1. How Reading the Characters for "Popularity" Changes Their Meaning
The word for "popularity" or "presence" uses the characters for "person" and "spirit" or "air." If read as ninki, it refers to reputation or being liked by the public. If read as hitoke, it refers to the presence or sign of people. So, "no ninki" means unpopular, while "no hitoke" means deserted. [1] [2]
The term "great popularity" follows a similar pattern. Read as daininki, it means extremely popular. However, if read as otonage, it refers to adult-like prudence or good sense. This reading is often used in the negative form, such as "lacking adult sense" (otonagenai). [3]
Try saying "a station with no popularity" out loud in both ways. The meaning depends entirely on the context of the surrounding sentence. [2]
2. How the Characters for "Skilled" and "Unskilled" Have Three Readings
The characters for "upper hand" or "skill" have three distinct readings. Read as jouzu, it means being skillful or doing something well. Read as uwate, it refers to a higher position, or having superior skill or knowledge compared to someone else. Read as kamite, it refers to the upper seat, the upstream part of a river, or the right side of a stage from the audience’s perspective. [4]
The opposite characters for "lower hand" also have three readings. Heta means being unskilled. Shitate refers to a lower position, lower status, or a humble attitude. Shimote refers to the lower seat, the downstream part of a river, or the left side of a stage from the audience’s perspective. [5]
The phrase "uwate ni deru" uses the reading uwate, while "shitate ni deru" uses the reading shitate. [4] [5]
3. How Reading Changes the Meaning of "One Day," "Living Thing," "Market," and "Windmill"
The characters for "one day" change meaning with reading. Ichinichi means 24 hours or the whole day. Tsuitachi means the first day of the month. Other readings like hitohi and ichijitsu also exist in dictionaries. [6]
The word for "living thing" or "raw food" is another example. Read as seibutsu, it is the general term for animals and plants. Read as namamono, it refers to food that is not heated or dried, especially fish. It can also be read as ikimono, which simply means a living creature. [7]
"Market" has two main readings. Ichiba refers to the physical place where goods are bought and sold. Shijou refers to the abstract concept of trading, including the system and scope of buying and selling. For example, a "fish market" is uo-ichiba, while the "domestic market" is kokunai-shijou. [8]
"Windmill" can be read as kazaguruma or fuusha. Dictionaries explain that both refer to a wheel with blades that turn in the wind. However, kazaguruma is usually described as a toy for children, while fuusha is described as a device used to obtain power. [9]
4. Why Do the Same Characters Have Multiple Readings in Japanese?
Kanji originated in China. In Japan, two main types of readings developed: on-yomi (sound reading), based on Chinese pronunciations, and kun-yomi (meaning reading), which assigns Japanese words to the Chinese characters. [10]
Even within sound readings, there are layers. The earliest layer is called Go-on. Later, pronunciations from the capitals of the Sui and Tang dynasties were introduced as Kan-on. Even later, Tou-on arrived. For example, the character for "man" is read as Nan in Go-on and Dan in Kan-on. The character for "bright" is Myou in Go-on, Mei in Kan-on, and Min in Tou-on. [11]
In the word "popularity," the reading hitoke uses the kun-yomi for "person," while ninki uses the on-yomi. Because the types of readings are different, they have been used as separate words with distinct meanings over time. [10]
5. How Can You Choose the Right Reading for Japanese Characters?
A clue for choosing the right reading is the context of the sentence. If you see "popular person" or "gaining popularity," it is likely ninki. If you see "an alley with no people" or "cannot feel any presence," it is likely hitoke. However, the phrase "no popularity/presence" alone can still be read either way. [2]
Conversely, some words have multiple readings that do not change the meaning. The word for "Japan" can be read as Nihon or Nippon. Both are widely used. In 2009, the government stated in parliament that there was no need to unify them into one standard reading. [12]
When writing, you can avoid confusion by using hiragana (the phonetic alphabet) for ambiguous words. For example, writing "no presence" in hiragana makes it clear that you mean hitoke and not ninki.
6. How to Find and Practice These Words in Books and Newspapers
Look for words like "popularity," "skilled," "unskilled," "one day," "living thing," and "market" in books or newspapers at home. When you find them, try reading them out loud in different ways. Choose the reading that fits the surrounding sentence.
If you have a Japanese dictionary, look up the entry for "skilled" and count how many readings are listed. Different dictionaries might list them in a different order or explain them differently.
The examples in this article are just a few. There are many other words with multiple readings, such as "important," "sightseeing," and "human being." [1] [4] [6] [7] [8] [9]