Kanji Units
Lesson 9 of 12
Kanji Unit 9 — in, out, and the two that look alike
about 8 minutes
After this lesson you can
- Read the verbs of coming and going in kanji.
- Tell 入 and 人 apart on a sign.
Words this lesson teaches
- 行
- go
- 来
- come
- 出
- exit, go out
- 入
- enter, go in
- 帰
- return, go home
- 歩
- walk
- 立
- stand
What it explains
The kanji is the stem; the kana is the ending
いきます is written 行きます: the character carries the meaning and the kana carry the grammar. That is why 行 appears in 行きます, 行った and 行かない without changing, while the tail does all the moving. Once you see this, a verb in kanji is easier to read than one in kana, because the meaning is in a single character at the front and you can skip the rest.
Why 帰 is worth more than it looks
行く and 来る are go and come. 帰る is neither — it is to go back to where you belong, which in Japanese is a different verb rather than a phrase. You cannot 帰る to a café you have never lived in. Foundations 13 taught かえります as going back to the shop, which is a small stretch of the word and a perfectly ordinary one.