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Lesson Transcript

Hi everyone.
Welcome to the Japanese Kanji video series.
In this lesson, you'll learn the "movement" 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.
近、遠、週、運
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...
しんにょう
The "movement" radical is used in some of the most common kanji characters. Let's take a look at it in more detail.
Meaning
The meaning behind this radical is "movement" or "path." This radical doesn"t exist on its own, so you'll only find it in other kanji characters.
From left to right, the first kanji means "near," the second means "to return," the third character means "week," and the fourth character means "to carry."
近、返、週、運
The first kanji has the "movement" radical in the bottom surrounding position, and the portion above it is the character for "axe." The function of an axe is essentially to chop things and to make them smaller.
So together, a "small movement," can mean that something is "nearby." So the meaning of this character is "close" or "nearby."
The second kanji has the "movement" radical in the bottom surrounding position again, and the portion above it is the character for "reverse" or "oppose."
Reverse movement means "to return." So this kanji means "to return."
The third kanji has the radical in the same position, but this time with the character for "circumference." Movement around a circumference alludes to a cycle.
This particular kanji is used to signify the cycle of the week.
The final kanji has the "movement" radical paired with the character for "army." A moving army transports weapons, foods, and goods.
Therefore, the meaning of this kanji is "to transport" or "to carry."
OK. Let's move on!
Common positions
The "movement" radical will *always* be in the bottom surrounding position, and because of this, it's easily recognisable.
pause 2 seconds
As can be seen in the original examples for "near," "to return," "week," and "to carry."
Okay. Now let's learn how to write this radical.
Stroke Order
The "movement" radical is written in three strokes.
The first stroke is a short diagonal stroke that starts on the left, it goes from left to the bottom right.
The second stroke looks like a zig-zag. It starts below the first stroke and goes left to right, bends, going downwards slightly, and then repeats.
Ensure that you write the second stroke in one smooth motion!
The third and final stroke is a slightly curved horizontal stroke which connects to the previous stroke. It starts from the left and goes all the way to the right.
And that's it! You're done!
Common Readings
The "movement" radical isn"t a kanji character on its own, so it'll only appear as a part of another kanji.
When it does, it can be read as follows...
キン、ちか
近
for the kanji meaning "close" or "nearby"
ヘン、かえ
for the kanji meaning "return"
シュウ
for the kanji meaning "week." And...
ウン、はこ
for the kanji meaning "to transport or carry"
Lesson Review
In this lesson, you learned about the "movement" radical.
The concept behind the character is "movement" or "path."
You also learned the kanji characters for "close," "return," "week," and "transport or carry," in which this radical appears.
It'll always appear in the bottom surrounding position.
And it's written with three strokes: a diagonal stroke, a zig-zag looking stroke, and a long curved 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 "gate" radical.
See you in the next lesson. Bye!
Bye~!

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