Lesson 23 of 28
Kanji Unit 23 — know, think, learn, answer
about 9 minutes
After this lesson you can
- Read the words a classroom runs on — 教える, 習う, 答え, 研究.
- Say why 答 begins with bamboo and 教 with a hand holding a stick.
Words this lesson teaches
- 知
- know
- 研
- sharpen, study closely — 研究
- 究
- investigate to the end — 研究
- 考
- think over, consider
- 習
- learn, be taught — 練習, 習慣
- 答
- answer
- 教
- teach — 教える, 教室
- 文
- writing, a sentence — 文法, 注文
- 業
- an occupation, an industry — 工業, 授業
What it explains
教える and 習う are two sides of one act
教える is to teach and 習う is to learn — the same lesson from the two ends. Japanese keeps them strictly apart, so 「先生に 習いました」 means I was taught by the teacher and cannot be turned around. Both have been in the courses since N5, and 教えて ください — please tell me — is one of the first things a learner ever says.
文 is small and everywhere
文 is four strokes and turns up in 文法 grammar, 文学 literature, 作文 composition, and 注文 an order — which the N4 course has been using since module 1 with 注 from unit 15. It also means a sentence outright: 「この 文は 長いです」. Small characters that appear in many compounds are worth more than large ones that appear in few, and 文 is the best example in this unit.
The scene itself is in the app.
Lesson one of this track is free to read in full. From lesson two on, the story, the audio and the review are part of a free account.