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That’s right, I’m confused again :)
I was just reading this Tofugu post on Kanji readings: http://www.tofugu.com/2010/03/23/the-types-of-kanji-in-japanese-onyomi-vs-kunyomi/
I’m confused about which reading to use (in general) when you see a single Kanji on its own. Comparing these two sentences, from the above article:
“In general, you’ll use on’yomi when a kanji is sitting there all on its own (i.e. when there is no hiragana attached to it), or when a word is made up of a multi-kanji compound (this is called jukugo).”
“In general, you’ll use kun readings when a kanji has hiragana attached to it (though this isn’t always the case), or when a kanji’s sitting out there on its own.”
So I’m really confused. Does it mean, if a Kanji is on its own in a string of hiragana then it’s generally kun’yomi but if it’s on its own, with no other symbols around, then it’s generally on’yomi?
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This topic was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by
Darrell Blake.
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This topic was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by
AnonymousThe article is incorrect regarding on’yomi. When a kanji is on its own, the correct procedure is to use the kun’yomi (though there are many exceptions). On’yomi is used for compound kanji words (though there are some exceptions).
One of the reasons why some kanji use on’yomi instead of kun’yomi when alone is because they don’t have any kun’yomi reading. Another reason is that their kun’yomi readings only work when they have okurigana (hiragana attached).
Sorry, I’m still a bit confused. If the kun’yomi readings only work when they have okurigana then how can you use the kun’yomi reading when the kanji is on its own?
AnonymousIt is not that all kun’yomi readings only work when they have okurigana. It is that some kanji have kun’yomi readings that only work when they have okurigana. Other kanji may have kun’yomi readings that can work when the kanji is alone or when there is okurigana.
Let me give you an example. The kun’yomi reading for the kanji 宜 is “よろ（しい）.” しい is the okurigana, while よろ is the part of the kun’yomi reading that is embedded into the kanji. However, you cannot just say よろ, because the only applicable reading for this kanji’s kun’yomi involves okurigana. You must say 宜しい, and that is all you can say regarding this kanji’s kun’yomi.
Here’s another example. Let’s look at 上. The most used kun’yomi readings for this kanji are うえ and あ（げる）. One is a simple reading with no okurigana, and the other one has okurigana. You would properly read it as うえ when by itself, while if you were to see the okurigana げる you would likely read it as あげる altogether, with the あ being embedded into the kanji.
Basically, if the kanji’s kun’yomi reading has okurigana, it must be read with okurigana unless it has another kun’yomi reading that doesn’t have okurigana. If a kanji’s kun’yomi reading does not involve any okurigana, then naturally it would be pronounced as it is.
Also, I would just like to add that although the correct procedure is to use kun’yomi when a kanji is alone, that does not necessarily always mean that the on’yomi cannot be used alone. Sometimes (for certain kanji) when the on’yomi is used instead for single kanji, the meaning of the word changes. I believe this is what Koichi meant in the article when he was describing on’yomi.
I tried my best to explain to you. If you have more questions, please ask.
That’s really helpful, thanks a ton. I think I understand now.
I imagine that the vast majority of the time you’ll use kun’yomi readings, then? And you would have to just know the specific situations in which the on’yomi is used for each kanji? Or if it’s jukugo then it’s always on’yomi.
Anonymousどういたしまして。
If it’s jukugo then it is probably on’yomi, but not always. And there are many exceptions.
But yes, in the end it is good to memorize and understand the specific situations.
This website will become useful: http://jisho.org/ -
This topic was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by
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