Similar Kanji: Taste vs Wisdom
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
While these kanji (味 – Flavour, taste and 知 – Know, wisdom) are less alike than some of my previous examples in this series, they still can provide some confusion at the JLPT 3rd and 4th levels with the same basic box on the side and a similar looking object on the side.
If you see these kanji in various textbooks be aware that they can look very different depending on the font style used to display them.
知 is clarified in my memory by visualising the left half as a person with a hat, arms and legs holding out his arm to get a book from a shelf (the box on the right), perhaps in a library or bookstore. This ties back nicely to growing your knowledge or “wisdom” by reading books.
To memorise 味 I break it down into two parts – the long rectangle on the left that looks like an outstretched tongue and the kanji on the right – 未 – that kanji on its own means “not yet”. So the memory trigger is that the character on the right has “not yet” come in to contact with the “tongue” on the left to be able to “taste” the “flavour”.
As I alluded to earlier, when you see these kanji written in a more traditional way (calligraphy), the long thin boxes on either side can look more like a square box, which may negate the “tongue” memory idea above. However, as with the English alphabet, once you have mastered these your brain can deal with the slight variations you will find between written styles.
There are several other kanji (和 – harmony, 咲 – blossom) that look similar to 味 and 知 but they’re both part of JLPT 2 and if you’re reading this you’re probably a long way from that level yet!
Visual memory triggers, called mnemonics, work well for me but it’s just one way of memorising kanji – use whatever works for you. If you’re keen to explore mnemonics further then I suggest a visit to the excellent Reviewing The Kanji website.
Example Usage
| Kanji | Hiragana | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 味の素 | あじのもと | MSG (Food Flavouring) |
| 味噌汁 | みそしる | Miso Soup (味噌 – Miso; 汁 – Soup) |
| 味が薄い | あじがうすい | Lightly Seasoned (味 – Flavour; 薄 – Thin,Weak) |
| 知名 | ちめい | Well-known (知 – Know; 名 – Name) |
| 知能 | ちのう | Intelligence (知 – Know; 能 – Ability, Skill) |
| 知友 | ちゆう | Close Friend (知 – Know; 友 – Friend) |
