The short story of Kanji pictures
This kanji consists of two parts. At the top is the “autumn” character, which is made of “rice plant” and “fire,” representing the process of harvesting rice and drying it for storage. Below is the “heart” radical. Together, this kanji means to feel sorrow or grief as harvest ends and winter approaches.
This kanji has two parts. The top part is a big knife that is about to cut a thread. The bottom part is the radical for “heart.” Combined, it shows the nervous feeling of worrying that the thread will break at any moment. So, it means to feel afraid or scared.
This kanji consists of two parts. On the left is the “ear” radical, and on the right is the “heart” radical. Together, this kanji means “shame” or “shameful,” depicting the feeling of shame as your ears turn red.
This kanji consists of two components: the top part shows a spool keeping threads organized, while the bottom part is the “heart” radical. Together, it originally depicted guiding and disciplining one’s mind into order, like neatly winding thread. Over time, it came to mean “to restrain oneself,” “humility,” and eventually “taboo” or “avoidance.”
This kanji is made of two parts: a “cap” (or “now”) on top and a “heart” below, depicting a heart contained within oneself. It symbolizes keeping thoughts inside without speaking them aloud—essentially meaning “to hold in one’s mind” or “to visualize.”
This kanji consists of two parts: the ‘black’ radical on the left (representing a vessel filled with soot) and the ‘dog’ radical on the right. It depicts a dog staying quiet in the dark, and therefore came to mean ‘to be silent’ or ‘to keep quiet.’
This kanji consists of two parts. The top part is “SOUND,” which originally depicted a vessel producing a sound. Below it is “HEART.” Together, they express a word or thought inside one’s heart that hasn’t been spoken aloud. Therefore, this kanji means “consciousness,” “thought,” or “intention.”
This kanji has two parts. The top represents a torn flag, meaning ‘not’ or ‘non-‘. The bottom is the symbol for ‘heart’. So, this kanji means ‘sad’ because it shows a heart being torn apart.
The left part of this character symbolizes people gathering together, while the right depicts a person sitting with a spacious and generous heart. Therefore, this character represents the profound concept of ‘virtue’.
