日 (Sun) vs. 目 (Eye) vs. 白 (White) vs. 百 (Hundred): 4 Box Kanji Unlocked
Start with a simple window box: 日 (Sun/Day). Add one horizontal line inside and it becomes 目 (Eye); add a diagonal drop on top and it becomes 白 (White); add a flat roof bar on top and it becomes 百 (Hundred)!
Four of the first 25 kanjis you ever meet in Japanese — 日 (Sun/Day), 目 (Eye), 白 (White), and 百 (Hundred) — are all built from the exact same rectangular box. Here is how Shibashi's visual stories make each variation unforgettable.
1. 日 (Sun / Day — にち / ひ / び) vs. 目 (Eye — め / もく): One Inner Bar vs. Two Inner Bars
Look inside the rectangular frame on both flashcards below:
- 日 (Sun / Day — にち nichi / じつ jitsu / ひ hi / び bi / か ka): Has one horizontal bar across the middle. In a bright sun beam (び bi), Mr. Hiroki (ひ hi) can finally see why his "knee is itchy" (にち nichi)! Must be from all the karate (か ka) and jiu-jitsu (じつ jitsu)!
- 目 (Eye — め me / もく moku): Has two horizontal bars inside (forming three stacked sections like an upper eyelid, pupil, and lower eyelid). "Mee (め me) eh?" Is this cute-eyed sheep mocking (もく moku, as in 目的 mokuteki 'purpose') us?
2. 白 (White — しろ / はく) vs. 百 (Hundred — ひゃく / もも): Radish Sprout vs. Rotated "100"
Now take 日 and add either a short diagonal sprout on top (白) or a full flat ceiling bar on top (百):
- 白 (White — しろ shiro / はく haku): A single diagonal tick on top of 日 turns the box into a glowing white radish monitor! She wrote (しろ shiro, as in 白い shiroi 'white') the code to hack-u (はく haku) the white radish server.
- 百 (Hundred — ひゃく hyaku / もも momo): Add a full horizontal bar across the top of 白 (if you tilt your head 90 degrees, 一 + 白 literally looks like the digits 100!). Slow-mo motion (もも momo) Hyacinth Cool (ひゃく hyaku, as in 三百 sanbyaku '300') Town is now a hundred years old!!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you tell 日 (Sun/Day) and 目 (Eye) apart?
日 (Sun/Day — nichi / jitsu / hi / bi) has only ONE horizontal bar inside the box (two compartments). 目 (Eye — me / moku) has TWO horizontal bars inside the box (three compartments, like the upper eyelid, pupil, and lower eyelid of the cute-eyed sheep!).
How do you tell 白 (White) and 百 (Hundred) apart?
白 (White — shiro / haku) has just a short diagonal tick on top of 日 (like the sprout on top of a white radish server!). 百 (Hundred — hyaku / momo) has a full flat horizontal ceiling bar across the entire top of 白 (forming a rotated '100' on its side!).
