Q. How do you know when to use On-reading and Kun-reading?
A. Unfortunately there is no simple way to explain when to use On-reading or Kun-reading. You need to memorize the pronunciation on an individual basis, one word at a time. However, here are some facts that are worth remembering.
On-reading is usually used when the kanji is a part of a compound (two or more kanji characters are placed side by site). Kun-reading is used when the kanji is used on its own, either as a complete noun or as adjective stems and verb stems. This is not a hard rule, but at least you can make a better guess.
Let's take a look at the kanji character for "水 (water)". The On-reading for the character is "sui" and the Kun-reading is "mizu." "水 (mizu)" is a word in its own right, meaning "water". The kanji compound "水曜日(Wednesday)" is read as "suiyoubi." Here are other examples.
|
Kanji |
On-reading | Kun-reading |
| 音 | 音楽 - ongaku (music) |
音 - oto sound |
| 星 | 星座 - seiza (constellation) |
星 - hoshi (star) |
| 新 | 新聞 - shinbun (newspaper) |
新しい -atara(shii) (new) |
| 食 | 食欲 - shokuyoku (appetite) |
食べる - ta(beru) (to eat) |
"Kanji Land" lessons include both On-reading and Kun-reading and useful kanji compounds.
Vol. 43: What is On-reading and Kun-reading?
