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PHONETIC ELEMENTS IN JAPANESE CHARACTERS

A supportive tool for learning Japanese

Mr. Drs. Annemarie G. van Dijk, Mjur (Oxon)

First Edition

2010


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Published by Annemarie G. van Dijk

Copyright © 2010 by Annemarie G. van Dijk

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-90-815207-1-3

If you wish to purchase a copy of this book please contact the author by sending an email to [email protected] or via www.linkedin.com.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.linkedin.com/


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This book is dedicated to my mother for her never-ending love, continuous support and guidance

throughout the years.


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Table of Contents

Foreword ................................................................................................ 8

Typographical explanation .................................................................... 11

Bibliography .......................................................................................... 15

Phonetic Elements List .......................................................................... 16

ア .......................................................................................................... 17

イ .......................................................................................................... 18

エ ..........................................................................................................20

オ .......................................................................................................... 23

カ .......................................................................................................... 25

キ .......................................................................................................... 37

ク ......................................................................................................... 46

ケ ......................................................................................................... 48

コ .......................................................................................................... 55

サ .......................................................................................................... 63

シ ......................................................................................................... 66

ス ..........................................................................................................88

セ ......................................................................................................... 90

ソ .......................................................................................................... 97

タ ........................................................................................................ 102


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チ ....................................................................................................... 106

ツ ........................................................................................................ 110

テ ........................................................................................................ 111

ト ........................................................................................................116

ニ ....................................................................................................... 122

ヌ ........................................................................................................ 123

ノ ....................................................................................................... 124

ハ ....................................................................................................... 125

ヒ ........................................................................................................130

フ ........................................................................................................ 133

ヘ ........................................................................................................ 137

ホ ....................................................................................................... 139

マ ....................................................................................................... 144

ミ ....................................................................................................... 146

ム ........................................................................................................ 147

メ ....................................................................................................... 148

モ ....................................................................................................... 149

ヤ ........................................................................................................ 151

ユ ....................................................................................................... 152

ヨ ....................................................................................................... 154


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ラ ........................................................................................................ 157

リ ........................................................................................................ 158

レ ........................................................................................................ 162

ロ ........................................................................................................ 164

Appendix ............................................................................................. 166


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Foreword

In 1997 I obtained my master’s degree in Japanese Language and Culture from Leiden University in the Netherlands. Subsequently, I received my master’s degree in law from Leiden University and a law degree from Oxford University. I decided to pursue a career as a finance lawyer and worked for nearly eight years in lawfirms doing banking and international capital markets transactions. I enjoyed working as a lawyer, but the “mystery” of Japanese characters, especially the question how to pronounce a character, remained to intrigue me.

Let me first write down a few words about Japanese characters. Many books have been published about Chinese or Japanese characters. An impressive book is “China: Empire of Living Symbols” by Cecilia Lindqvist. Also “A guide to remembering Japanese characters” by Kenneth G. Henshall, “A dictionary of Chinese Symbols” by Wolfram Eberhard and “Chinese characters; Their Art and Wisdom” by Rose Quong are worth reading.

Originally, the characters in Chinese texts were brought into Japan via Korea. The Japanese adopted the Chinese characters and their Chinese reading, but modified the pronunciation to the Japanese phonetic system.1 Chinese characters were also given Japanese readings. Most Japanese characters therefore have both one or more Chinese (on) readings and native Japanese (kun) readings.2

Japanese character dictionaries, like Chinese character dictionaries, are generally based on the system of the 214 basic elements or radicals and not on a system of phonetic elements.3 A radical is part of a character

1

Kanji & Kana, A handbook and dictionary of the Japanese writing system, Wolfgang Hadamitzky and Mark Spahn, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Japan, 1992 (“Kanji & Kana”), pages 18, 48 and 51.

2 Kanji & Kana, page 51.

3 Please also see the New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary, completely

revised by John H. Haig, Tuttle Publishing, 1997 (the “Nelson Dictionary”), page 1233 as well as the Mathews’ Chinese-English Dictionary, revised American edition, Harvard University Press, nineteenth printing, 2000 (the “Mathews Dictionary”).


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and indicates the field of meaning to which the relevant character belongs.4

Many Japanese characters also contain a sound-indicating part for the Chinese (on) reading which is helpful in guessing this Chinese (on) reading and I agree with W.E. Soothill that the persevering study of both the radicals and phonetics will in the long run save, not waste, the student’s time. 5 6 I believe that a good knowledge of phonetic elements will enable the student to (i) easier recognize and memorize the Chinese (on) reading of Japanese characters and (ii) more quickly use (electronic) Japanese-English (or any other language) dictionaries for the translation of Japanese characters and Japanese character combinations.

In this study 7 of Japanese phonetic elements I have selected 349, mainly jōyō8, characters or elements of a character which in my opinion serve as a sound-indicating part or “phonetic element” for the Chinese (on) reading of certain Japanese characters (the “Phonetic Elements List”).9 The selection is based on the comparison of certain characters that have the same or nearly the same Chinese (on) reading.10 I have added, if listed therein, the number assigned to the relevant phonetic element as Japanese character in the Nelson dictionary.

4 Kodansha´s Elementary Kanji Dictionary, Kodansha International, Japan, 2001 (the

“Kodansha´s Elementary Kanji Dictionary”), page xx.

5 Kanji & Kana, page 51. Please see also Kodansha´s Elementary Kanji Dictionary, page

xvi.

6 The Student’s Four Thousand 字 and General Pocket Dictionary, W.E. Soothill,

American Presbyterian Mission Press, Shanghai, 1914 (the “Soothill Dictionary”), page iv. The Mathews Dictionary refers to Soothill by stating that “those who desire to study the combinations of Radical and Phonetic will find Soothill’s Pocket Dictionary invaluable”; please see the Mathews Dictionary, page vi.

7 A first copy of this study was deposited with a civil law notary in The Netherlands on 2

November 2001.

8 Please see Appendix 13 of the Nelson Dictionary.

9 The characters mentioned in The Table of Daily Used Chinese Characters by Do Thong

Minh, Tokyo, 1993 were used as a starting point for this comparison. Please note that the Phonetic Elements List is not an exhaustive list of phonetic elements in Japanese characters.

10 I have not performed any other (including etymological) research.


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I have also included, if listed therein, the number assigned to the relevant phonetic element as Chinese character in the Mathews dictionary, as I generally perceived the comparison of the relevant Japanese phonetic element and its Chinese-derived reading with the equivalent Chinese character and its Chinese pronunciation as useful.

Worthwhile to mention is that 325 of the 349 Japanese phonetic elements arranged in this study, are also included in W.E. Soothill’s List of Phonetics (the “Soothill Phonetic List”)11 as phonetic elements in the Chinese language. A reference to the relevant phonetic element in the Soothill Phonetic List has also been included.

I trust this selection of Japanese phonetic elements will be helpful to those who wish to master the Japanese language.

Finally, I wish to express my thanks to my parents for their invaluable support and encouragement.

The Netherlands, 2010

Annemarie Geraldine van Dijk

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Please see the Soothill Dictionary, pages xiv – xxxv.


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Typographical explanation

Phonetic Elements List

Please see below for a sample entry from the Phonetic Elements List

with annotations explaining the typography.

4. 韋

韋偉違緯

S

イイイイイ

N 6601 N 6601 N 285 N 6099 N 4566

M 7080

S 764 – Wei – A thong

R 178

[PE [•]]

葦

イ

N 5160

1. Each phonetic element is placed before a bar and is assigned a

number.

2. Below each phonetic element the following information is given:

1 2i 2ii 2iii 4

3 2iv 4

2v


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i. if the phonetic element is a Japanese character, the Chinese

(on) reading(s)12 in katakana;13

ii. if the phonetic element is listed in the Nelson Dictionary as

a Japanese character, the number assigned to it in the

Nelson Dictionary preceded by an N (“X Nelson Dictionary”

means that the phonetic element is not found in the Nelson

Dictionary);

iii. if the phonetic element is listed in the Mathews Dictionary

as a Chinese character, the number assigned to it in the

Mathews Dictionary preceded by an M (“X Mathews

Dictionary” means that the phonetic element is not found in

the Mathews Dictionary);

iv. if the phonetic element is listed in the Soothill Phonetic List,

the number assigned to it in the Soothill Phonetic List

including the Chinese reading and English translation 14

mentioned in the Soothill Phonetic List 15 (“X Soothill

Phonetic List” means that the phonetic element is not listed

in the Soothill Phonetic List; and

12

Please note that a phonetic element may have more than one Chinese (on) reading. If a phonetic element does not have a Chinese (on) reading, the annotation is N.A. (= Not Applicable). The Chinese (on) readings mentioned are based on the (on) readings mentioned in the Nelson Dictionary, Japanese Word for Windows, Kanji & Kana and Do Thong Minh, Table of Daily Used Chinese Characters, Tokyo, 1993.

13 Please see the Nelson Dictionary, page 1250.

14 Please make sure to always look up the meaning of a Japanese phonetic element /

character in a Japanese-English (character) dictionary and in relation to Japanese phonetic elements / characters please do not rely on the English translation of the Chinese phonetic mentioned in the Soothill Phonetic List.

15 Only some phonetics in the Soothill Phonetic List are assigned a number (a

`numbered phonetic´) whereas the other phonetics are only indirectly numbered, i.e. by reference to the first preceding numbered phonetic. Also, please note that the numbering is not always sequential (e.g. there is no phonetic with number 7). For reference purposes, in order to avoid any confusion, both the Chinese pronunciation and English translation as mentioned in the Soothill Phonetic List in respect of the relevant phonetic is referred to. Any other information mentioned in relation to the phonetics in the Soothill Phonetic List has not been added.


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v. if the relevant phonetic element is one of the 214 radicals,

the number of the relevant radical preceded by an R.

3. The phonetic elements are placed in katakana (a-i-u-e-o) order16 by

reference to the pronunciation derived from the relevant phonetic

element. If two different pronunciations are derived from the same

phonetic element, the phonetic element appears twice in the

Phonetic Elements List. A cross-reference to that effect is

mentioned below the relevant phonetic element.

4. After each phonetic element two or more Japanese characters are

mentioned which contain the relevant phonetic element and which

have the same (or nearly the same) Chinese (on) reading (the

“Example Characters”). 17 If listed in the Nelson Dictionary, the

number of the relevant Example Character in the Nelson Dictionary

preceded by an N is mentioned. Some Example Characters have

more than one Chinese (on) reading. In this study only the reading

linked to the relevant phonetic element is mentioned (however,

please note that because of different Chinese (on) readings, an

Example Character may appear more than once in the Phonetic

Elements List).

Appendix

An appendix with the Chinese phonetics from the Soothill Phonetic List

mentioned in this study in the order of the Soothill Phonetic List, with

16

Please see Kanji & Kana, page 23.

17 It would fall outside the scope of this study to mention all Japanese characters which

pronunciation may be derived from any one of the phonetic elements listed in the Phonetic Elements List. The average number of Example Characters is 2 to 3; sometimes the number is 4 or more, if it was deemed to be useful, e.g. for illustrating the position of the phonetic element within the characters. Please see the ON-kun indexes in the standard Japanese character dictionaries (e.g. the Nelson Dictionary) if you wish to further verify which Japanese characters contain the relevant phonetic element and have the same Chinese (on) reading.


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the numbers assigned to the corresponding Japanese phonetic

elements in the Phonetic Elements List is attached.

How to use

This study is meant as a supportive tool, i.e. it is intended to be used in

combination with other Japanese language (study) material. Please see

below for a few suggestions on how to use this tool:

- On the first reading, mark the Example Characters you already

know and familiarize yourself with the phonetic element in these

Example Characters. You can do this by checking the phonetic

element in the Nelson Dictionary and the Mathews Dictionary (if

listed therein) and to learn its pronunciation and, if applicable, its

meaning.

- Each time you learn a new Japanese character, check whether this

character is mentioned as a phonetic element or an Example

Character in the Phonetic Elements List and memorize the relevant

phonetic element.

- Test yourself on the phonetic elements you have learned by

covering up the Chinese (on) readings in the Phonetic Elements List.

- For those who wish to study both Chinese and Japanese phonetics,

please make use of the references to the Soothill Phonetic List and

the Appendix.


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Bibliography

I am much indebted to the following dictionaries and literature to which reference is made in this book, where appropriate.

- Kanji & Kana, A handbook and dictionary of the Japanese writing system, Wolfgang Hadamitzky and Mark Spahn, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Japan, 1992.

- Kodansha´s Elementary Kanji Dictionary, Kodansha International, Japan, 2001.

- the Mathews’ Chinese-English Dictionary, revised American edition, Harvard University Press, nineteenth printing, 2000.

- the New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary, completely revised by John H. Haig, Tuttle Publishing, 1997.

- Table of Daily Used Chinese Characters, Do Thong Minh, Tokyo, 1993.

- The Student’s Four Thousand 字 and General Pocket Dictionary, W.E. Soothill, American Presbyterian Mission Press, Shanghai, 1914.


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Phonetic Elements List


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ア

1. 安

安按鞍鮟

アンアンアンアンアン

N 1311 N 1311 N 2147 N 6586 N 6861

M 26

S 555 – An – Peace

晏案

アンアン

N 2460 N 2667


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イ

2. 衣

衣依

AS

イ、エイイ

N 5420 N 5420 N 191

M 2989

S 367 – I – Clothes

R 145

PE 7

3. 尉尉蔚慰熨

M

イイイイイ

N 1383 N 1383 N 5181 N 1972 N 3471

M 7111

S 727 – Wei – Pacify

4. 韋韋偉違緯

S

イイイイイ

N 6601 N 6601 N 285 N 6099 N 4566

M 7080

S 764 – Wei – A thong

R 178

葦

イ

N 5160


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5. 因

因姻咽氤

M

インインインインイン

N 939 N 939 N 1215 N 788 N 3029

M 7407

S 771 – Yin – Cause, because

6. 員員韻殞隕

イン、エンインインインイン

N 808 N 808 N 6611 N 2982 N 6474

M 7721

S 760 – Yüan – An official

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