit (and 'word') 辞 [N3]
When resigning, spicy words feel good on the tongue

North

175. North 北 [N5]
Two people back to back at the North Pole, one with arms raised and toes curled, like a spoon

South

174. South 南 [N5]
In the South they hide spicy food under a box

Spicy

173. Spicy or Hot or Bitter 辛 [N2]
Spicy as ten needles standing on your tongue

Six

172. Six 六 [N5]
Lid stops eight getting two so makes six

Bosom Breast or Chest

171. Bosom, Breast or Chest 胸 [N2]
Lungs are an empty box, wrapped in ribs and with extra flesh we call our bosom

Waist

170. Waist, Hips or Loin 腰 [N2]
The needs of the flesh add to the waist

Needed

169. Needed or Need 要 [N3]
All good westerns need a good woman

Fold

168. Fold (bend, break) 折 [N3]
Hold a folding origami axe in your left hand

Harbor

167. Harbor or Harbour 港 [N3]
In the harbor one is together with just the water and oneself

To offer

166. To offer (submit, companion) 供 [N3]
A companion offers togetherness with a person

Together

165. Together 共 [N3]
Two hands hold one bunch of daisies together

Five

164. Five 五 [N5]
For five simply take three then add two down

Four

163. Four 四 [N5]
All boxes have four sides, but only this one has legs

Write down

162. Write down (scribe, record) 記 [N3]
First say the words to oneself then write them down

Distribute

161. Distribute 配 [N3]
Distribute alcohol without water to kneeling people then to oneself

Alcohol

160. Alcohol (or sake) 酒 [N3]
In the West when we want alcohol for a Zodiac day we make sure to take a little water with it

The Rooster

159. The Rooster (Zodiac sign) 酉 [N1 or none]
At special times chickens drink alcohol with no water

West

158. West 西 [N5]
Of the four directions, West is the one with legs

Behind

157. Behind 後 [N5]
Go left, follow the fine thread, then walk behind

Line

156. Line 線 [N2]
Threads of white water spring into a line we call a stream

Spring

155. Spring 泉 [N2]
Water springing from the earth is pure white

Cotton

154. Cotton 綿 [N2]
Cotton goods are just white cloth threaded together

Compile

153. Compile (edit, knit) 編 [N2]
Editors compile threads of words together, and use tomes of books as a doorstop

Thread

152. Thread 糸 [N2]
Wrap thread using this small two level wrapper

Tome

151. Tome (used to count books) 冊 [N2]
You line up three books to make this tome

Three

150. Three 三 [N5]
Two is company and three is just one more

Two

149. Two 二 [N5]
Always put the shorter one of the two on top!

One

148. One 一 [N5]
Every character starts with one single line

Europe

147. Europe 欧 [N2]
Europe is a district lacking a common language

soft

146. Soft 軟 [N2]
A car lacking metal can be soft as silk

lack

145. Lack (and Yawn) 欠 [N3]
People who yawn show a lack of politeness and should wrap their arm over their mouth

warehouse

144. Warehouse 庫 [N2]
Some warehouses are full of dusty old cars. They might as well be kept under a cliff

army

143. Army 軍 [N2]
The army needs covered vehicles for protection

long

142. Long 長 [N5]
Three strands of hair so long it needs a hair tie and two clips

enter

141. Enter 入 [N5]
A person bending to enter a tent

grains

140. Grains 粒 [N2]
Grains of rice cover the vase and the vase stand

flour

139. Flour 粉 [N2]
To make flour cut rice into parts with a knife

Come

138. Come 来 [N5]
Come home to one's loved one and rice

Rice

137. Rice 米 [N3]
Rice wears a tree costume but two grains remain

Build

136. Build 建 [N4]
Brushes write plans which stretch into buildings

Law

135. Law (also Rhythm) 律 [N2]
Go left to avoid a brush with the law

Write

134. Write 書 [N5]
To write well use your old brush on Sunday

Writing brush

133. Writing brush 筆 [N2]
A bamboo brush tops an ordinary brush

History

132. History 史 [N2]
A historian's mouth tells of crossed blades

District

131. District 区 [N4] (N2 in some lists)
Each district puts a box around the crops it cuts

Spirit

130. Spirit 気 [N5]
The spirit makes the air flow to cut crops

Search

129. Search 捜 [N2]
Search the left hand of the monkey again and again

Expand

128. Expand 伸 [N2]
To expand a monkey a person must feed it

Electricity

127. Electricity 電 [N5]
In an electric storm, shelter from the rain under the monkey's umbrella

Monkey say

126. Monkey say 申 [N3]
Monkey say, monkey do, monkeys climb poles

Man

125. Man 男 [N5]
A man was the power in the rice fields

Power

124. 力 Power [N4]
A powerful plough with two sharp blades and a handle

Vehicle

123. Vehicle (or car) 車 [N5]
This vehicle can carry four and needs a carrying pole at each end

Every

122. Every 毎 [N5]
Every person needs a mother to support them

Mother

121. Mother 母 [N5]
Mother has a chest with two drawers with little handles

Prosperity

120. Prosperity 栄 [N2]
The owl-house tree is a lesson in prosperity

Bed

119. Bed (or floor) 床 [N2]
Make your bed in the tree under the cliff

Tree

118. Tree 木 [N5]
Trees need a platform to sit on

Fire

117. Fire 火 [N5]
Two twigs leaning together with two sparks make a fire

Create

116. Create 造 [N2]
To create, simply move around and inform people

Inform

115. Inform 告 [N3]
The mouth of the talking cow informs us

Below

114. Below 下 [N5]
Careful pointing down below ground.

Above

113. Above 上 [N5]
Always point at things above the ground.

Middle

112. Middle 中 [N5]
Carry the stick in your mouth - no, not that way!

Quantity

111. Quantity 量 [N2]
At dawn in a hamlet you count the quantity of people remaining.

Juvenile

110. Juvenile 童 [N2]
You find juveniles standing up in hamlets

Bury

109. Bury (or be buried) 埋 [N2]
In a hamlet a pile of soil is where things are buried

Hamlet

108. Hamlet (Small village) 里 [N2]
Wherever there are rice fields and soil, there is a hamlet

Boundary

107. Boundary (Border) 境 [N2]<
At the boundary men make noise by a pile of soil

Village

106. Village 村 [N2]
For a new village you begin by measuring trees

Plan

104. Plan 案 [N1 or N2 (unclear)]
Plan by relaxing in the cheap tree-top seats.

Environs

103. Environs (Surroundings) 辺 [N2]
Swords on the roads make remote environs safe

Sky

102. Sky (Heavens) 天 [N5]
To hold up the sky takes one large person.

Water

101. Water 水 [N5]
Water drops have four parts

Woman

100. Woman 女 [N5]
Women like to sit at tables

Sun

94. Sun 日 [N5]

Read

93. Read 読 [N5] (uses 92 'sell' & 74 'say')

Sell

92. Sell 売 [N4] (uses 91 'samurai')

Samurai

91. Samurai 士 [N1]

In front of

90. In front of 前 [N5]

At full moon stay in front of men with knives and horns

Before

89. Before 先 [N5]

Come before the men in cow costumes.

Shellfish

88. Shellfish 貝 [N2]

Shellfish with one eye walk with straight legs.

See

87. See 見 [N5]

An eye with little human legs is rarely seen

Eye

86. Eye 目 [N4]

Eye see three areas - eyelid, pupil, eyelid

Cut

85. Cut 切 [N4]

Seven swords make for clean cuts

Part

84. Part or parts 分 [N5]

Division into parts is done with a sword

Sword

83. Sword 刀 [N1]

You can draw this sword with just two strokes

Exit

82. Exit 出 [N5] (uses 81 'mountain')

The exit path leads up through two mountains

Mountain

81. Mountain 山 [N5]

The mountain has a peak and two minor summits

Many

80. Many 多 [N4] (uses 77 'evening')
Double evenings make many moons

Name

78. Name 名 [N5] (uses 77 'evening')
Identify yourself in the evening by mouthing your name

Evening

77. Evening 夕 [N4]
In the evening the lower part of the moon is invisible

Word

76. 語 Word [N5] (uses 74 'say')
We say that five mouths make many words

Talk

75. 話 Talk [N5] (uses 73 'tongue' & 74 'say')
At the Tower of Babel they 'talk in tongues', they say

Say

74. Say 言 [N4] (uses 73 'tongue')
As you say, your mouth sends out (3) sound waves

Tongue

73. 舌 Tongue [N1]
Reptiles have a forked tongue in their mouth

School

72. 校 School [N5] (uses 71 'mingle')
At school, students mingle by the tree

Mingle

71. 交 Mingle [N3]
Father always puts on a kettle lid to mingle

Father

70. 父 Father [N5]
Fathers have crossed arms and thick eyebrows

Country

69. Country 国 [N5] (uses 68 'jade')
Every country puts jade in a simple box

Jade

68. Jade 玉 [N2] (uses 67 'king')
The king adds a small dot to mark his jade

King

67. 王 King [N3]
A king stands between us and heaven and earth

Rain

66. 雨 Rain [N5]
Raining cats and dogs? Divide your shelter into two

Learning

65. 学 Learning (or study) [N5] (uses 64 'child')
For learning, children go to the owl house

Child

64. Child 子 [N5]
Child with long arms and half a Z for a head

Space

63. Space 間 [N5]
Sun shines through the gates from the space beyond

Book

62. Book 本 [N5]
One tree is the origin for a book

East

61. East 東 [N5]
The sun rises behind a tree in the East

Left

60. Left 左 [N5]
To be left-handed is not a sign of witchcraft

Right

59. Right 右 [N5]
Put your left hand to your mouth - that's right

Friend

58. Friend 友 [N5]
Friends hand each other secrets, how could it be otherwise?

Rest

57. Rest 休 [N5]
When a person needs a rest, a tree is best

Year

56. Year 年 [N5] (uses 55 'noon')
This year you can ride the horse side-saddle

Noon

55. Noon 午 [N5] ('hour of the Horse')
Noon is the hour of the horse

Large

54. Large or Big 大 [N5]
A man standing with arms outstretched is large

Week

53. Week 週 [N4] (uses 52 'perimeter')
Each week is a movement along the perimeter of the race track of life

Perimeter

52. 周 Perimeter or Circumference [N2]
Keep a soiled mouth within a safe perimeter

Flavor

51. 味 Flavor, Flavour or Taste [N4]
It has not reached your mouth, but you can taste the flavor

Special

50. 特 Special [N4] (uses 45 'temple')
They are special cows at the temple

Time

49. Time 時 [N5] (uses 45 'temple')
Use the sundial at the temple to tell the time

Hold

48. Hold 持 [N4] (uses 45 'temple')
Hold the temple with your left hand

Going

47. Going 行 [N5]
To keep going forward, each foot must stop and wait for the other

Wait

46. Wait 待 [N4] (uses 45 'temple')
The best place to stop and wait is at the temple

Temple

45. Temple 寺 [N2]
To build a temple you first measure the soil.

Location

44. Location 場 [N4]
You must not be caught at the location of the pile of soil at dawn

Easy

43. Easy 易 [N3]
It is easy to stare at the sun, but you must not!

Thing

42. Thing 物 [N4]
That thing must not be a cow!

Ground

41. Ground 地 [N4]
This ground is the very soil where Shakespeare walked

Company

40. Company 社 [N4]
Gather at the mound of soil to worship at the company altar

Elder sister

39. Elder or Older Sister 姉 [N4]
The elder sister is the woman who goes to the market

Younger sister

38. Younger Sister 妹 [N4]
Your younger sister is not yet a woman

Blue

37. Blue 青 [N4]
Once in a blue moon, the barley shoots appear

Buy

36. Buy 買 [N4]
Buy nothing from a shellfish with a funny eye

Character

35. Character 字 [N4]
You name your newborn child under your own roof using Japanese characters

Parent

34. Parent 親 [N4]
Parents suggest, to see further first stand on a tree

Research

33. Research 究 [N4]
Do research by poking (nine) fingers into holes

World

32. Generation 世 [N4]
Each generation pushes the swing for the next

World

31. World 界 [N4]
As the person responsible for a rice field, it becomes your world

Empty

30. Empty, Sky 空 [N4]
All craftspeople love an empty cave

House

29. House 家 [N4]
You can feel at home with a pig

Hear

28. Hear 聞 [N5]
To hear at the gates, you need big ears

Town

27. Town 町 [N4]
A town has a rice field and a sign nailed to a post

Open

26. Open 開 [N4]
Use both hands to open a barred gate

Cheap

25. Cheap or Peaceful 安 [N4]
A cheap crown does not make a woman a queen

Question

24. Question 問 [N4]
The gatekeeper opens his mouth to ask questions

Think

23. Think 思 [N4]
I think my heart belongs in the rice fields

New

22. New 新 [N4]
To start a new cabin, stand by a tree with an axe

Substance

21. Substance 質 [N4]
It takes two sharp blades to open shellfish

Place

20. Place 所 [N3]
Meet at the place with the axe on the door

Near

19. Near 近 [N4]
Near enough to be hit by an axe

Darkness

18. Darkness 暗 (uses 13. Noise, Sound) [N3]
Darkness - there is no sun and no sound

Grass

17. Grass 草 (uses 10. Early) [N3]
Rise early to see daisies in the grass

Tide

16. Tide 潮 (uses 9. Morning) [N1]
In the morning, the tide washes in

Recollection

15. Recollection 憶 (uses 14. Idea) [N1]
Remember your best ideas in your heart

Idea

14. Idea 意 [N4] (uses 13. Noise)
For sound ideas, always listen to your heart

Noise (sound)

13. Noise or Sound 音 [N4]
Try to stand on the sun - the noise is you screaming

Road

12. Road 道 [N4] (uses 11 'neck')
Roads are where you put your neck on the line!

Neck

11. Neck 首 [N3]
Adorn your neck and wear your horns and you are ready to find yourself

Early

10. Early 早 [N4]
Set an early trend, pin a sunflower to your top!

9. Morning

9. Morning 朝 [N4] (uses 10 'early')
As the moon fades, needles of rain fall early in the morning.

8. Wear

8. Wear 着 [N4]
Pulling the wool over your eyes.

7. Employee

7. Employee 員 [N4]
Employees have to 'clam up' about company secrets!

6. Fresh

6. Fresh 鮮 [N1]
Sheep will go anywhere for fresh fish

5. Ocean

5. Ocean 洋 [N4]
Sheep love water, particularly the ocean

4. Fond

4. Fond of 好 [N3]
Every woman is fond of her child

3. Bright

3. Bright 明 [N4]
Why is it so bright? Because you can see both the sun and the moon

2. Cherry tree

2. Cherry tree 桜 [N1]
If you see a woman under a cherry tree, watch out for the owl

1. Beauty

1. Beauty 美 [N3]
Nothing is as beautiful to a poor peasant as a large sheep






Disclaimer: Information on this site should be treated with caution. Translations, grammar and other aspects of the site can contain errors. We always recommend that you learn with a qualified Japanese teacher and this site is primarily intended for use by students only under the guidance of such a qualified teacher.