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Just need a clarification here. Just to recap: Onyomi is the chinese pronunciation and is used with multiple kanji, or when there’s no hiragana sticking off it. Kunyomi is the Japanese trying to fit in their pronunciation into the kanji, and it’s used when hiragana’s sticking off a kanji. Why then, is 二人 pronounced ふたり? Wouldn’t it be pronounced にり? The “person” radical kanji isn’t an extra hiragana sticking off it, so shouldn’t the onyomi reading be used? Thanks for any help.
Exceptions, exceptions, exceptions. I assume you’re using the TextFugu kanji section. While knowing on- and kun-yomi can be useful, don’t use them as a pronunciation guide. I find the best way to learn new readings is just to learn new vocabulary; over time you just kinda pick them up.
The counting system is especially riddled with reading exceptions, which you’ll see once you start to learn some more counter words. 一人 and 二人 are special cases after which 三人、四人、五人、etc. are all read as expected (さんにん、よんにん、ごにん、etc.). The kanji for “first day of the month” are 一日 which is read as ついたち; stuff like that just messes with your head, but you have to get used to it :P Generally though, counting comes in two flavours (with about 17 different subflavours >.<): the いち、に、さん system and the ひと、ふた、みっ system.
AnonymousYou use the onyomi when there is jukugo, or compound kanji (two kanji next to each other).
You use the kunyomi when the kanji is alone, or when there is some hiragana that follows that kanji. Now, to know what hiragana is supposed to follow the kanji, you have to know the vocab in the first place.
Of course there are exceptions, like when the kanji that is alone uses the onyomi. A notable example of this is numbers.
And of course there are exceptions where jukugo uses the kunyomi instead of the onyomi. The kanji for ‘hand’ and ‘direction’ love to use the kunyomi. :)I’m glad I found this to help clear things up on the differences. I think I have been running in to so many of these exceptions to the guide that it’s just been confusing me more than helping to try to stick with when to use which reading. Thanks!
AnonymousHaha I thought this was a new thread and was about to comment ALL OVER AGAIN about how “this is easy and has been discussed one trillion times” ……but then I saw my comment and realized it wasn’t.
Glad you understand it now!
@Tsetycoon13: I thought the exact same thing XD
“Ugh, not *this* again… wait… the first reply is… mine? lolwut”
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