Table of Contents
Preface: Falling in Love with Kanji 9
#1 Thematic Explorations: Words You've Heard 14
#2 Thematic Explorations: Place Names of Note 15
#3 Spectacular Shapes: Busy Bodies / Real Lookers 15
#4 Game: What Do You Get? 16
#5 Thematic Explorations: Words of Import / Tongue Twister / Warning! Kanji Essential to Health! 17
#6 Thematic Explorations: What's in That Udon?! 18
#7 Thematic Explorations: Bloopers 19
#8 Thematic Explorations: Atari and Other Brand Names 20
Introduction: What Are All Those Squiggles? 21
#9 Just the Facts: Drawing 101 24
#10 Just the Facts: Stroke Order 25
#11 Just the Facts: Kanji As One of Several Scripts 26
#12 Just the Facts: What Else "Kanji" Can Be 27
#13 Just the Facts: How Many Kanji Does It Take? 28
#14 Just the Facts: Pictograms and Ideograms 29
#15 Just the Facts: One Kanji or Two? 30
#16 Just the Facts: The Japanese Syllables 31
#17 Just the Facts: How to Pronounce Japanese Words 34
Chapter 1 Kanji in All Their Glorious Variability 35
#18 Just the Facts: Okurigana 39
#19 Game: Kun or On? 42
#20 Just the Facts: The Empty Sky and Other Variable Meanings / Game: One Kanji, So Many Yomi 43
#21 Just the Facts: Shape Shifters 46
#22 Just the Facts: Kana from Kanji 48
Chapter 2 The Architecture of a Character 51
#23 Thematic Explorations: Kanji of a Feather Flock Together 53
#24 Just the Facts: A Radical Concept / Game: Radicals 54
#25 Thematic Explorations: The Hill and the Village 56
#26 Just the Facts: The On-Echo 57
#27 Just the Facts: Easily Confused Kanji 61
#28 Game: Which Is Which? 64
#29 Thematic Explorations: Strategies for Conquering Look-Alikes 65
#30 Just the Facts: Classification of Characters 68
#31 Thematic Explorations: Elegant Etymology 70
#32 Thematic Explorations: Charmingly Illogical Characters 72
#33 Thematic Explorations: Just Add Water 74
#34 Game: The Missing Link 75
#35 Game: Create a Kanji 76
Chapter 3 Compounding the Pleasure 77
#36 Just the Facts: Doesn't Sound the Way It's Spelled 80
#37 Compound Interest: Cool Compounds 84
#38 Compound Interest: Crazy Compounds 85
#39 Just the Facts: Combinational Exceptions 86
#40 Just the Facts: Wago, Kongo, and Kokugo 88
#41 Just the Facts: Multiple Readings of Certain Compounds 90
#42 Just the Facts: Helping Hands 92
#43 Just the Facts: How Kanji Modify Each Other in Compounds 96
#44 Game: Will the Real Compound Please Stand Up? 98
#45 Thematic Explorations: Homonyms and Near Homonyms / Game: Homonym Match-Up 100
#46 Thematic Explorations: Syllabic Similarity 103
#47 Thematic Explorations: Look-Alikes in Compounds 106
#48 Compound Interest: Wonderful Words 107
Chapter 4 What Kanji Say About Japan 109
#49 Spectacular Shapes: Gates, Birds, and Thread 111
#50 Thematic Explorations: Metals 114
#51 Game: What's the Meaning of This?! 116
#52 Just the Facts: Country Kanji / Game: International Intrigue 117
#53 Thematic Explorations: You Can Say That Again! 120
#54 Thematic Explorations: Double Meanings 122
#55 Thematic Explorations: Hyperbolic Humility 127
#56 Thematic Explorations: Shades of Meaning 130
Chapter 5 Japanese Feelings About Kanji 133
#57 Just the Facts: Typefaces 138
#58 Just the Facts: Kanji Ablaze 140
#59 Game: Weekday Sodoku 141
#60 Just the Facts: Kanji Meditation 142
#61 Thematic Explorations: Calligraphy and Clarity of Mind 143
#62 Thematic Explorations: The Way of Culture and the Arts 144
#63 Just the Facts: Kanji Sound Effects in Manga 147
#64 Spectacular Shapes: Kanji Sandwiches 148
#65 Game: Kanji Word Find 149
#66 Just the Facts: Genkoyoshi 150
#67 Just the Facts: Don't Use These Kanji! 152
#68 Just the Facts: Typing Kanji 153
Chapter 6 Doubles Happiness 155
#69 Just the Facts: Mind the Gap 161
#70 Just the Facts: A Crash Course in Chinese Terminology 162
#71 Thematic Explorations: Chinese Words You've Heard 164
#72 Just the Facts: The Tones of Hanzi 166
#73 Game: On-Yomi Tongue Twister 168
#74 Just the Facts: Phonetic Markers Used in Taiwan 169
#75 Just the Facts: Hanja in Korea 170
#76 Just the Facts: Kanji Compounds That China Imported from Japan 173
#77 Just the Facts: Representing Grammar with Hanzi 174
#78 Thematic Explorations: Animal Signs in the Zodiac 175
#79 Just the Facts: Signs for the Traveler 176
#80 Spectacular Shapes: Double Happiness 178
Chapter 7 Ten Tips for Studying Kanji 179
#81 Thematic Explorations: Inadvertently Appropriate Kanji 185
#82 Just the Facts: Flash Card Layout 186
#83 Just the Facts: Sample Landmark Cards 188
#84 Just the Facts: Landmark Categories 190
#85 Thematic Explorations: Parallel Features 193
#86 Spectacular Shapes: Swooping and Cradling Characters 194
#87 Thematic Explorations: Take Care 195
#88 Just the Facts: Kanji Dictionaries 196
#89 Just the Facts: Kanji Wood 199
#90 Game: Kanji Crossword 200
Answer Key 203
Glossary 208
Works Cited 210
