[Fun Brain Training!] Introducing a quiz on the world’s least-stroke-count kanji

while

This kanji is read as “nagara.” It’s a character we don’t often use in everyday life, so it’s quite tricky, isn’t it? It’s easy to momentarily mistake it for tsukuru (作る), isn’t it? There’s also the term “sagara-zoku,” which refers to people who work or study while enjoying TV or music.

Thanks for your hard work.

The reading is “otsu.” From the image of this kanji, it conveys a feminine quality of being cute, refined, and beautiful. It’s also used in girls’ names, such as Otoha (乙華) and Ito (衣乙), which are charming names.

stuffed toy

‘弋’ has long been used as one of the tools for hunting. It refers to shooting an arrow fitted with a string or a net-like entangling attachment to catch birds. It may be a kanji that’s rarely used today, but remembering it might come in handy somewhere.

to get excited; to be elated; to be aroused; to be carried away

"Takaburu" means that the same feeling as excitement rises. Therefore, it can also be used in words like "kōfun" (excitement). In addition, the single character "亢" by itself can also be read as "nodo," referring to a part of the body, the throat.

tall; expensive; high

Besides meaning “tall,” the character 兀 also means “to make an effort,” and when written twice as 兀兀, it’s read as “kotsu-kotsu” (steadily, diligently). We often use the phrase “to work steadily at something,” and it turns out it comes from this kanji. That makes perfect sense!

to earnestly wish; to ardently hope

You could even say that the word “hope” is one that gives everyone courage. It’s a word that’s often used in everyday life. For many people, just looking at these characters brings dreams and hope to mind.

Nagisa

I think “Nagisa” is most often written as 渚. You don’t really see this kanji used much in everyday life, do you? Its on-yomi (Sino-Japanese reading) is “tei.” It seems it’s also used in words like “teisenn” (汀線), meaning shoreline.