rtk keyword definitions

Still loading...

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J
1		This spreadsheet is intended to help non-native English speakers who are having problems with some of the keywords in James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji". Could Native English speakers help by filling in column "E" (Meaning of keyword (as used in RTK!)). Thank you.
2					Native English Speakers who use(d) RTK, please fill in this column	mark urgent requests here	If you're still not sure (non-native English)	Reply to the previous column	Any other questions/ Comments?	Reply to Any other questions/ Comments?
3					*RTK = Remembering the kanji
4		Kanji	RTK	RTK keyword	Meaning of keyword (as used in RTK!!)	Request	Question/ Comment	Reply to Question/ Comment	Other Question/ Comment	Reply to Other Question/Comment

5		一	1	one
6		二	2	two
7		三	3	three
8		四	4	four
9		五	5	five
10		六	6	six
11		七	7	seven
12		八	8	eight
13		九	9	nine
14		十	10	ten
15		口	11	mouth
16		日	12	day
17		月	13	month
18		田	14	rice field
19		目	15	eye
20		古	16	old	aged
21		吾	17	I	myself
22		冒	18	risk	a danger, a chance something bad might happen
23		朋	19	companion	a friend or partner
24		明	20	bright
25	*	唱	21	chant	sing	To sing rather than to recite?
26		晶	22	sparkle	gleaming
27		品	23	goods
28		呂	24	spine	the long line of bones in the middle of your back
29	*	昌	25	prosperous	wealthy, getting plenty of money	Like wealthy man? Or prosperous company?
30		早	26	early
31		旭	27	rising sun
32		世	28	generation
33		胃	29	stomach
34	*	旦	30	nightbreak	daybreak, dawn	Heisig has already used daybreak @ 1201 (暁). I suppose there is no such a word like nightbreak...
35		胆	31	gallbladder	a small "bag" in the intestines that stores a liquid called "gall".		This is obvious. But I'd prefer it in more medical overtone: A pear-shaped organ ("bag") just below the liver that stores the bile (gall) secreted by the liver.
36		亘	32	span	join or go between two things (e.g. a bridge spans the two banks of a river)	This is tough one, because even Heisig used "the span of our lives" in the meaning of a period of time. So which is the basic meaning? Have Heisig taken the advantage and used a homonymous meaning?		The English word "span" can refer to both time and distance. The kanji is the same.
37		凹	33	concave	inward curve
38		凸	34	convex	outward curve (e.g. lens on a magnifying glass)
39		旧	35	olden times	the past, the old days
40		自	36	oneself
41		白	37	white
42		百	38	hundred
43		中	39	in
44		千	40	thousand
45	*	舌	41	tongue	toungue as in the body part	In mouth or language?
46		升	42	measuring box
47		昇	43	rise up	move in an upwards direction
48		丸	44	round
49		寸	45	measurement
50		専	46	specialty
51		博	47	Dr.	doctor	Dr. - a person who holds Ph.D. degree or Dr. - a licensed medical practitioner or both?		Both
52		占	48	fortune-telling	Saying (telling) to someone what the future holds for them. Can cover a wide array of methods, ie. palm reading, tarot, horoscopes, etc..
53		上	49	above	higher than
54		下	50	below	lower than
55	*	卓	51	eminent	famous and respected person	Like outstanding scientist or artist?
56		朝	52	morning
57		只	53	only
58	*	貝	54	shellfish	general shell fish	Crustaceans or bivalves? Or maybe seafood?
59		貞	55	upright	honest and honourable person
60		員	56	employee	worker at a company, etc (not an executive owner)
61		見	57	see
62		児	58	newborn babe	baby that has recently been born
63		元	59	beginning	start of something
64		頁	60	page	page of a book, etc
65		頑	61	stubborn	someone who is determined not to change (even when there is a good reason to change)
66		凡	62	mediocre	only average, not particularly good
67	*	負	63	defeat	none-- furigana adds meaning	Is it a noun, verb or adjective (the english keyword)? Like election defeat; to defeat or beat an enemy (overcome?); defeated army... Which one is the most suitable?
68		万	64	ten thousand
69		句	65	phrase	short group of words, expression
70	*	肌	66	texture	texture of surface	Is it a structure of sth or a texture of a surface?
71		旬	67	decameron	a period of ten days		Also ten years - the decade.
72		勺	68	ladle	a scoop (similar to a spoon) used for serving soup, etc.
73		的	69	bull’s eye	The centre of a target (e.g. darts, rifle shooting, etc)
74		首	70	neck
75		乙	71	fishguts	the intestines of a fish
76	*	乱	72	riot	yeah like that	Like street riots? Disturbance?
77		直	73	straightaway	immediately
78		具	74	tool
79		真	75	true
80		工	76	craft	as a verb, to make, or construct something. as a noun, a craft is a specialized area of expertise.
81		左	77	left	If you're looking at a normal map, left would be West. Also, this word can mean "remain". If you take five turkeys away from seven turkeys, two are left.
82		右	78	right	This would be East. Also, right can mean correct, true.
83		有	79	possess	have, own	Heisig wrote sth about being possessed by demons...		This kanji is not related to demons (Heisig just used that related English meaning to help him remember). This is a common kanji with basic meanings "have" and "own".
84		賄	80	bribe	Something you give to someone to get them to do something.
85	*	貢	81	tribute	?	Is it a payment for an invader or maybe for the ruler?
86	*	項	82	paragraph	?	New section in the text?
87		刀	83	sword
88		刃	84	blade	sharp part of a sword, razor, etc. (these items usually have two parts: a handle and a blade)
89		切	85	cut
90		召	86	seduce	Seduce is a word that is often used in a sexual context. Where one person convinces another to have sex. It can also be used in regard to bringing someone over to one's side, or faction. A good example is in Star Wars, where Anikin Skywalker is "seduced" to the Dark Side (where he is known as Darth Vader).
91	*	昭	87	shining	?	Like shining shoes?
92	*	則	88	rule	a regulation	Like a rule of the game?
93		副	89	vice-	2nd in command
94		別	90	separate	not joined
95	*	丁	91	street			Nail and spike are the same? (A slim, pointed piece of metal hammered into material as a fastener)
96	*	町	92	village		Shouldn't it be a town? Do you know why has Heisig done it?
97		可	93	can	able to do
98	*	頂	94	place on the head	?	Is it to be understood literally? Or is it a humble acceptance? Why isn't the latter one the keyword?
99		子	95	child
100	*	孔	96	cavity	a hole	Is it used especially in medicine or stomatology? E.g. cavities of the human body.