#n4 kanji

JLPT Level: Unlisted, but the kanji are N1 and N4 respectively.

Okay, this one is so low frequency you’ll probably never see it. But I like how it sounds so I’m gonna talk about it haha. 

紛

• On-yomi: fun
• Kun-yomi: magi.reru, -magi.re, magi.rasu, magi.rawasu, magi.rawashii
• Meaning: distract, be mistaken for, go astray, divert

物

• On-yomi: butsu, motsu
• Kun-yomi: mono
• Meaning: thing, object, matter

So if we put these two together we get “something that one mistakes for something else.” Pretty easy to understand, I think. I wanted to talk about the etymology of the kanji 紛 but I couldn’t find anything. T-T

JLPT Level: Unlisted, but the kanji are N4 and N5 respectively.

This is a pretty low-frequency word. It sounds pretty old-timey, and it makes sense because I found it in a manga that takes place in the Edo Period haha. 

Let’s take a look at the kanji:

夜

• On-yomi: ya
• Kun-yomi: yo, yoru
• Meaning: night, evening

半

• On-yomi: han
• Kun-yomi: naka.ba
• Meaning: half, middle, odd number, semi-, part-

Put them together and you get “the middle of the night.” Pretty easy, right?

JLPT Level: Unlisted, but the kanji are N4 and N3 respectively.

While not a super common word, you do have a chance of hearing it in conversation once in a blue moon. It’s also incredibly easy to understand once you know the parts.

言い ii, to say

伝え tsutae, to communicate, transmit

So 言い伝え is something that is spoken and transferred from one generation to the next.