Learn the radical for "mouth," 口
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to the Japanese Kanji video series. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn the "mouth" radical. |
| Kanji Series |
| Lesson 06: The Mouth Radical |
| Take a look at these kanji characters. Can you guess what they mean? |
| (pause for 4 seconds) |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to grasp the meaning behind these kanji characters. |
| 口、兄、古、同 |
| First off, can you spot the radical that's common in all of these kanji characters? |
| (pause for 4 seconds) |
| It's this part here. |
| This particular radical is called... |
| 口 |
| くち or くちへん |
| The "mouth" radical is used in some of the most common kanji characters. Let's take a look at it in more detail. |
| Meaning |
| The "mouth" radical stands for exactly that, "the mouth." 口 |
| Keep in mind though that it encapsulates the many senses of the word "mouth" and isn"t limited to the mouth of a person or animal. The "mouth of a river" for instance, alludes to an opening where water moves *through* to enter an ocean. The "mouth" radical embodies this sense of the word too. |
| From left to right, the first kanji means "mouth," the second means "older brother," the third character means "old," and fourth character means "same." |
| 口、兄、古、同 |
| This radical is a kanji by itself, as seen in the first example. |
| The second kanji has the "mouth" radical on top, and the "human legs" radical - which we learned in lesson 4 - on the bottom. |
| The third kanji has the "mouth" radical on the bottom, and the "ten" radical which we learned in the *previous* lesson, on top. |
| Do you remember this kanji character? |
| (pause 2) |
| It's the character for "old." |
| The fourth kanji has the "mouth" radical enclosed in a type of hood representing a group. A group of people who share one voice have the *same* opinion. |
| So the meaning of this kanji is "same" or "equal." |
| Common positions |
| The "mouth" radical appears in multiple positions. It can appear in the "crown" position... |
| (pause 2 seconds) |
| like in the kanji for "older brother." 兄 |
| Or it can appear at the bottom, in the "foot" position... |
| (pause 2 seconds) |
| like in the kanji for "old." 古 |
| And just as often, it can appear in the "right" position... |
| (pause 2 seconds) |
| like in this kanji character meaning "harmony." 和 |
| As you can see, the "mouth" radical appears in many different positions. So keep your eyes peeled! |
| Okay. Now let's learn how to write this radical. |
| Stroke Order |
| The "mouth" radical is very simple, it's written in 3 strokes and it looks like a box. |
| The first stroke, occurs on the left side and is a vertical stroke that goes from top to bottom. |
| The second looks like a right corner and starts from left to right, and then bends downwards. |
| It's important to note, that this second stroke should be completed in one smooth motion. |
| Finally, close the box by connecting the first stroke to the second stroke at the bottom. |
| And that's it! You're done! |
| Common Readings |
| When the "mouth" radical is on its own, 口, the kanji can be read as... |
| コウ for the on reading |
| and くち for the kun reading |
| And when the "mouth" radical is a part of another kanji... |
| キョウ、あに for the "older brother" kanji 兄 |
| コ、ふる for the kanji meaning "old,” 古. And... |
| ドウ、おな for the kanji meaning "same" or "equal,” 同. |
| Lesson Review |
| In this lesson, you learned about the "mouth" radical. |
| The "mouth" radical looks like a square. |
| The idea behind this radical encapsulates all senses of the word "mouth," equivalent to English. |
| You also learned the kanji characters for "mouth," "older brother," "old," and "same" or "equal," in which this radical appears. |
| It can be found in multiple positions: the crown, foot, or right position. |
| And it's written with one vertical stroke, one right-corner stroke, and one connecting horizontal stroke. |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn about another common radical used in some of the most common and basic kanji characters, the "one" radical. |
| See you in the next lesson. |
| Bye! |
| Bye~! |
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