こんにちはみなさん。

3月もあっという間におわってしまいましたね。日本では3月は別れの時(time of farewell)と呼ばれています。3月は一年度の終わりで、4月からまた新しい年度(新年度)が始まるからです。
年度というのは、1月から12月までのグレゴリオ暦の暦とは別に作られた1年の数え方です。

4月1日に始まって、3月末で終わります。たくさんの会社や、学校、会計などでこの年度
が使われています。
アメリカでは新学期は9月1日ですが、日本では4月1日です。
3月には卒業式や退職、移動などの「別れ」があって、4月には入学式や入社、新しい所で
働き始めるというような「出会い」があります。また、アメリカと一緒で、税金は3月ま
でに払わないといけません。
という事で、今月の漢字は「別」です。

March is almost over already. In Japan, March is called “the time of farewell.” March marks the end of nendo, and the new nendo (shin’nendo) starts in April. Nendo is a way to count the years different from the Gregorian calendar. Nendo marks the financial year and the academic year. Companies, banks, the government, and schools use nendo, so schools in Japan start in April instead of September.

In March, there are many “farewell” events such as graduations, retirements, job transfers,
etc. In April, there are many “new meeting” events like school and company entrances ceremonies. You have to file your taxes by the end of March too.

For this reason, this month’s kanji is 別.

別: (音読み「ベツ」)(訓読み「わかれる」)

The meanings of this kanji are:
2. 色々なものを分けること。分け方。
3. メインのものとちがうもの。

Example usage for 別 is as follows:
1. 別居(べっきょ:separation, live separately), 死別(しべつ:loss, separated by death->彼女は夫と死別したshe lost her husband), 送別(そうべつfarewell
2. 区別(くべつdifferentiation), 差別(さべつ:segregation), 個別(こべつ:individually, separately)
3. 別館(べっかん:annex), 別荘(べっそうsecond house, vacation house)

Example sentences:
1. 私は明日(あした)やまださんの送別会（そうべつかい）に参加(さんか)します。(I will participate in Mr. Yamada’s farewell party.)
2. 障害者を差別することがたいへんな問題になっている。(Segregation of disable people is a very big problem.)
3. 海が見える所に別荘を買いました。(I bought a second house in a place with an ocean view.)

There are a lot of words that use別, so it’s a useful kanji to remember. A common phrase using 別 is出会いもあれば別れもある (every new meeting includes a parting). Seeing people leave is sad, but leaving and meeting are pairs. We cannot avoid that. April is called 出会いの季節 (“the season for new meetings”). New adventures are going to start soon!

See you in April

こんにちはみなさん。

２月がもうすぐ終わりますね。
今年は２月にたくさん雪がふりました。私が住んでいるところは、雪が降るととてもきれいです。
今月の漢字は「雪」です。

雪：（音読み「セツ」）（訓読み「ゆき」）
The meanings of this kanji are
1. snow
2. rinse

Example usage for 雪 is as follows:
1. 新雪 (しんせつ: fresh snow）, 豪雪 (ごうせつ: blizzard）, 残雪 (ざんせつ: snow that is still left after the sun melts the rest of snow.), 初雪 (はつゆき: first snow)
2. 雪辱 (せつじょく:to get revenge after losing and regain honor.)

Example sentence:
1. 新雪はやわらかいので、いつも初雪が降るとスキーをします。
Fresh snow is soft, so I always go skiing when the first snow falls.
2. 今回は負けてしまったけど、次回は必ず雪辱します！
Well, I lost this time, but next time I will definitely get revenge!

There are a lot more words using 雪 such as 積雪 (せきせつ), 除雪 (じょせつ), 降雪 (こうせつ), 粉雪 (こなゆき), etc. There are other words which have difficult reading: 雪崩 (なだれ), 吹雪 (ふぶき), 雪駄 (せった). This kanji is easy because most of the words are related to snow. It’s easy to guess the meanings. I’ve attached a picture of my snowy hometown. The snow-covered mountains are gorgeous.

こんにちはみなさん。

今月は１月です。新しい年が始まりましたね。
１月の漢字は「新」です。

新：（音読み「シン」）（訓読み「あたら（しい）」「あらた」「にい」)

The meanings of this kanji are
1. new
2. fresh

Example usage for 新 is as follows:
1. 新年 (しんねん: new year), 更新 (こうしん: renew).
2. 新鮮 (しんせん: fresh), 新人 (しんじん: freshman).

Example sentence:

新年あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくおねがいします。

Happy new year. Please be kind to me this year too.

People send 年賀状（ねんがじょう）in the new year in Japan. These are like Christmas cards in the US. It’s common to send them to everybody you know. They usually have quick messages including the phrase above. Sometimes they include pictures of the new year’s zodiac animal. (2017 is the year of the rooster – just like this blog!) The phrase above is a typical New Year’s greeting. The second part（今年もよろしくおねがいします）is hard to translate. It says, “Please take care of me this year too.” It sounds weird, but it means, “Thanks to you, I had a great year last year, so please continue keep in touch with me.”

A lot of things are changing in the US this year. A new congress, new senators, and a new president. New things aren’t necessary good, but new things always contain hope. I chose this kanji for this month with hope for America’s and Japan’s future.

みなさんこんにちは。

毎月一つずつ漢字を紹介していこうと思います。
I will introduce one kanji per month.

１２月の漢字は「亡」です。

亡：（音読み「ボウ，モウ」）（訓読み「な」）

The meanings of this kanji are:
1. disappear
2. die
3. run and hide

Example usage for 亡 is as follows:
1. 滅亡 (めつぼう: extinction)
2. 死亡 (しぼう: death), 未亡人 (みぼうじん: widow)
3. 逃亡 (とうぼう: evading, escape), 亡命 (ぼうめい: defection)

Example sentence:
先日（せんじつ）、キャリーフィッシャーさんが亡（な）くなりましたね。とてもざんねんです。
A few days ago, Carrie Fisher passed away. It’s so sad.

People use 亡 when they talk about death. This is a polite version of 死ぬ. You can use 亡 to talk about your family’s death or other people’s death. Other ways to describe death are 他界する (たかい) and 永眠する(えいみん) and so on. 他 means “other” and 界 means “world,” so 他界する means to go to the other world. 永 means “forever” and 眠 means “sleep,” so永眠するmeans to sleep forever. I think the people who created these words to describe death had a nice imagination.

亡 is a sad word, but it’s very useful. It’s like saying “pass away” instead of “die.” You don’t want to say “When did your father die?” to your grieving friend.

How was today’s Kanji lesson?

I will decide next the kanji based on what happens next month. 🙂

お楽しみに！