country = kingdom
| SAMPLE SENTENCE: | ||||
| 女王 | が | 日本 | へ | 行きました。 |
| JO.Ō | ga | Ni.HON | e | i.kimashita. |
| Queen | Japan | went. | ||
| = The queen went to Japan. |
KANJI #24
| 玉 | JEWEL |
Meaning
This character appears in the names of a variety of precious stones, including the compounds for rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. It also incorporates the sense of a “ball-like” object, a meaning evident in the final examples below.
Take note of the correct stroke order for this kanji (“King” + “Jelly bean”); the three horizontal lines are not written first.
Remembering this kanji
“I wish to reward you for your faithful service,” the king said to his minister. “There is a jelly bean for you at my feet; you may take it if you wish.” The man was a little confused by this, of course, until he bent down and saw a JEWEL shaped like a jelly bean next to the king’s shoes. “You might not want to eat that,” smiled the king. “After all, JEWELS aren’t particularly tasty.”
Common Pronunciations
Common ON reading: none
Less common kun reading: tama (たま)
Note how often this character changes from the voiceless “tama” (たま) to its corresponding voiced form “dama” (だま) when in the second position.
kun-yomi suggestion: “hot tamale”
Create your sentence to remember the kun-yomi reading in the box below.
Less Common Pronunciations
Less common ON reading: GYOKU (ギョク)
Less common kun reading: none
| COMMON WORDS AND COMPOUNDS | ||
| 玉 | jewel | tama たま |
| 玉ねぎ | onion | tama.negi たま·ねぎ |
| 目玉 | eye + jewel = eyeball | me.dama め.だま |
| 水玉 | water + jewel = drop of water | mizu.tama みず·たま |
| 火玉 | fire + jewel = fireball | hid.ama ひ.だま |
| 雪玉 | snow + jewel = snowball | yuki.dama ゆき.だま |
| SAMPLE SENTENCE: | |||
| 玉ねぎ | を | 切って | 下さい。 |
| tama.negi | o | ki.tte | kuda.sai. |
| onion (s) | cut | please | |
| = Please cut the onions. |
COMPONENT #25
KANJI #25
| 心 | HEART |
Meaning
This unique-looking character conveys the idea of heart in all its shades of meaning, be it the actual physical organ, the sense of “feelings,” or the concept of something’s “core.”
Remembering this kanji
There are a couple of ways to capture a HEART. The first is by using kindness; giving gifts such as a trio of jelly beans is an example of this method. The second is to simply use a hook.
Common Pronunciations
Less common ON reading: SHIN (シン)
Less Common kun reading: kokoro (こころ)
The kun-yomi for this kanji always becomes voiced (gokoro) when not in the first position (as in the second and fourth examples).
kun-yomi suggestion: “cocoa roast”
Create your on-yomi keyword and enter it in the table at the back of the book. After that, write your sentence to remember the on-yomi and kun-yomi readings in the box below.
Less Common Pronunciations
Less common ON reading: none
Less Common kun reading: none
Here is a common irregular reading containing this character, composed of both kun and on-yomi.
| IRREGULAR READINGS | ||
| 心地 | heart + ground = feeling | koko.CHI ここ.チ |
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COMMON WORDS AND
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