Man, why does everyone say kanji are so difficult?

唉，為什麼每個人都說漢字超難啊？

This one looks pretty easy.

這看起來超簡單的啊。

So does this one.

這個也是。

And this one. It's not bad.

還有這個，這也不賴。

And how about the next one?

那下一個呢？

Oh my gosh. What the heck is that?

我的天，這三X？

[♪ Peppy music with saxophone and percussion ♪]

[音樂時間]

Hello everyone, welcome to the Langfocus Channel, and my name is Paul.

哈囉各位，歡迎來到 LangFocus 頻道， 我叫保羅 (Paul)。

Today, we're going to talk about the Japanese writing system.

今天我們要來談談日語的書寫系統。

Well, not the entire writing system.

呃，不是整個啦

Japanese is written with three different scripts:

日文被分作下列三種書寫形式：

hiragana, katakana, and kanji,

「平假名」(Hiragana)、「片假名」(Katakana)， 以及「漢字」(Kanji)。

which is the one that we want to focus on today.

而今天我們要討論的正是「漢字」。

Hiragana and katakana were developed in Japan,

平假名和片假名是在日本發展出來的，

but kanji are actually Chinese characters that were adapted to fit the Japanese language.

但日本的漢字事實上是被套入日語的中國文字。

Kanji are logograms.

漢字是表語文字。

A logogram is a character that represents a word or a meaningful part of a word.

「表語文字」是指一個完整的「字」 可以代表一個「詞」或一部份的「詞」。

Kanji are not characters that you read phonetically,

日本漢字並不是表音的文字，

but rather each kanji represents a distinct idea rather than a sound.

每個漢字都代表著一個特定的概念，而非一個音。

For example, this kanji on its own represents the concept of a mountain,

例如說，這個漢字代表「山」的概念。

but just from looking at it, there's no way to know that it's pronounced as “yama.”

但光看這個字， 你沒辦法知道這個字念作 "yama"（音似：呀媽）。

You have to remember how the character is pronounced,

你必須記得這個字怎麼發音，

and when you see the character you associate it with the sound.

然後看到這個字你才聯想到它的發音。

But some kanji do also contain a phonetic element,

不過，有些漢字也包含一些發音元素，

which is something we'll look at later.

那個我們等等再來討論。

Japan initially came into contact with Chinese characters during diplomatic missions

日本一開始在「唐使節」時期以漢字作為 中國漢朝和日本大和王國之間的溝通工具。

between the Han dynasty and the Yamato state of Japan,

日本一開始在「唐使節」時期以漢字作為 中國漢朝和日本大和王國之間的溝通工具。

which eventually led to the Japanese adoption and adaptation of kanji.

漸漸地日本採用並調整漢字。

I talk more about this in my video on the Japanese language, which you can find right here.

我在這部影片裏面講得比較多，可以點進去看看。

If we include every kanji that has ever been used in Japanese, there are tens of thousands of them.

如果我們把每個日語用過的漢字全部納進來的話， 大概有好幾萬個字。

But of course, that includes many obscure or archaic kanji

但當然地，那就包含了很多艱澀或古老漢字，

that really aren't worth learning for the average person.

那些漢字對大部分人來說就沒那麼值得學了。

In 1946, the Japanese government aimed to simplify orthography

1946年，日本政府決定簡化正寫字體，

by limiting the number of kanji to a smaller list of 1,850 kanji,

將漢字的數量降到比較小的1850個字，

known as the Tōyō kanji, or “common use” kanji.

這些又被稱為「當用漢字」或「通用的漢字」。

That list has since been updated to include 2,136 basic kanji,

這個名單至今以更新到了2136個基本漢字，

which are referred to as the Jōyō kanji, or “regular use” kanji.

這名單就被稱為「常用漢字」。

This list determines what kanji students are expected to learn at school

這個名單決定了在學校裡的學生該學那些漢字，

and what kanji are used in official government documents.

同時也是政府公部門文件所使用的漢字。

With this part of the reform,

這波改良裡面，

the Japanese government also simplified some of the more complex kanji,

日本政府也簡化了一些比較複雜的漢字，

so that they could be read more easily.

讓那些字讀起來更容易。

These kanji are called “shinjitai,” which literally means “new character forms.”

這些漢字被稱作「新字體」， 字面意思就是指「新的字體」。

For example, this kanji, meaning “iron.”

舉例來說，這個漢字，意思是「鐵」。

The component on the right was simplified.

右邊的部件被簡化了。

And this kanji, meaning “wide.”

而這個漢字，意思是「廣」。

Its inner component was simplified, like this.

內部的部件被簡化成這樣。

You might be aware that such a simplification also occurred

你或許會發現到這樣的簡化同樣發生在 中國的調整的簡體中文上，

in the adoption of Simplified Chinese writing in China,

你或許會發現到這樣的簡化同樣發生在 中國的調整的簡體中文上，

but shinjitai were much more limited in scope

但是日本的「新字體」簡化的範圍比較小一些，

and these changes only affected a limited number of characters in Japanese.

而這些改變也只影響了有限的漢字數量。

Types of Kanji

漢字的種類

Kanji can be divided into several categories of “moji,” or

漢字基於字的組成方式 又可被分為一些「文字」的種類，

“characters,” based on how each character is formed.

漢字基於字的組成方式 又可被分為一些「文字」的種類，

For example, there are Shōkei moji.

例如說，有「象形文字」。

This refers to pictograph kanji,

即是指「象形漢字」。

such as this one, for “mountain,”

例如這個代表「山」，

or this one, for “tree.”

而這個代表「樹木」。

These ones look something like the objects that they represent.

這種字看起來就像他們所代表的東西。

Shiji moji and Kaii moji are ideographs,

「指事文字」和「會意文字」則是表意文字。

characters that represent ideas rather than visually representing an object.

這種字代表著概念和想法，而非視覺上的表示物品。

For example, this kanji, meaning “up,”

例如，這個漢字代表「上」，

and this one, meaning “rest.”

而這個，代表「休息」。

The difference between these two types of ideographs

兩種文字之間同在於

is that Shiji moji are rather simple,

指事文字相對比較簡單，

whereas Kaii moji are compound ideographs that use multiple components

而會意文字則是用多個部件組合 創造一個全新意思的表意合字，

that combine together to create an overall meaning,

而會意文字則是用多個部件組合 創造一個全新意思的表意合字，

with each of the components also existing as independent kanji.

而各個部件也是一個獨立的漢字。

The component on the left means “person”

左邊的部件代表「人」，

and the component on the right means “tree.”

而右邊的部件代表「樹木」。

A person leaning against the tree is “rest”ing.

一個人靠著樹木就是「休息」。

This is a good example of a Kaii moji.

這是一個會意文字的好範例。

Another example is this kanji.

另一個例子是這個漢字。

Let's see if we can figure out what this one means by looking at the components.

我們來看看我們能否憑著這些部件想出它的意思。

I see this character, which I know means “mountain,”

我看到這個字，我知道是「山」，

and I see this one, which means “up,”

然後我看到這個，意思是「上」，

and this one, which means “down.”

而這個，意思是「下」。

So I'm going to guess that this kanji has something to do with traveling up or down a mountain,

所以我猜，這個漢字跟上下山有些關係，

like, maybe it's “hiking”?

像是......「爬山」嗎？

Now if we look at the actual meaning of this kanji,

我們現在如果找出這個漢字的真正意思的話，

we'll see that it means “a path through the mountains,” or a “mountain pass.”

我們會看到它的意思是「山道」或是「山間的路」。

So I'd say that's pretty close.

嘛，猜得還不算太遠。

This type of kanji, that kind of tells a story, is a Kaii moji,

這種敘事的漢字就是「會意文字」，

but only a small number of kanji tell a comprehensible story like that.

但只有小部分的漢字能敘述像這樣能夠理解的故事。

By far, the largest grouping of kanji is Keisei moji.

至今最大的漢字類別是「形聲文字」。

These are kanji that combine semantic and phonetic elements to make up a new character.

這些漢字是由語意和聲音元素組成出新的字。

The phonetic element is derived from the Chinese pronunciation of the kanji, the on-yomi,

聲音元素是從中國的發音衍生出來的漢字， 即「音讀」(on-yomi)。

which we'll talk about later.

這個我們待會再講。

A good example of Keisei moji is “shi” which means “poem.”

形聲文字的一個好範例是「詩」，意思是「詩」。

If we look at the left side of the kanji, we see this component,

若我們看到這個字的左邊，會看到這個部件，

which is most often used in characters that have something to do with language or speaking,

這個部件是最常出現在有關語言說話的字裡，

such as this one, meaning “language,”

例如這個，意思是「語言」，

and this one, meaning “speaking.”

而這個，則表示「說話」。

If we look at the component on the right side of this kanji,

再來如果看到這個漢字的右邊部件，

we see the kanji for “temple.”

我們會看到這個字是寺廟的「寺」。

This doesn't indicate any semantic connection to temples,

這並不表示任何跟寺廟有關的意思。

but rather it serves as an indicator of how to pronounce this kanji.

而是做為一個「這個漢字怎麼發音」的表示物。

The Chinese pronunciation of this kanji for temple is “shi” or “ji,”

這個漢字在中國的讀音（唐音）裡是「shi」或「ji」，

and when you see it as a component within another kanji,

而當你在其他的漢字裡看到這個部件的時候，

it indicates that that kanji is pronounced as “shi” or “ji.”

它就表示了那個漢字要讀作「shi」或「ji」。

Radicals

部首

In the characters we looked at in the previous example of Keisei moji,

我們在上個單元中形聲文字的範例，

the component on the left is the radical.

左邊的部件就是「部首」(Radical)。

A radical is the main component of a kanji

「部首」是一個漢字的主要部件，

that generally provides a clue about its root meaning.

它一般來說提供這個字的根本意義的提示。

Some people use the term “radical” to refer to any component of a kanji,

有些人用「部首」這個詞 來表示任何一個漢字裡的部件，

like both of these,

像是這兩個，

but to be precise, only this element is the radical,

但準確來說，只有這個元素是部首，

though both can be referred to as “components.”

即使兩個都可以當作「部件」。

Every kanji contains one radical.

每個漢字都含有一個部首。

Some radicals also exist as independent kanji,

有些部首也做為一個獨立的漢字存在，

such as this one, meaning “gold” or “money.”

像是這個，意思是「黃金」或「錢」。

It appears as a radical with the root meaning of “metal.”

作為部首時，它成為有關「金屬」的根本意思。

Here we can see it in this kanji, meaning “iron,”

這裡我們看到這個漢字，意思是「鐵」，

and in this one, meaning “copper.”

而這個，意思是「銅」。

Other radicals only exist as an inseparable component of a kanji — like this one,

其他的部首只當作漢字當中一個無法分割的存在。 像是這個，

which shows that the kanji has a meaning related to “movement,” like in this kanji meaning “road,”

這個漢字有相關於「動作」的意思， 像是這個漢字代表「路」。

and this one meaning “pass” or “communicate.”

而這個的意思則是「通過」或「通訊」。

As for phonetic components, they don't appear in all kanji,

而音素部件，它們並非在所有漢字中出現，

but they appear in many of them, and can be very useful in pronouncing kanji.

但很部分它們都會出現， 在漢字發音上能夠很有用。

One example is this one, which we saw before in the kanji for copper.

舉一個例子，在我們不久前看到的「銅」裡有這個字。

This kanji on its own is pronounced “dō”

這個漢字本身的發音是「dō」

and when you see it as a component in another kanji,

而當你在其他漢字裡看到它做為一個部件時，

it indicates that the pronunciation is “dō” or “tō.”

就指示了發音是「dō」或「tō」。

As you can see, these kanji here have nothing to do with each other semantically,

如你所見，這些漢字彼此間沒有什麼語意的關聯，

and the radicals are different.

而且部首都不同。

They're only related in pronunciation.

它們只和發音有關係。

Another quick example is this kanji, meaning “opposition.”

另一個快速的例子是這個漢字， 意思是「反方」。

It's pronounced “han.”

發音是「han」。

Now look at this kanji, meaning “cooked rice” or “meal.”

現在看到這個漢字，意思是「熟飯」或是「一餐」。

It's also pronounced “han” based on that phonetic element,

基於那個語音元素它也讀作「han」，

and so is this one, meaning “sales,”

而這個也是，意思是「販賣」，

and this one, meaning “printing” or “publishing.”

還有這個，意思是「印製」或「出版」。

They're all pronounced “han.”

它們都讀作「han」。

... Well, they're sometimes pronounced “han.”

...這個嘛，它們有時候讀作「han」。

Sometimes? What do you mean sometimes?

「有時候」？什麼叫「有時候」？

The phonetic elements of kanji are based on the Chinese reading of the kanji,

這些漢字的語音元素是基於這些漢字的中國讀音，

also known as the on-yomi reading.

又被稱為「音讀音」。

And “yomi” just means “reading,” by the way.

順帶一提，「yomi」（読み）的意思就是「讀」。

On-yomi and Kun-yomi

音讀 (On-yomi) 和訓讀 (Kun-yomi)

If you remember from my previous video on Japanese,

如果你記得我在之前介紹日語的影片，

there are two basic ways to pronounce kanji:

漢字有兩個基本的念法：

on-yomi, Chinese-derived readings, and kun-yomi, native Japanese readings.

「音讀」，源於中國音的讀音； 而「訓讀」，是日本本身的讀音。

For example, this character has a native kun-reading of “kata,”

例如，這個字在本地的訓讀念作「kata」，

while also having the on-reading “hen.”

同時有音讀「hen」。

When used in this word, “hahen,” meaning a “broken piece,”

當在這個詞「hahen」（意思是「碎片」）用到的時候，

the on-yomi is used.

用的是音讀音。

When used in this word “katamichi,” meaning “each way,”

當在這個詞「katamichi」 （意思是「各路」）用到的時候，

the native kun-yomi is used.

用的是訓讀音。

The real complexity comes with the kanji that have multiple on-readings and multiple kun-readings,

真正複雜的在於當一個漢字擁有多個音讀音和多個訓讀音的時候，

requiring you to choose the correct reading based on the context.

讓你必須依照內容去選擇正確的讀音。

One example is this kanji meaning “life” or “birth.”

這樣的一個例子是這個漢字， 意思是「生命」或「出生」。

It has two on-yomi readings, “sei” and “shō,”

它有兩個音讀音：「sei」以及「shō」，

so we have this word, “jinsei,” meaning “human life,”

我們來看到「jinsei」這個詞， 意思是「人生」，

and this word, “chikushō,” which means “beast” or “damn it.”

而這個詞「chikushō」， 意思是「畜生」或「該死」。

And it also has numerous kun-yomi readings.

而它也有好幾個訓讀音。

Here are some examples.

以下是一些例子。

There's “ikiru,” meaning “to live.”

「ikiru」，意思是「生存」。

There's “umu,” meaning “to give birth.”

「umu」，意思是「生產（小孩）」。

There's “ou,” meaning “to grow” (archaic.)

「ou」，意思是「生長」（古語）。

There's “haeru,” meaning “to grow” or “spring up.”

「haeru」，意思是「生長」或「出現」。

There's “ki” meaning “pure” or “raw,”

「ki」意思是「純潔」或「生的」。

and there's “nama” meaning “raw” or “uncooked.”

還有「nama」，意思是「生的」或是「沒被煮過的」。

As you can see, it's not always a simple matter of one kanji being equivalent to one word.

如你所見，一個漢字所表示的並不是只有單單一個單詞般簡單。

The kanji is used to represent the core meaning of the word,

漢字用於表示單詞的核心含義，

but when we use them for native Japanese verbs and adjectives, a string of hiragana is attached to the end,

但若是用在日本語本土的動詞和形容詞上的話，

to represent the inflection of the word.

就會在後面加上一些平假名， (以及副詞)

For example, let's look at the adjective for “cold” — “samui.”

來代表這個詞的詞性變化

As you can see, there's a kanji, and the additional hiragana, “i.”

例如，來看看這個形容詞，代表「冷」──「寒い」(samui)

The kanji carries the core meaning of the word, while the inflection, shown in hiragana,

如你所見，這裡有個漢字，以及一個附加的平假名──「い」(i)

shows us that this word is in the non-past positive form for an i-type adjective.

這個漢字代表著這個詞的核心意義，而平假名則代表它的詞性變化，

So we read this as “samui,” but when we inflect this word in the negative it becomes “samukunai,”

向我們表示這個詞是「い」形容詞(以い結尾的) 的非過去式原形。

where “-kunai” replaces “-i” to indicate the non past negative form.

所以我們念「寒い」(samui)，但當我們要用這個詞表達否定時，將會變成「寒くない」(samukunai)

When we look at this word, we know to read it as “samukunai,”

這個「くない」(kunai)會取代「い」(i)來表示非否定的否定形式。

with the first two syllables represented by the kanji,

當我們看到這個字，我們會知道要念作"samukunai"

and the others placed after it to show inflection.

其中漢字代表前兩個音節，

Kanji also work this way with verbs,

而其他在漢字後面加上的字則是會了表示它的詞態變化

where the kanji will represent the core meaning of the verb, and the hiragana represent the verb's conjugation.

漢字也會在動詞上有同樣的變形方式，

Why bother using kanji if part of the writing is in hiragana anyway?

漢字將代表動詞的核心含義，而平假名則代表動詞的 動詞變化/變位(conjugation)。

Even though kanji take a lot of effort to learn, they actually make the entire language easier to read.

為什麼都使用平假名了，卻還是要使用漢字？

Let's take a look at an example sentence,

儘管漢字需要花費更多的心力來學習,但它卻讓整個句子更好讀。

first written without kanji and next, written with kanji.

讓我們來看看這個例句，

The sentence means: “I eat Japanese food.” “Boku wa washoku o tabemasu.”

第一行是沒有寫漢字，而第二行則是加入漢字替代

Because Japanese is written without spaces,

這個句子表示「我吃和食。」

without the kanji the words all blend together.

「僕 (ぼく) は和食（わしょく）お食（た）べます。」

And it's sometimes difficult to quickly see where one word ends and where the next word begins,

因為日文沒有像西方語言的每個詞之間有空格的習慣，

or it's difficult to see what part of speech, or where it is.

所以沒有漢字的話，每個字都會連在一起。

Kanji are not really read, but just recognized like symbols, so they allow you

這會導致有時你看太快會很難確定哪裡是單字的開頭、結尾還有下個單字的開頭。

to quickly skim a sentence for meaning.

或者很難看到哪個詞性的位置，或它在哪裡。

But while kanji make Japanese easier to read once you know them,

漢字並不是真的那來讀的，而是像個符號。

they make Japanese much harder to write by hand.

它們拿來讓你可以快速瞭解它的意思。

As you can see, some kanji consist of lots of different lines or “strokes.”

但當你瞭解漢字，並因它日文更容易讀時，

For example, this kanji, meaning “machine” or “opportunity,” has 16 strokes.

它們也會讓日文更難以書寫。

This one, meaning “appraise,” has 23 strokes.

如你所見，漢字是由許多不同的線條或「筆劃」組成。

If we dig back into some historical kanji that are not part of the current Jōyō kanji,

例如這個漢字，代表著「機器」或「機會」，它有16個筆劃。

some of them have quite a high number of strokes.

而這個則代表「鑑定」，有23個筆劃。

This kanji, meaning “rough” or “crude,” has 33 strokes.

如果我們更深入研究到歷史漢字，即是不是屬於現在「常用漢字」裡的古代漢字，

You can see that this one is actually created through reduplication of the same component three times.

它們之中有些擁有許多的筆劃。

That component is the kanji meaning “deer.”

比如這個漢字，代表「粗」(中文同音)或「粗糙」，共有33個筆劃。

Here's another kanji meaning “dragons on the move,”

你可以看到這一個漢字實際上是重複三個同樣的字來創造的。

which has 48 strokes and consists of the kanji for “dragon” reduplicated three times as components.

這個重複的字在漢字中代表「鹿」。

And this kanji features the same component four times for a total of 64 strokes.

這裡是另外一個漢字，代表著龍在飛舞。

It means “verbose.”

共擁有48劃，是由三個代表「龍」的漢字重複組成而成的。

The biggest freak show of a kanji is

然後這個漢字則是由四個「龍」所組成的，共64劃。

this one, with 84 strokes.

意思為「囉嗦」。

It features this kanji as a component,

而擁有最多筆劃的漢字是這個，

which is itself a reduplication of the kanji for “cloud,”

共擁有84劃。

and it also features the “dragons on the move” kanji as a component.

而這漢字的其中一個組成部分，

I don't think the origins or usage of this kanji are very clear, but it may have been used in personal names.

則是重複意思為「雲」的漢字，

These high stroke kanji are very rare.

另一部份則是和「龘」，代表「龍在飛舞」的漢字一樣。