[For Seniors] Fun and Exciting! Difficult Kanji Quiz

Work experience in a hospital as a physical therapistNakamū
I worked as a physical therapist at a general hospital for about four years. I’ve supported a wide range of patients, from those needing emergency rehabilitation to those doing rehabilitation at home at a comfortable pace. As a writer, I’d be happy to share health-related information with many people. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you!

Brain training is a type of recreation that’s easy for anyone to try, regardless of gender.

Because you can participate while seated, it’s accessible even for those who have difficulty moving their bodies.

Kanji brain-training quizzes in particular are said to help train the brain by recalling information from memory and sparking new ideas.

So this time, we’ll introduce a set of difficult kanji quizzes.

With quizzes, people can enjoy the sense of achievement and satisfaction when the answer they worked hard to come up with turns out to be correct.

Some older adults may overthink when it comes to difficult kanji.

Try adding creative touches like providing hint illustrations or photos that lead to the answer.

[For Seniors] Fun and Lively! Difficult Kanji Quiz (41–50)

suïton (a Japanese flour-dumpling soup); alternatively, mizu dango (water dumplings)

The kanji 水団 can probably be read in several ways, and many people may have trouble arriving at what seems to be the right answer.

“水” is read as “sui,” and “団” is read as “ton,” as in “futon,” so the answer is “suiton.” It’s a dish where dough made from wheat flour kneaded with water is added to soup and simmered.

近年はひらがなで書かれることが多いが、語源には諸説あり、水でこねた団子を指す説、汁物に入れる団子を指す説、または饂飩（うどん）の「飩」という字が「団」に置き換えられたとする説がある。

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Hane Keisuke

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hazy and unadorned

This is read as “soboro.” When you hear soboro, you probably imagine minced meat or eggs seasoned and stir-fried until the moisture evaporates.

“Chicken soboro” is famous, and many of you have likely eaten it at least once.

The word soboro is said to originate from “so-oboro.” In kanji, it’s written as 粗朧.

It seems that oboro refers to a state where the ingredients are not crumbled as finely as soboro.

A well-known example of oboro is “denbu.”

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sasashina

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sukiyaki

People who have worked in agriculture might be able to read this kanji without any trouble.

“鋤” is read as “suki,” and the answer is “sukiyaki.” Nowadays, sukiyaki generally refers to cooking meat in a pot and simmering vegetables in a warishita sauce, but its origins trace back to the Edo period, when people are said to have grilled beef on a farming tool called a suki (plow).

Since it’s not a katakana loanword written with ateji, perhaps more people than expected got this one right.

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Hane Keisuke

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pineapple

Since the literal reading of the kanji is quite far from the answer, it’s best to start with the hint that it originates in tropical America.

While it is mainly produced in South America, it’s also grown in China and Taiwan, and the fact that it’s used in local cuisine might be another clue.

答えはパイナップルで、台湾では主に「鳳梨」と呼ばれています。そのため、現地の風景に詳しい人なら漢字だけでも正解にたどり着けるかもしれません。

Hints like it being a fruit strongly associated with South America and the tropics, and that it’s sometimes used in Chinese cuisine, may be easier to grasp.

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kappamaki

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hijiki (a type of edible brown seaweed)

This is pronounced “hijiki.” With its distinctive black appearance, hijiki might make you wonder, “Is it really tasty?” But in fact, it’s a popular ingredient enjoyed by both children and adults, and it’s considered good for you because it’s rich in calcium and dietary fiber.

Hijiki is a type of seaweed, and it’s originally a yellowish-ochre color.

It turns blackish when dried.

As for why it’s written with the characters meaning “deer tail greens” (鹿尾菜), it’s said to be because the short, black pieces resemble a deer’s tail.

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sasashina

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