At level 5

WaniKani
1

so at level 5 do you guys understand the whole on yomi and kun yomi yet? cause I usually remember both meanings but do not know what they are asking for or even if i remember specifically whats the kun or on lol usually im guessing which one they are asking for and if its the wrong one it can really be a set back.

1 Like
2

A general rule that applies to most, but not all words (vocab/purple background):
Compound of multiple kanji = On’yomi
Single kanji, or kanji with kana = Kun’yomi

If you mean for the individual kanji (pink background), they generally want the most common reading. This can be either kun’yomi or on’yomi, depending on kanji in question.

2 Likes
3

I remember reading this at level five (which wasn’t so long ago).

1 Like
4

Thanks I remember I checked before that but the older guide was not so helpful for me so I hope this one I will understand better

1 Like
5

I shall commit this to memory

2 Likes
6

Yeah, @bladepoint pretty much summed it up. :ok_hand:

7

On a side note, does anyone have some kind of mnemonic to remember which one is Chinese and which one is Japanese ? I always mix up the two


8

China is ON the mainland?

2 Likes
9

And on top of what blade said, japanese people always say Makoto-kun and what not.

1 Like
10

I’ve been remembering on’yomi as the Original Name.

2 Likes
11

I’ve never cared about it. Since I started learning kanji I was taught about the different readings, but I just rather learn them all and learn words, after a while it starts getting intuitive which reading to use.
I just feel like it gives me another thing to think about that I don’t need.

Also, the first time I heard ‘on reading’ I thought it was ‘old reading’, so given that the Chinese was the original reading, I make the connection. And then the other one is the Japanese. :laughing:

1 Like
12

Knowing that is clearly far from mandatory, but I want to. It makes things clearer for me and its always nice to know that.

13

That’s Honshuu, right?

14

It’s no mnemonic, but the distinction is within the kanji.

音èȘ­ăż are based on the SOUNDS of the Chinese characters (音 meaning sound).
èš“èȘ­ăż are based on the MEANING of the word from Japanese (èš“ loosely meaning explanation).

Because the Japanese already had a language before they adopted kanji, they simply attached their words to the kanji that had the same meaning. With the kanji, they also took the sounds. Of course, because Chinese and Japanese have different used sounds, the readings were altered to more Japanese-like pronunciation.

So 音èȘ­ăż (sound readings) are the Chinese readings because they sound like they used to in Chinese, while èš“èȘ­ăż (meaning readings) are usually the standalone and okurigana readings because they represent the Japanese words themselves (rather than units of meaning combined) or function alongside hiragana.

2 Likes
15

There’s a script called “WK Custom Review Question (KunOn+)” that I use. It appends to the text in the review which reading WK wants from you. I think that’s very important. Trying to remember what reading WK originally wanted from you is wasteful, especially when the item is in Master and above, when you’ve already probably forgot about the mnemonic.

2 Likes
16

This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.