Chapter 1 – Evening Kanji Review (Large N5 Set & Two N4 Family Characters)

Class Context & Logistics

• Evening live session; teacher greets students (“こんばんは”) and checks on attendance and audio.

• Several students absent or late (ニー ブさん, カルトンさん, ライアンさん, ルカさん, etc.). Session proceeds with only ジーナさん and エリックさん.

• Persistent technical problems: Figma white-board freezes; fallback to Miro → Google Docs → finally settles on Miro board created on the spot.

• Instructor repeatedly apologises for delays; reminds learners that “living people must keep studying”.

• Lesson plan: 4th week of the month, largest single-day kanji set so far; mix of JLPT N5 core plus first N4 characters.

Writing Conventions & Stroke Order Tips

• General rule reiterated many times:

  • Write strokes top → bottom and left → right.

  • Horizontal before vertical; outside before inside; close boxes last.

• Pen-tablet or mouse acceptable, but practise on paper if digital ink fails.

• Memorisation strategy: break characters into radicals, visual stories, or combinations that form words.

JLPT N5 Kanji Reviewed

• 子 — child

  • Structure/Mnemonic : drawing of a swaddled baby.

  • Readings : kun $こ$, on $シ$.

  • Strokes : $(3)$.

  • Examples : 子供, 男の子, 女の子, 王子.

• 字 — character / letter

  • Components : 宀 (roof) + 子 (child) → “child under a roof learning letters”.

  • Readings : on $ジ$, kun $あざ$ (rare).

  • Strokes : $(6)$.

  • Examples : 漢字, ローマ字, 大文字, 名字.

• 学 — study / learning / school

  • Sketch : child with graduation cap.

  • Readings : on $ガク$, kun $まな(ぶ)$.

  • Strokes : $(8)$.

  • Examples : 学校, 大学, 留学, 学生.

• 女 — woman / female

  • Readings : on $ジョ / ニョ / ニョウ$; kun $おんな, め$.

  • Strokes : $(3)$.

  • Examples : 女性, 女の子, 女神, 長女.

• 母 — mother

  • Visual : two dots = mother’s eyes or breasts.

  • Readings : on $ボ$, kun $はは / かあ$.

  • Strokes : $(5)$.

  • Examples : 母国, お母さん, 母の日.

• 毎 — every / each (introduced while repeating “毎日”)

  • Built on 母 + extra line (ハ) for “each eye on everything”.

  • Readings : on $マイ$, kun $ごと$.

  • Strokes : $(6)$.

  • Examples : 毎日, 毎年, 毎回.

• 海 — sea / ocean

  • Components : 氵 (water) + 母 (mother) minus a dot → “Mother of all water”.

  • Readings : on $カイ$, kun $うみ$.

  • Strokes : $(9)$.

  • Examples : 日本海, 海外, 北海.

• ### 父 — father

  • Drawing: two hands brandishing tools.

  • Readings : on $フ$, kun $ちち / とう$.

  • Strokes : $(4)$.

  • Examples : 父親, お父さん, 祖父.

Family-Specific N4 Kanji Introduced

• 姉 — elder sister (story: woman goes to the market → 市)

  • Components : 女 + 市.

  • Readings : on $シ$, kun $あね / ねえ$.

  • Strokes : $(8)$.

  • Examples : お姉さん, 姉妹, 義姉.

• ### 妹 — younger sister (mnemonic: small 未 tree = “not yet grown” woman)

  • Components : 女 + 未.

  • Readings : on $マイ$, kun $いもうと$.

  • Strokes : $(8)$.

  • Examples : 妹さん, 姉妹, 義妹.

Power & Action Characters

• 力 — power / strength

  • Readings : on $リョク / リキ$, kun $ちから$.

  • Strokes : $(2)$ (quick “katakana カ with a hook”).

  • Vocabulary : 力強い, 重力, 体力, 学力.

• 加 — to add / increase (teacher writes “くわえる”)

  • Components : 口 + 力 (mouth adds power).

  • Readings : on $カ$, kun $くわ(える) / くわ(わる)$.

  • Strokes : $(5)$.

  • Compound : 追加, 参加, 加工.

• ### 協力 — cooperation (mentioned as learners “協力しました”)

  • 協 (ten hands working) + 力 (power). Together: pooled effort.

Movement, Work & Physical Activity

• 動 — move / motion

  • Components : 重 (heavy) + 力.

  • Readings : on $ドウ$, kun $うご(く) / うご(かす)$.

  • Strokes : $(11)$.

  • Examples : 運動, 動物, 行動.

• ### 働 — work / labour

  • Components : 亻(person) + 動.

  • Readings : on $ドウ$, kun $はたら(く)$.

  • Strokes : $(13)$ (teacher counted 7 main sections but full stroke count is 13).

  • Examples : 働き方, 労働, 共働き.

Field & Gender

• 田 — rice field

  • Readings : on $デン$, kun $た$.

  • Strokes : $(5)$.

  • Examples : 田舎, 山田, 水田.

• ### 男 — man / male

  • Composition : 田 + 力 (man works the field).

  • Readings : on $ダン / ナン$, kun $おとこ$.

  • Strokes : $(7)$.

  • Examples : 男子, 男性, 長男.

Geography & Weight Kanji Mentioned

• 市 — city / market (大阪市, 京都市 as examples)

  • Readings : on $シ$, kun $いち$.

  • Strokes : $(5)$.

• 県 — prefecture (taught rapidly after 市; cute “child-like” drawing)

  • Readings : on $ケン$.

  • Strokes : $(9)$.

• ### 重 — heavy / layer (component in 動)

  • Readings : on $ジュウ / チョウ$, kun $おも(い) / かさ(ねる)$.

  • Strokes : $(9)$.

  • Vocabulary : 重力, 重要, 体重.

Useful Vocabulary from Class Dialogue

• 子供, 漢字, 学校, 女の子 / 男の子, お母さん / お父さん, お姉さん / 妹さん, 体力, 協力, 運動, 動物, 働く, 田舎, 男性, 大阪市, 京都市, 県庁.

• Repeated illustration of 毎日 (every day) for routine study.

Philosophical / Practical Notes

• Teacher’s maxim: “生きている人は勉強しましょう” – as long as we are alive, keep learning.

• Highlights importance of resilience: even with tech failures, learning continues; mirrors the kanji 力 and 協力 – individual strength plus cooperation.

• Kanji composition demonstrates cultural history (e.g.

  • 姉 built on 市 reflects older sister’s role as shopper/manager.

  • 男 ties gender expectations to physical labour in fields.)

Numerical & Statistical References

• Stroke counts supplied for each kanji (see $(n)$ beside character).

• JLPT level tags: majority N5; first appearance of two N4 family kanji (姉, 妹).

Links to Previous Lessons

• Builds on radicals taught earlier (宀, 氵, 亻, 田, 力).

• Recycles vocabulary “漢字”, “学校”, reinforcing retention.

• Continues monthly progression: 4th week = largest kanji batch so far.

Study Recommendations

• Practise each new kanji by:

  • Writing at least $10$ times while naming stroke order aloud.

  • Creating two original compound words per character.

  • Testing recognition in context sentences (e.g. 田舎の男は毎日海で働く).

• Review radicals: 母, 力, 田 as they reappear inside more complex forms.

• Schedule daily drills (毎日) and cooperative study sessions (協力) to embody the day’s theme.