How to Perform Research for this Dictionary:
As I only work on this dictionary in my spare time, progress has
been slow, and some people have requested the ability add entries so
that they can take ownership of their study process. I've finally
enabled the website to take user submissions. Here are instructions for
how to perform research for this dictionary from online sources.
Each entry will be visible to all other users upon submission, but
will have a note attached saying that they have not been reviewed.
(Until I review it.) Once I edit the character, it will be subject to
GeneticKanji's copyright, and the original submission deleted.
Pronunciations:
Pronunciation consists of one or more on-readings and a kun-readings.
- on-reading In JDic, the ON
pronunciations are given at the end of the entry in katakana. If you
don't yet know katakana, you can still do research for this dictionary
by referring to its entry in the Unihan Database.
- kun-reading In JDic, the kun pronunciation are given at
the end of the entry in ひらがな before the "T1" Okurigana are marked by a
period. For example: the kun pronunciation of 小 is given as ちい.さい thus
the GeneticKanji entry would be written as chii(sai) to indicate the
writing of 小さい. If you don't yet know hiragana well, look it up the
pronunciation in Unihan.
Meanings of the Kanji by Itself
Refer to both the Unihan Database and the JDic entry to get a sense of the core meanings of the character.
Etymology
In zhongwen.com or the setsumonkaiji 説文解字 by 許慎, look up the etymology.
- Phonological Parent. When describing kanji, Japanese refer to a tsukuri, which is most often the more complicated part of a kanji, if it can be broken down into two components. For example, the tsukuri of 体 would be 本. I refer to this as the phonological parent because it most often gives phonological information.
- Semantic Parent. Japanese refer to a bushu that suggests the meaning of a kanji. For example, the bushu (部首) of 体 is 人.
Examples
In JDic, click the "any:" radio button and the "common words only
(EDICT)" checkbox below the entry, and press the search button. Choose
a few examples that are common.
Offline Resources
English-language kanji dictionaries. I like the The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary
for its unique shape-based look-up system, its explanation of core
meanings, and its grouping of example usages by core meaning, and its
cross-referencing of kanji that share a pronunciation.
Japanese-language kanji dictionaries: The best one is
漢辞海 published by 三省堂.
It includes etymological explanations from the 説文解字, highlighted
entries for frequently used kanji, detailed usage notes, and common
variants of a kanji.