# Let's decipher stylized kanji! **URL:** \ **Category:** Kanji\ **Created:** [March 16, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647 "2019-03-16T17:40:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sezme](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/sezme/32/223482_2.png) [@Sezme](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Sezme)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/1 "2019-03-16T17:40:00Z")
I hope this isn’t too similar to other topics, but what I was thinking for this thread, is that people post screenshots or photos of Japanese writing (signs, packaging, etc.) that use non-standard fonts or calligraphy/handwriting. My thinking is that native Japanese people are able to read these easily, but we poor Japanese learners are often not. So post a picture and your best attempt at deciphering it. Or if you can’t decipher it, others can try. Could be fun? Anyway, here’s my first entry: ![17%20AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/e/9/e9eb358add05aafe4fb139c89007cff244596b63.png) my decoding: ひとりで見る夢ゆめは夢でしかなり。しかし誰だれかと共ともに見る夢は現げん実じつだ。 ---
**Author:** ![seanblue](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/seanblue/32/579844_2.png) [@seanblue](https://community.wanikani.com/u/seanblue)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/2 "2019-03-16T17:42:00Z")
Close. It’s ない, not なり. ---
**Author:** ![Sezme](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/sezme/32/223482_2.png) [@Sezme](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Sezme)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/3 "2019-03-16T17:43:55Z")
ああ最初から間違いました。But that does make more sense, now that you mention it. ---
**Author:** ![Kumirei](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/kumirei/32/480522_2.png) [@Kumirei](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Kumirei)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/4 "2019-03-16T18:03:49Z")
You can tell by the left stroke being longer than the right one ---
**Author:** ![plantron](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/plantron/32/783203_2.png) [@plantron](https://community.wanikani.com/u/plantron)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/5 "2019-03-16T18:40:18Z")
Okay, how about this one: ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/2/3/232949c9c35e0974815ad43fd5570733acd1e8d5.jpeg) The left bottle is relatively easy, I think. The right bottle’s bottom kanji looks like 楽. Perhaps the older variant 樂. The right bottle’s top kanji is a mystery. The closest I could find is 冩. ---
**Author:** ![CaoCao](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/caocao/32/260673_2.png) [@CaoCao](https://community.wanikani.com/u/CaoCao)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/6 "2019-03-16T18:55:29Z")
You got it right! [http://www.miyaizumi.co.jp/sake/](http://www.miyaizumi.co.jp/sake/) ---
**Author:** ![Sezme](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/sezme/32/223482_2.png) [@Sezme](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Sezme)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/7 "2019-03-16T18:57:40Z")
True. I’m terrible at telling right from left. It took me ages to be able to distinguish ち and さ. ---
**Author:** ![plantron](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/plantron/32/783203_2.png) [@plantron](https://community.wanikani.com/u/plantron)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/8 "2019-03-16T18:58:24Z")
> [@t3amkill3r](#): > > You got it right! [冩楽 | 商品概要 | 宮泉銘醸株式会社](http://www.miyaizumi.co.jp/sake/) Thanks! I still don’t see the similarity to 冩. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![CaoCao](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/caocao/32/260673_2.png) [@CaoCao](https://community.wanikani.com/u/CaoCao)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/9 "2019-03-16T19:04:03Z")
Seems like in calligraphy it’s written like this: [http://www.cidianwang.com/shufa/xie12876.htm](http://www.cidianwang.com/shufa/xie12876.htm) [http://hanwen360.com/s-xs/51A9.html](http://hanwen360.com/s-xs/51A9.html) ---
**Author:** ![plantron](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/plantron/32/783203_2.png) [@plantron](https://community.wanikani.com/u/plantron)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/10 "2019-03-16T19:15:20Z")
That’s a nifty website! ---
**Author:** ![Belthazar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/belthazar/32/4469_2.png) [@Belthazar](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Belthazar)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/11 "2019-03-16T22:39:55Z")
> [@Sezme](#): > > My thinking is that native Japanese people are able to read these easily, but we poor Japanese learners are often not. I assume that this requirement rules out goshuin calligraphy, then? 😛 Still, I run into examples of weird typography all the time, though rather typically, I can’t seem to find any now… ---
**Author:** ![Sezme](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/sezme/32/223482_2.png) [@Sezme](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Sezme)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 10:48pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/12 "2019-03-16T22:48:49Z")
(looks up _goshuin_–it’s the red seal below) Yeah, probably not. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/7/8/786703fc59c3bb19d55867a1e6d6b31ee44f7f7a.png) Also, we should probably stay away from historical texts like this: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/d/2/d220aef1b1016eba8b99e018b8180a6311f9cbd0.png) (That’s [George Washington](https://kottke.org/19/02/a-japanese-illustrated-history-of-the-united-states-from-1861) in the hat). ---
**Author:** ![riya](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/riya/32/368822_2.png) [@riya](https://community.wanikani.com/u/riya)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/13 "2019-03-16T23:05:18Z")
This is the one that immediately came to mind for me from a mobile game I play. ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/a/c/ac9a4992688eb3a78866c6f83da9612c68aa91f3.jpeg) I had no idea what it meant at first but apparently it spells out 4 kanji: 新春捜査 ---
**Author:** ![Belthazar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/belthazar/32/4469_2.png) [@Belthazar](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Belthazar)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/14 "2019-03-16T23:10:56Z")
No, I don’t believe for one second that that’s supposed to be easily readable. I mean, I can see in hindsight what’s going on here, but… no. ---
**Author:** ![riya](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/riya/32/368822_2.png) [@riya](https://community.wanikani.com/u/riya)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 11:12pm UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/15 "2019-03-16T23:12:39Z")
I honestly thought it was written in Webdings at first. Some more readable ones that are in stylized fonts but not too bad to distinguish: ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/a/0/a05430e0ae68cbfc4f2b7626f8395c97f71f20c6.jpeg) 幸せ初めの新年会 ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/0/a/0a47a767ba08cdfb54b01d0e4e61c12dc6d0ed74.jpeg) The middle section here is stylized katakana that reads ショコラ I find it throws my brain for a real loop whenever shapes that are typically angular are made round. ---
**Author:** ![QuackingShoe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/quackingshoe/32/210166_2.png) [@QuackingShoe](https://community.wanikani.com/u/QuackingShoe)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 12:28am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/16 "2019-03-17T00:28:43Z")
I reject everything about round katakana! ---
**Author:** ![NathaLire](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/nathalire/32/287662_2.png) [@NathaLire](https://community.wanikani.com/u/NathaLire)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 12:47am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/17 "2019-03-17T00:47:44Z")
> [@Sezme](#): > > My thinking is that native Japanese people are able to read these easily, but we poor Japanese learners are often not This is such a sad, frustrating fact lol ---
**Author:** ![Oyashiro](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/oyashiro/32/202573_2.png) [@Oyashiro](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Oyashiro)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/18 "2019-03-17T01:18:44Z")
this thread is so laughably beyond my skill level. i should make a note to myself to check back in a year. or two years. ---
**Author:** ![AnimeCanuck](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/animecanuck/32/576730_2.png) [@AnimeCanuck](https://community.wanikani.com/u/AnimeCanuck)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 1:19am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/19 "2019-03-17T01:19:23Z")
WOW, that round one is really weird! The loopy one… I can recognize the last two… but round katakana? No… Just no. Are these all from the same game? ---
**Author:** ![riya](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/riya/32/368822_2.png) [@riya](https://community.wanikani.com/u/riya)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 2:03am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647/20 "2019-03-17T02:03:00Z")
They are all from the same game yeah. I feel like I’ve definitely seen some of these elements in other fonts outside of this game but it’s the immediate example that comes to mind to me. Most of the fonts tend to be easily readable but sometimes… Out of curiosity I started scrolling through events from previous years and: ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/b/b/bb6c496c9c7ed3bd7a98b3e812914aead48af34a.jpeg) What in the name of all that is holy, _why_?! It reads 今宵、アナタと謎解きを ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/8/f/8f849602305316d167ad9bd4acd1f8763e7c0cee.jpeg) I rather like this one though even though it’s not the easiest to read (the kanji in this aren’t all that common and I’m not sure how many WK covers so it might be a bit tricky but it’s: 浪漫絢爛) > [@QuackingShoe](#): > > I reject everything about round katakana! Angular shapes being made round. Round shapes being made angular. It’s an abomination. [Next page](https://community.wanikani.com/t/lets-decipher-stylized-kanji/35647.md?page=2)