Favorite KANJI
So out of all the kanji you've ever learned what is your favorite and why. I know favorite kanji is a crazy statement. My favorite is the rather simple and unassuming Nan 何. The word is fun to say and the kanji is fun and easy to write.
posted by Saiya
Comments 101
萌、もちろん！
It's such a good initiative ;)
I always look for topic ideas like this to share with people here but somehow, I don't happen to find some...
Well it's kinda hard to tell actually... The one that came right off into my mind is 前 (Mae, ZEN). I like its form... But there's a lot of kanji I like for their form...
And for some mysterious reason I remeber my being very happy to be able to write and remember the kanji 様 (You, Sama) ^^
Shairn LOL too cute! I like sama as well Med its very beautiful.
神 (かみ, God) found it first time on a yu-gi-oh card but who cares ^^'- LOL I love the word Kami in Japanese, depending on context/kanji it could mean paper, hair, government or God LOL thats quite the variety.
零 (れい, Zero) I like it so much that I even have it as a necklace...- Omoshiroi Chaossenpai! I wonder why though? Is it the meaning or the strokes? Totemo kirena.
My favorite is 志 (will; intention; motive). I am working towards a specific goal and so I need a lot of it. I already had three calligraphy writings of this kanji stuck on the walls of my room and whenever I feel idle I almost always write it unconsciously :)- Kirena Pitfallsenpai! I like that one too, its lovely.
命 (めい、いのち）Destiny, fate... something we have the most control over in our lives, yet the least.- beautifully said Mako senpai
- Sou da na ^^
- 歌 just learned this one utau, sing. I think its very pretty.
- And easy to write, I like this one too ^^
It's strange that no one's yet pleading for the Kanji of Love...
Saikou nanoni ^^ - But love is complicated Medyrius senpai HAHAHA
- Lol, Sore mo hontou da ze...
Even the kanji is not easy... Must be a proportion thing or something LOL. - The kanji for "Love" is formed by putting a 心 (heart) inside a 受 (acceptance, receive), so basically to "love" is to "accept" the other person's "heart" into you. That's the explanation I read somewhere some time ago :P
- I had made that remark before but it's the first time I hear a clear explanation ^^
That's the most fascinating thing about kanjis... They're made a simplistic way but yet they hold so deep meanings... - Yeah thats really wonderful.
- Actually, the kanji for love uses a different element at the bottom than the kanji for acceptance does, so it's not a very reliable way of remembering it.
- I know you are all too young and from different countries but this Kanji 答 seriously reminds me of the Amityville House LOL
- Tashika ni, it really looks like that ^^
It'd be so cool if all kanjis really looked like the concept they hold...
Just like these ones :
火 (Fire), 森(Forest), 山(Mountain), 川(River), and etc.
Hurrah!! Post reached page 2! ^^
It's the first time it happens in like 3-4 years? - Ok so how does one take the kanji for stand mix it with the radical for water and get cry 泣???
- lol glad your happy Medyrius senpai Ill keep this site exciting yeah lol
- Isn't that the house that was sucked into hell?
- LOL yes its the haunted house from all the movies. The moment I saw that kanji that house came to mind I dont know it just happened.
- Good question indeed! ^^ If they'd mixed the kanji 目 instead it'd make some sense lol
- The explanation in RTK is that the kanji for "stand" represents a vase when used as an element, so the water represents tears filling up a vase or something along these lines.
Most kanji don't make sense until you've gone deep into their etymology, so you have to come up with your own explanations most of the time. - thats lovely shairn senpai I nvr would have thought of that
- RTK tte ha nanda?
Really seems worth a look ^^ - Remembering the Kanji, a book by James Heisig. He teaches 2042 different kanji by deconstructing them into elements he calls "primitives" (Similar to radicals) to which he assigns meanings. With the meanings of all the primitives inside the kanji, he makes up a story that helps you remember it. Really helpful.
- Thx Shairn Ill look into that.
- Aaand... time for my second fav kanji. I've always wished I had an imouto because then I wouldn't be the last child and have to do house chores anymore (this explains why an imouto would make more sense than an otouto :P). Kaa-san also wanted a daughter cuz she only had me and nii-san.
The etymology for this one is quite simple too, just a 女 (woman/girl) and a 末 (last, youngest) put together ^^ - Actually, you picked the wrong kanji for the second element. It should be 未(み), pretty much meaning "not yet" for "not yet a woman" ;)
- I have many 兄弟 (siblings) if thats the right one. They dont make anything easier or better LOL. Shairnsenpai the kanji you posted looks exactly like the one Pitfallsenpai posted is that an accident?
- You'll notice the top horizontal stroke on mine is shorter than the one below it, while it is the opposite on the one pitfall posted.
As for 兄弟、I have to point out that it's used for brothers, and for sisters you would use 姉妹(しまい）. Not saying you made a mistake, but I think it's useful information :P - Thanks, you are very observant, I didnt notice that at all until you pointed it out.
- I'm kind of impressed with Shairn's kanji knowledge! Keep it up ;)
Sore ni, I started reading the book you recomended us and I think it's going to be very helpful, thanks! ^^ - Thank you!
It's my pleasure. It takes a while to get through the whole book(took me two months), but it's very well worth it. がんばりましょう！ - Oof, my mistake :P Btw sorry for going off-topic but would shairn-senpai have any books on Japanese grammar that you can recommend? Admittedly vocab/kanji is the major part of learning Japanese, but without knowing the structure it's still hard to understand complete sentences in written literature, and JCJP doesn't seem to have a grammar learning feature yet... Thanks in advance ^^
- I haven't tried them personally(though I plan to when I have the money) but I've heard great things about the genki series of textbooks and they seem to be the most recommended. I'm sure it won't be a lot of trouble finding them on the internet, I apologize for not being much of a help but I'm on a mobile at the moment.
(also being called senpai gives me a fuzzy feeling inside \(//∇//)\) - Right, genki is excellent. I'd planned to try it this year but didn't have the occasion, lacked some time...
For grammar I'd also suggest Tae Kim's Japanese guide, an online japanese grammar guide I went through last year, very well-suited for beginers and damn helpful ^^
So far it's my only grammar reference... 
@shairn
i think you also like this
梓（azusa)
i like this one...namida (tear)- @Animezamurai: Of course, but 唯、澪、律 and 紬 are all just as fine.
時 is my favorite kanji to write.
「時」が書いて時私の気持ちは中にファジーと暖かいです。- 梓-betula grossa
唯-sole · only
澪-a water-way · a fairway
律-law · regulation · judge · basis
紬-pongee
Rittyan's personality is against her name (´д｀ι)....but I love them anyway (≧ω≦) 
Neko!
I love the way 傘 looks. It kind of reminds me of some kind of "Legend Of Zelda" shield or maybe an eagle.
傘 = かさ = kasa = umbrella- Now I remember, 傘 reminds me of the eagle on the back of the american half dollar coin for some reason.
I am quite fond of 夏, because it's my fave time of year, and part of my name! I am also partial to 風... it was the very FIRST kanji I ever learned on my own, and I always thought it was beautiful.
顔 is my favourite one so far but 魔 is really fun to write too
弱 and 虫 together is my favorite because there's just something about "weak bug" meaning "coward" that never ceases to amuse me.
This thread is very old, but...
禁 "forbid, prohibition" and 婪 "desire, covet", because of their uncanny similarity to the situation in the Garden of Eden.
There were two special trees (木 x 2 = 林) in the middle of the garden. Adam and Eve were shown (示) which one they were forbidden (禁) to eat fruit from.
The woman (女) went to the two trees (林) and desired (婪) the fruit on the one which they were forbidden to eat from.
Since these are the original mentions of something "forbidden" and of something "desired" taking place among humans in the Bible, it is a pretty cool coincidence that those two kanji relate to those events so brilliantly.
Another kanji I like is 鬱, because it probably matches how a person told they must learn this 29 stroke kanji will end up feeling when they find it too hard! :D
I realize this is an old thread but I couldn't help myself.
I stumbled upon this gem of a word last week: 金繕い (kintsukuroi) which means "gold mending".
It's the word for the practice of mending broken pottery with lacquer dusted with powdered gold and sometimes silver or platinum. The outcome is really beautiful (plenty of images on google, apparently it's fairly popular) and some collectors have even been accused of breaking pottery just to have it repaired in this way.
This also applies to human flaws and imperfection. Some things are more beautiful for having been broken. ^-^
(Yay! First post!)
~Rae
I always liked the look and meaning of 舞 (dance). It's part of the modern characters represented in the word Kabuki (歌舞伎)
of course 愛, 幻 is really pleasant to see too, and this one 厄 who looks like a snail
夢
年 - it's rather complicated for me (for something so simple-looking), but I like how it looks even in my rendition.
Why not. 忍(endure) probably be the fav. so far. Created with the blade over the heart. Also the first character in ninja. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaght.- And 忍ぶ (しのぶ) = "to endure; to conceal oneself, to hide". Can guess where the noun "shinobi" comes from. ^^
鬮 (lot). It's one of the very few kanji which uses the traditional version of the turtle radical (龜). This kanji is actually used in a word taught on JCJP -- 宝鬮 (たからくじ) "lottery" -- in lv7 vocabulary lesson chapter 65. However, sadly, in the lessons the word is written in its much more common form -- 宝くじ. This kanji isn't a "common use" kanji, so it makes sense. And it also has a boring simplified version 籤 even in the unlikely event a kanji was going to be used. But still, missing out on a good chance to show a cool kanji. :P
宝 (たから) "treasure" + 鬮 (くじ) "lot" = 宝鬮 (たからくじ) "lottery" 
希望(きぼう)＝Hope, wish, aspiration. ：3 it's been my favorite since I first heard someone say it.
困る (komaru) = Have a problem. Why is it the best kanji? It's simple: When you have a tree in your mouth, you've got a problem.
地下鉄 subway!- ...How to report spam? <_<
本、it's very simple and I love books lol.
私の場合は、絆という漢字です。
http://goo.gl/vxZCxN
my favorite kanji is gakusei student because i usually use it in school
me too
安
犬, of course!
愛 is such a pretty, intricate kanji, and its meaning is just as beautiful!
I also love 何.
I really like 空. I like the sky, and I like saying そら. Plus, I almost always love an anime character named 空. And if you flip it on its side it looks like my initials lol
私の一番好きな漢字は’願’。可愛いなあ～ｗｗ
麗, means beautiful
My favorite kanji is Ji, the kanji for time. I love it because it's made up of the Kanji for both sun and earth, which is the ultimate time keeper, really. Pretty amazing and beautiful :)
Very nice
my favorite kanji is currently.. 真由美 (まゆみ) which have a meaning of Truth, Reason and Beauty.
Since I can't choose a favorite, I'm going to choose favorites.
人 犬 今 大 日 水 火 猫 永 泳 月 行 and 明
I guess I like Kanji with many strokes- oh and 山 between 猫 and 永.
忘 is my favorite one. It means "to forget" and when we translate each radical, it literally means "heart that dies/ heart that passes away". ^^
Judging by the complexity of kanji, I opt for 鬱（うつ).
鬱 has to be my favorite. At 29 strokes it's probably the most complex kanji that you need to learn for daily life. It means "depression", which is fitting because I picture a cram school student throwing themselves into despair trying to memorize something like this.
試験 is my favorite because it was the first really complicated kanji I ever learned and it was fun to write
正義 ＜＜ かっこいい字じゃないか
「行」 is the one for me. It's simple, it's beautiful, it's perfect.
森is for me. It was one of the first words I learned, I just like it, dunno why.
for some reason, I really like the kanji for rain which is 雨
Wow, this thread has been dead since September of 2016!
Anyway, my favorite kanji is actually.. a pair of kanji.
凸凹（でこぼこ）OR 凹凸（おうとつ）
Because.. they remind me of Tetris.- This thread died peacefully all the way back in July 2012... but it keeps getting dug back out of its grave. The person who started the thread we're commenting on hasn't used this site for over 4 years now... XD
My favorite kanji is 時, mainly because it's the first complicated kanji I really learned to read/write.
I like 雨 because it's pretty and fun to say :3
It also looks real pretty.
My favorite Kanji is 鳥 and my favorite pair is 希望.
毎日
火山 love its simplicity and how the meaning of each kanji when put together actually makes sense.
I like to write あと・うしろ （後）I love to write this one. Someday I want to try a calligraphy of it.
That's a great choice! 何 (nan) is indeed a fun kanji, and it plays a vital role in many common expressions and questions in Japanese. It captures curiosity, which makes it very relatable! https://mapsdrivingdirections.io
