The Japanese language is fascinating to me and something I will be studying for the rest of my life. Ask any student of Japanese what the most difficult thing about learning the language is and they will most likely say “kanji” aka the Chinese characters. Rumor has it you need to be able to read AT LEAST 2,000 kanji to be able to read the newspaper. YIKES.
This is a daunting thought and although I have the kanji reading capacity of a 5 year old child, I have not given up hope of one day amassing enough kanji knowledge to at least read a portion of the paper with some clarity HAHA.
In an attempt to help myself study and also do something creative, I made a few doodles using some simple and useful kanji….
*p.s…these were originally photos I took back in October in Japan and I used my very amateur knowledge of procreate and my apple pen to turn them into drawings :)
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“靴” “shoes” …this is a random word that I dont actually use that often but I liked the photo and memory so I decided to use it as inspo. Back in October, my friend Luise and I were standing waiting for an elevator in Shinjuku. She told me she likes to buy shoes 2 sizes too big for her petite frame. When asked why, she simply said, “i don’t know! I just like the style.”
”眠い” “sleepy” … Japanese people are notorious for being excellent train sleepers. I would see people full on knocked out on the trains and then magically, when we arrived at their station, pop up and run out the door. After about 2 years of living in Japan I slowly began to develop this habit myself and I think it has something to do with memorizing your train line…so as I was dozing off, I would subconsciously hear the announcement of the train line and know that my stop was 2 away…and then when my station came I could easily wake up and run out the door. A talent I am proud to have learned haha!
”乾杯” “cheers!”…”Kanpai” is quite possibly one of the most universal words in the Japanese language, probably for its appearance in almost every Japanese tv show or movie as exhausted salarymen clink their glasses of beer together over a plate of sizzling fried chicken. This is quintessential Japan and a unifying word for all people.
“お疲れ” “….” …”otskare” has no real accurate translation in English, which is why I think it is one of the most important words in Japanese. In has the ability to encompass a WHOLE LOT and can make any foreigner immediately seems a lot less, foreign. I said it every day in Japan and heard it in almost every conversation, especially after a long day at work. I guess it can best be translated to…nope, I cant event do it if I try. Hang around Japanese people long enough and you will surely understand its context!