April 2012 Newsletter: JOK Round-Up: Contests, Tigers, & Deer—Oh, My!
Hello, Friends of Joy o' Kanji (aka JOKers)!
Congratulations to Tilak Bhattacharjee (again!) and Miruna! They submitted perfect answers to last month's contest and won two essays apiece!
As was true last month, the winners come from different countries. I've long known that people around the world love kanji, but I've been astounded to see the range of places from which people have registered on Joy o' Kanji. Check it out:
Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mali, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, Venezuela, and Vietnam
That's 31 countries! Never once did I imagine that someone in Mali would study kanji!
Today we'll start with another contest. Then you'll find results from the previous contest, as well as all that's new at Joy o' Kanji.
New Contest
The following questions come from the first quiz in essay 2005 on 虎 (tiger), which just posted on Friday. (Actually, this is a modified version of the quiz. The one in the essay is more extensive!) Use your intuition (and maybe a dictionary) to fill in the blanks.
The Japanese have several expressions involving one tiger and another animal. Choosing from the lettered options, insert the proper animal into each expression. Use each animal once. The definitions of all the kanji will appear in the answers, which will come in the next newsletter. For now, just concentrate on the English and the animals!
1. 虎の威を借る___ (person who swaggers about under borrowed authority; a ___ that borrows the authority of a tiger)2. ___質虎皮 (___ in a tiger’s skin; showy without real worth; all show and no substance)
3. 前門の虎、後門の___ (between the devil and the deep blue sea; faced with two dangerous alternatives; between a rock and a hard place)
4. ___虎の争い (well-matched contest)
a. 竜 (dragon)b. 狐 (fox)
c. 狼 (wolf)d. 羊 (sheep)
Email me your answers soon! The first three people to answer all questions correctly will win two essays each. I'll provide the answers and the winners' names in the next newsletter. May the best JOKers win!
Photo Credit: Susan Stevens
Previous Contest
If you missed last month's newsletter, these were the contest questions:
1. Which is the month of idiocy? Fill in the blank with the number of a month. For instance, 1月 is January. The red words correspond to the preceding kanji.
__月馬鹿 ___ + month + idiocy (last 2 kanji)a. 2 (because our brains freeze in the cold)b. 4 (because of April Fools' Day)c. 7 (because heat makes us idiotic)d. 12 (because holiday excess makes us idiotic)
2. Match the breakdown to the right animal. The red words again correspond to kanji, but this time we can't see the characters!
a. arrow shaft + deer i. reindeer b. reed + deer ii. moose; elk c. cow + woolen cloth + deer iii. sea lion d. tamed + deer iv. gnu; wildebeest
And now for the short answers (with more details coming up in essay 2025 on 鹿, deer, which posts in June):
1.b. 4月馬鹿 (しがつばか: 4 + month + idiocy (last 2 kanji)) means "April fool" and "April Fools' Day." However, the Japanese use エイプリルフール much more often when referring to the day.
2.a.ii. arrow shaft + deer is "moose; elk" (箆鹿, へらじか). Logical, huh?! The first character can also mean "spatula"!
b.iii. reed + deer is "sea lion" (葦鹿, あしか). This term particularly refers to eared seals, such as the California sea lion.
c.iv. cow + woolen cloth + deer is "gnu, wildebeest" (牛氈鹿, うしかもしか). Together, the second and third kanji (氈鹿) mean “(Japanese) serow." (A serow is a "goat antelope of eastern Asia.") So "gnu, wildebeest" is actually cow + (Japanese) serow.
d.i. tamed + deer is "reindeer" (馴鹿, となかい or じゅんろく). The first yomi, となかい, is ateji, coming from an Ainu word. As for "tamed," this most likely appears in the word because people living around the Arctic Circle have long domesticated reindeer.
Latest Developments at Joy o' Kanji
• Testimonials: Because so many of you have said kind things about Joy o' Kanji, we now have a Testimonials page. It starts with a wonderful comment from kanji rock star Jack Halpern.
• Avatar Selection: It's important to have an avatar on Joy o' Kanji. It will pop up when you leave a comment and particularly when the Great Wall of Kanji goes live, presenting everyone's favorite kanji. All along you've been able to upload an image to serve as your avatar. Now, as you can see on the Testimonials page, you can also select from a range of samurai and geisha avatars! Many thanks to Tiara Marina for her beautiful creations. Here's the array (though there are variations on how much of each image you want to show):
Announcements
• Great Wall of Kanji: As I just mentioned, the Great Wall of Kanji will present people's favorite characters and the reasons for these preferences. I can't wait until this feature goes live! What fun! With your help, it'll be even more fun. Many of you have skipped over those boxes in your account registration form. It's not too late to return to your account page and fill in your answers. Please do so. Otherwise, when this feature goes live, you'll be just another brick in the wall! If you haven't yet created an account, it's a great time to do that and to download two free essays.
• Joy o' Shopping: In the near future, Joy o' Kanji will help you satisfy all your kanji-shopping needs. That is, you'll be able to buy a wide range of objects with kanji on their surfaces—ideally, artwork, books, greeting cards, jewelry, quilts, candles, clothing, pottery, tiles, and posters. Several vendors have expressed interest in selling their wares through Joy o' Kanji, but there's room for more people. If you would like to be a vendor, please contact me. And if you know a suitable vendor, please put us in touch. Thanks!
• Joy o' Subscription: Have you considered a Joy o' Kanji subscription? It brings the following benefits:
—Access to all essays and all JOKIA photo albums
—Freedom from the hassle of paying each time you want something
—Huge cost savings
Right now with the early-bird special, a one-year subscription (expiring after 365 days) costs just $65! This offer is valid through Dec. 31, 2012. Starting on Jan. 1, 2013, the rate goes up to $85. To buy a subscription, visit the Purchasing Information page.
New Essays
I've just published the 36th essay, which means there are just 2,100 to go! Next time I make such an announcement, it'll probably be spring 2014, when I've narrowed it down to an even 2,000 essays.
Since we were last in touch, I've posted these essays:
Apr. 13: "Dippers, from Saké to the Stars," on 斗 (1633: dipper; unit of measurement (about 18 liters))
Three of these kanji are radicals, and three (not the same three!) are recent additions to the Joyo set. The links take you to Character Home Pages, where you'll find synopses and can buy PDFs. These are the essay covers:
New JOK Notebook Posts
The following JOK Notebook posts have also appeared since I last wrote to you:
Apr. 6: Spring Color, Spring Greens
Apr. 13: The Scratch Marks of Your Life
Apr. 20: Against All Odds
Apr. 27: The Root of the Matter
These are all FREE, and each one has something of interest about kanji, as well as vivid photos, so be sure to check them out!
Have a wonderful month.
JOYOusly yours,
Eve (and the rest of the Joy o' Kanji team)
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