Hello all,
I’m really interested in getting into Kanji and I was wondering if there were any books out there that really focus on how the onyomi and kunyomi were derived. (Not really sure if kunyomi is derived though) I’m talking about how kanji like 日 means day in onyomi cause the symbol is supposed to resemble the sun. Things like that but also with kunyomi explanations
Any ideas? Thanks.
2 comments
Delving into kanji etymology can be very interesting, but that’s a different field of study to actually learning Japanese, so only spend time on it if becoming knowledgable in etymology is your goal. If you want to learn to read and write Japanese, a book for Japanese learners like Remembering the Kanji 1 will be much more helpful.
I guess you’re looking for something like [Etymology of Japanese Kanji](https://www.amazon.co.jp/Etymology-Japanese-Kanji-Depth-Characters/dp/1312494220)?
I bought the book “The Key to Kanji” by Noriko Williams because I love her blog, but after reading it, I think the blog is just better because she gives so much more information for each kanji. She’s done a lot of hard work studying them, both in person (Chinese museums and their artifacts of ancient writing) and via studying the opinions of others. If you don’t mind using a blog format instead of a book, her blog “Kanji Portraits” is free to use and has a search function (that takes a little getting used to, admittedly, as a few kanji need to be dug for). I copies links to my flashcards as I made my way through new kanji.
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