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.