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Lesson Transcript

Hi everyone.
Welcome to the Japanese Kanji video series.
In this lesson, you'll learn the "house" radical.
Take a look at these kanji characters. Can you guess what they mean?
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to grasp the meaning behind these kanji characters.
安, 客, 宮, 家
First off, can you spot the radical that's common in all of these kanji characters?
It's this part here. It looks like a roof.
This particular radical is called...
うかんむり
The "house" radical is used in some of the most common kanji characters. Let's take a look at it in more detail.
Meaning
On its own, the "house" radical looks like this.
In some of the previous lessons, you learned that some radicals are kanji characters on their own.
This is an other radical we've encountered that isn't a kanji character in itself. This basically means that you'll only encounter it as a component in other kanji characters.
When it's a component in a kanji, it adds the meaning of "house" to the entire kanji character.
安, 客, 宮, 家
From left to right, the first kanji means "to relax, low, peaceful", the second means "guest" or "customer," the third character means "Shinto shrine, palace" and the fourth character means "house, family, performer."
1. 安
The first kanji has the "house" radical, paired with this second character. This second character is also a kanji in itself. Do you remember this kanji character?
It's the character for "woman." 女
An easy way to remember what this kanji means is to think that you might feel relaxed if your wife or mother is at home. This kanji character means "to relax, low, peaceful."
2. 客
The second kanji has the "house" radical means "guest" or "customer."
3. 宮
The third kanji has the "house" radical and the character 呂.
This character looks like two rooms together. You could think of this character in this way: you might call a house that has many rooms a palace. This kanji means "Shinto shrine, palace."
4. 家
The last kanji means "house, family, performer."
For more ways to remember these characters and many more kanji examples that include the "house" radical, go to JapanesePod101.com and check the Lesson Notes PDF. OK. Let's move on!
Common positions
The "house" radical is always in the top-position and connect with another radical below it. Because of this, it's easily recognisable.
As seen in the original examples for "to relax, low, peaceful," "guest, customer," "Shinto shrine, palace" and "house, family, performer."
Okay. Now let's learn how to write this radical.
Stroke Order
The "house" radical is written in three strokes.
When the radical is on its own, it looks like this:
The first stroke is a small, vertical stroke in the center.
The second stroke is another short, vertical stroke on the left.
The final stroke is a long horizontal stroke that starts at the second stroke, all the way across and past the bottom the first stroke and ends with a short downwards tip.
The "house" radical is always in the top-position and connect with another radical below it. The appearance stays the same.
And that's it! You're done!
Common Readings
The "house" radical isn't a kanji on its own, so you'll only see it as a part of another kanji.
In the case of the original examples, common readings are...
アン、やす(い)
for the kanji meaning "to relax, low, peaceful."
キャク、カク
for the "guest, customer" kanji.
キュウ、グウ、ク、みや
for the "Shinto shrine, palace" kanji. And...
カ、ケ、いえ、や
for the kanji meaning "house, family, performer."
Lesson Review
In this lesson, you learned about the "house" radical.
This radical isn't a kanji character on its own, so you'll only see it in other kanji characters, such as the "to relax, low, peaceful," "guest, customer," "Shinto shrine, palace" "house, family, performer" that you learned in this lesson.
You'll always find this radical in the top-position.
And it's written with three strokes, starting with a short, vertical stroke, a short vertical stroke to the left, and a long, horizontal stroke what ends with a short downwards tip.
In the next lesson, you'll learn about another common radical used in some of the most common and basic kanji characters, the "plant" radical.
See you in the next lesson. Bye!
Bye~!

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