9.1 Kanji: 百, 千, 万, 円 , 本, 人, 山, 川, 田, 私
This module focuses on kanji related to money – 百 (hundred), 千 (thousand), 万 (ten thousand) and 円 (yen) – and essential kanji for everyday use, – 本 (book/basis), 人 (person), 山 (mountain), 川 (river), 田 (field) and 私 (I/private).
Kanji for this module
百, 千, 万, 円 , 本, 人, 山, 川, 田, 私
1. Money-related kanji: 百, 千, 万, 円
This section introduces kanji related to money, which are essential for discussing large numbers and currency in Japanese.
Here is a table showing the kanji 百 （hundred）, 千 （thousand）, 万 （ten thousand）and 円 （yen）, along with their kun-readings, on-readings and example phrases. We will focus on the highlighted readings and words:
| Kanji | Kun-reading | On-reading | Example Phrases |
|---|---|---|---|
| 百 | ひゃく, びゃく, ぴゃく | 百（ひゃく: hyaku: hundred）, 百円（ひゃくえん: hyaku-en: 100 yen） | |
| 千 | せん, ぜん | 千（せん: sen: thousand）, 千円（せんえん: sen-en: 1,000 yen） | |
| 万 | まん | 万（まん: man: ten thousand）, 一万円（いちまんえん: ichi-man-en: 10,000 yen） | |
| 円 | まる | えん | 三千円（さんぜんえん: san-zen en: 3,000 yen）, 円高（えんだか: en-daka: yen appreciation） |
2. Everyday kanji: 本, 人, 山, 川, 田, 私
Here is a table showing the kanji 本 （book, basis）, 人（people）, 山（mountain）, 川（river）, 田（field）and 私（I, private）, along with their kun-readings, on-readings and example phrases. We will focus on the highlighted readings and words:
| Kanji | Kun-reading | On-reading | Example Phrases |
|---|---|---|---|
| 本 | もと | ほん | 本 （ほん: hon: book, basis）, 日本（にほん: Nihon: Japan）, 本日（ほんじつ: honjitsu: today） |
| 人 | ひと | じん, にん | 人（ひと: hito: person）, 日本人（にほんじん: Nihon-jin: Japanese person/s）, 人口（じんこう: jinkou: population） |
| 山 | やま | さん | 山（やま: yama: mountain）, 富士山（ふじさん: Fuji-san: Mt. Fuji）, 山道（やまみち: yamamichi: mountain path） |
| 川 | かわ, がわ | 川（かわ: kawa: river）, 小川（おがわ: ogawa: small rivers) | |
| 田 | た, だ | 田（た: ta: field）, 田んぼ（たんぼ: tanbo: rice field） | |
| 私 | わたし | し | 私（わたし: watashi: I/me）, 私立（しりつ: shiritsu: privately established [school]） |
Further resources
1. Money-related kanji: 百, 千, 万, 円
The following resource from Let’s Study Japanese! – Beautiful Friends illustrates how to write key kanji related to money – 百 （hundred）, 千 （thousand）, 万 （ten thousand）and 円 （yen) – and their stroke orders. The explanations are provided entirely in Japanese, but you can enable the auto-generated captions by clicking the CC button:
2. Everyday kanji: 本, 人, 山, 川, 田, 私
The resource created by おがちゃんねる/OgaChannel provides a detailed guide on writing the kanji 人（people）, 山（mountain）, 川（river）and 田（rice field）, including explanations of their meanings, formation and usage:
This resource from StudyInDaily Japanese offers a quick overview of the kanji 本（book, basis), as well as three similar kanji: 木（tree), 休 （rest) and 体（body):
This resource created by Learn Japanese with Moonchan demonstrates how to master and write the kanji 私（I, private) with detailed explanations:
Exercise 1
Are you ready to sharpen your kanji writing skills this week? Download and print the PDF kanji worksheet to start practising and mastering these characters! There’s something timeless and powerful about putting pen to paper – it’s one of the best ways to truly learn kanji!
References
Let’s Study Japanese!—Beautiful Friends. “[Kanji] 03 Let’s Write “100/1000/10,000/Yen.” YouTube video, 11:11. September 2, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHSSa8iQhJ4.
おがちゃんねる/OgaChannel. “[おがちゃん先生の Japanese Kanji #3] 山 川 田 人 | Stroke | Usage.” YouTube video, 8:03. February 11, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EW4gTi2ab0.
StudyInDaily Japanese. 4 Kanji in 10 seconds.YouTube shorts. May 10, 2022. https://youtube.com/shorts/ZGQyFyAmYIo?si=McvUZXGBlh-Qngg7.
Learn Japanese with Moon-chan. “How to Write Kanji 私 (watashi/ shi)? | Easy Way to Learn Kanji (JLPT N4).” YouTube video, 2:31.February 1, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEqTCF3Ro0E.
