Lesson One



This is lesson one of Heisig's book, and some of the simplest kanji. Well, here we go.

一

One

Heisig

In Chinese characters, the number one is laid on its side, unlike the Roman numeral I which stands upright. As you would expect, it is written left to right.


 * As a primitive element, the key-word meaning is discarded, since it is too abstract to be of much help. Instead, the single horizontal stroke takes on the meaning of floor or ceiling, depending on its position: if it stands above another primitive, it means ceiling; if below, floor.

Me

This one should be pretty easy to remember. It's just one line.

二

Two

Heisig

Like the Roman numeral II, which reduplicates the numeral I, the kanji for two is a simple reduplication of the horizontal stroke that means one. The order of writing goes from above to below, with the first stroke slightly shorter.

Me

Same as before, just two lines now. Still pretty easy.

三

Three

Heisig

And like the Roman numeral III, which triples the numeral I, the kanji for three simply triples the single horizontal stroke. In writing it, think of "1 + 2 = 3" (一 + 二 = 三) in order to keep the middle stroke shorter.

Me

Again, just add one more line, and you're good.

四

Four

Heisig

This kanji is composed of two primitive elements, mouth 口 and human legs 儿, both of which we will meet in the coming lesson. Assuming that you already knew how to write this kanji, we will pass over the "story" connected with it until later.

Note how the second stroke is written left-to-right and then top-to-bottom. This is consistant with what we have already seen in the first three numbers and leads us to a general principle that will be helpful when we come to more complicated kanji later on: write north-to-south, west-to-east, northwest-to-southeast.

Me

This is where the numbers get tougher. I remember this as the only number in a box. And boxes have four sides. Just don't forget the parts inside.

五

Five

Heisig

As with four, we shall postpone learning the primitive elements that make up this character. Note how the general principle we just learned in the preceding frame applies to the writing of the character for five.

Me

六

Six

Heisig

The primitives here are top hat and animal legs. Once again, we glide over them until later.

Me

I kept getting this confused with five, but now I think of it as a star. When I was little, the only star I knew how to draw was a six-pointed Jewish star. so even though this one has only five "points," I can still associate it with six.

七

Seven

Heisig

Note that the first stroke "cuts" through the second. This distinguishes seven from the character for spoon 匕 (frame 444), in which the horizontal stroke stops short.


 * As a primitive, this form takes on the meaning of diced, i.e., "cut" into little pieces, consistant both with the way the character is written and with its associated with the kanji for cut 切 to be learned in a later lesson (frame 85).

Me

To me, this looks a lot like an upside down seven. And the slash is like the dash through the seven that some people do in their handwriting.

八

Eight

Heisig

Just as the Arabic numeral "8" is composed of a small circle followed by a larger one, so the kanji for eight is composed of a short line followed by a longer line, slanting towards it but not touching it. and just as the "lazy 8" is the mathematical symbol for "infinity," so the expanse opened up below these two strokes is associated by the Japanese with the sense of an infinite expanse or something "all-encompassing."

Me

For this one, it is helpful if you know katakana. The katakana for ha is ハ, and eight in Japanese is usually pronounced hachi. So just remember ハ= ha = hachi = eight.

九

Nine

Heisig

If you take care to remember the stroke order of this kanji, you will not have trouble later keeping it distinct from the kanji for power 力 (frame 858).


 * As a primitive, we shall use this kanji to mean or simply baseball. The meaning, of course, is derived from the nine players who make up a team.

Me

十

Ten

Heisig

Turn this character 45° either way and you have the X used for the Roman numeral ten.


 * As a primitive, this character sometimes keeps its meaning of ten and sometimes signifies needle, this latter derived from the kanji for needle 針 (frame 274). Since the primitive is used in the kanji itself, there is no need to worry about confusing the two. In fact, we shall be following this procedure regularly.

Me

I actually like Heisig's idea for this.

口

Mouth

Heisig

Like several of the first characters we shall learn, the kanji for mouth is a clear pictograph. Since there are no circular shapes in the kanji, the square must be used to depict the circle.


 * As a primitive, this form also mean mouth. Any of the range of possible images that the word suggests--an opening or entrance to a cave, a river, a bottle, or even the largest hole in your head--can be used for the primitive meaning.

Me

This one looks like a very boxy mouth. Be sure to remember how kanji turn circular things into squares, because it happens a lot.

日

Day

Heisig

This kanji is intended to be a pictograph of the sun. Recalling what we said in the previous frame about round forms, it is easy to detect the circle and the big smile that characterizes our simplest drawings of the sun--like those yellow badges with the words "Have a nice day!"


 * Used as a primitive, this kanji can mean sun or day or a tongue wagging in the mouth. This latter meaning, incidentally, derives from an old character outside the standard list meaning something like "sayeth" and written almost exactly the same, except that the stroke in the middle does not touch the right side (曰, frame 578).

Me

This is the pictograph for sun. Here is my representation of its evolution (courtesy of Microsoft Paint):



月

Month

Heisig

This character is actually a picture of the moon, with the two horizontal lines representing the left eye and mouth of the mythical "man in the moon." (Actually, the Japanese see a hare in the moon, but it is a little farfetched to find one in the kanji.) And one month, of course, is one cycle of the moon.


 * As a primitive element, this character can take on the sense of moon, flesh, or part of the body. The reasons for the latter two meanings will be explained in a later chapter.

Me

This is the same idea as sun. It's a stretched out, squared off moon with an eye staring at you.



田

Rice field

Heisig

Another pictograph, this kanji looks like a bird's-eye view of a rice field divided into four plots. Be careful when writing this character to get the order of the strokes correct. You will find that it follows perfectly with the principle stated in frame 4.


 * When used as a primitive element, the meaning of rice field is most common, but now and again it will take the meaning of brains from the fact that it looks a bit like that tangle of gray matter nestled under our skulls.

Me

This looks like a rice field. Just be sure to remember that there are four little rice plots.

目

Eye

Heisig

Here again, if we round out the corners of this kanji and curve the middle strokes upwards and downwards respectively, we get something resembling an eye.


 * As a primitive, the kanji keeps its sense of eye, or to be mor specific, an eyeball. When placed in the surroundings of a complex kanji, the primitive will sometimes be turned on its side like this:.

Me

This is another pictograph. I look at it like an eye that has been turned on its side and squared off.