🖼️ Where did these kanji come from?
Each kanji began as a picture. Follow the journey from real-world image → ancient script → modern kanji for each character in this set.
年 showed a person carrying a bundle of ripe grain (禾) on their back — the image of harvest time. One harvest equals one full cycle of seasons, so 'harvest' became 'year'.
今 shows a cover (亼) pressing down, holding something beneath it — the image of something pinned at this exact moment. What is caught under the lid is 'now'.
週 combines the movement radical 辶 (go around) with 周 (circumference / all around) — the idea of completing one full circuit of the seven days.
度 shows a hand holding a measuring tool under a cliff overhang (广) — measuring a surface. From 'measure' came 'degree', 'temperature', 'angle', and 'occasion' (how many times).
東 shows the sun (日) rising behind a tree (木) — dawn seen through a forest. Face the rising sun and you face east. One of the most poetic pictographs in all of kanji.
📖 Key Words Using These Kanji
See how each kanji appears in everyday Japanese words.
年 nen / toshi · year
今 kon / ima · now / present
週 shuu · week
度 do / tabi · degree / occasion
東 tou / higashi · east
✏️ Reading Quiz
Each question shows a word containing the kanji you learned. Choose the correct reading. ON = Chinese reading · KUN = Japanese reading.