480531170

Editorial and Typographical
Matters; Romanization
As indicated in 7.2 in the Introduction, for each character entry we show in the top
left corner of the frame its number in the sequence of the corpus of 2,136. Directly
underneath we give a number from L1 to L5, which indicates the level of the Japanese
Proficiency Test (JLPT)—level 5 being the lowest, and level 1 being the highest.
Unfortunately there seems to be some difficulty in obtaining full data on these levels,
and we have been obliged to make our own estimates in some cases. On the righthand
side of the sequence number and the JLPT level, we give the character.
To the right of the character, we give three identifiers, namely pronunciations/
readings on the top line, English meanings below, and stroke count below that.
In the readings we indicate the unvarying earlier part of verbs and adjectives in
standard (non-italic) case, and show the end-syllable(s) to be written in kana by
using italicized lower case. Thus, for example, (‘decide’ / ‘be decided’, entry 289),
which can be transitive or intransitive, is given as ‘kimeru/kimaru’ to indicate that
the end-syllables should be written in kana (okurigana) as / . There
can be variation in okurigana usage (e.g. hikikomori ‘children staying at home’ can
be written as , , or ), though modern practice does tend
towards an explicit model. Note that some characters have numerous readings and
meanings, potentially causing space problems. Sometimes, such as with the character
(shita ‘below’, entry 7), readings can extend over several lines. (Also, for
considerations of spacing within the frames it has been necessary sometimes to use
abbreviated English forms, such as ‘assoc sense’ for ‘associated sense’, and for the
same reason an informal semi-note style is employed sometimes in the main explanatory
text of entries.)
Beneath the readings, English meanings, and stroke count, we give three
example compounds for each character, where possible trying to illustrate its range
of meanings and readings. In these compounds the Sino-Japanese (on) elements
(‘readings’) are indicated by upper case, and the native Japanese ones (kun) by
lower case (it is not uncommon to have a mix of the two in one word, e.g.
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