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In the textfugu Kanji deck the reading of 人 is にｎ while in the kanji vocab deck it is ひと. Since they two readings are not (generally?) interchangeable is there something I am missing?
Also in the vocab deck some phrases are translated as:
一人 = “one person”
一人ですた = “it was one person”
一人 じゃありませんでした = “(I) was not alone”Given what I have learned so far I would translated the last phrase as “it was not one person” instead of “(I) was not alone”. Is this just a matter of context or is there a reason the last phrase breaks the pattern?
Yes it is just a matter of context. 一人 can mean “one person” and it can mean “alone.”
You can write ん by pressing “n” twice while you are in the Japanese IME.
In some vocabulary the reading for 人 is ひと, for some it is にん, and for some it is じん.The last sentence could also be translate to “it was not one person” depending on context.
Thanks Cimmik.
You can write ん by pressing “n” twice while you are in the Japanese IME.
Or n’.
I find nn a bit easier since my finger’s on the N key anyway, but if you’re typing, say, まんにん, it’s so easy to lose count of Ns…
Yeh, Had a hard time with it as well and actually with that kanji in general because they teach you the combination with “one” and “two” first and they happen to be the damn exceptions….. so guess when I tried to use it for the first time with 七 as in 七人…. yeh, right, i pronounced it: ななり and had to google around to find out why i was wrong if ふたり and ひとり were right….
In some vocabulary the reading for 人 is ひと, for some it is にん, and for some it is じん.
Ooo, I missed that part of the conversation, somehow. Rule of thumb is this:
- ひと when 人 stands on its own (also, as 人々 = ひとびと),
- にん when it’s number+人 (e.g. 五人 = ごにん – with the exception of 一人 and 二人 as Juan mentioned)
- じん when it’s noun+人 (e.g. 日本人 = にほんじん, 殺人 = さつじん)
As with all rules of thumb, there’s exceptions. Like 悪人 = あくにん and 大人 = おとな…
人 is one of those kanji where the number of exception rivals the number that follow the rules. It’s quite a pain.
- ひと when 人 stands on its own (also, as 人々 = ひとびと),
- にん when it’s number+人 (e.g. 五人 = ごにん – with the exception of 一人 and 二人 as Juan mentioned)
- じん when it’s noun+人 (e.g. 日本人 = にほんじん, 殺人 = さつじん)
As with all rules of thumb, there’s exceptions. Like 悪人 = あくにん and 大人 = おとな…
Thanks for the general rules of thumb, I did not think to look for a pattern like that.
Was wondering the same thing too;
posted clarification is greatly appreciated; native english speaker wonders why it’s this way; probably easier to memorize and move on for future enlightenment / comprehension.
Though there are some early kanji examples as : ひとり, where I’m not sure where り came from 人. Any insight would be most appreciated.
Well, り is also one of the kun’yomi for 人. I don’t know why it’s only used for 一人 and 二人, though. Etymology.
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