言 (Say), 語 (Language), 話 (Talk) & 読 (Read): Mastering the Speech Radical (言)
言 (Say), 語 (Language), 話 (Talk), and 読 (Read) show up in almost every single JLPT reading passage. Here is how Genghis Khan's gondola and Hannah's talking cat make all four unforgettable.
Whenever you see three horizontal sound waves rising out of a mouth (言 — Speech / Words), you know the kanji is about speaking, language, or reading. Here is how Shibashi uses a Genghis Khan two-part story and Hannah's talking cat to untangle 言 (Say), 語 (Language), 話 (Talk), and 読 (Read).
1. The Genghis Khan Duology: 言 (Say — い / げん / ごん) & 語 (Language — ご / かた)
Look at how the exact same character — Genghis Khan — stars in both 言 (Say) and 語 (Language):
- 言 (Say — い(う) iu / げん gen / ごん gon): Sound waves rising above a mouth (口). Genghis (げん gen) Khan came back from the dead just to say: "Gondola (ごん gon) prices are evil (い i, as in 言う iu)!!"
- 語 (Language — ご go / かた(る) kataru): Speech (言) + Five (五) + Mouth (口). If Genghis Khan wants to complain about overpriced gondola (ご go, as in 日本語 Nihongo 'Japanese language' and 英語 Eigo 'English') rides, he first needs to put down his kata-na (かた kata, as in 語る kataru) and study the English language!
2. 話 (Talk — はなし / わ) vs. 読 (Read — よ / とう): Hannah's Talking Cat vs. The Toe Book
Now compare the right-hand side of 話 (Talk) and 読 (Read):
- 話 (Talk / Story — はな(す) hanasu / はなし hanashi / わ wa): Speech (言) + Tongue (舌). Hannah, she (はなし hanashi) can't believe she got a waffle (わ wa, as in 電話 denwa 'telephone' and 会話 kaiwa 'conversation') cake and her dream talking cat for her birthday!!
- 読 (Read — よ(む) yomu / とう tō): Speech (言) + Market Stand (売). "Stop texting yo (よ yo, as in 読む yomu)! I'm reading my toe (とう tō) book."
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you tell 話 (Talk) and 語 (Language) and 読 (Read) apart?
All three have 言 (Say/Speech) on the left! Look at the right side: 語 (Language — go / kata, as in 日本語 Nihongo) has 五 (Five) over 口 (Mouth) — Genghis Khan studying a language to complain about gondola (ご) rides. 話 (Talk — hanashi / wa) has 千 over 口 (Tongue 舌) — Hannah's talking cat eating a waffle (わ) cake. 読 (Read — yomu / tō) has 売 (Sell stand) — reading a toe (とう) book at the stand!
