2004
12.03
12.03
I was just browsing the kanji for the JLPT at www.kanjisite.com when I came across 可 (ka) possible, approve. Then I looked down the list of example compounds and was shocked to find:
可愛い (かわいい) ー cute
Wow, it’s shocking when such a common word has kanji that you never knew about it.
Whoa, that’s cool. Chinese people use the same characters for “cute” — 可愛 (ke ai).
Perhaps the original meaning is “lovable” – 愛することが可能、ということ?
Cute and lovable kanji. Chinese people must know more about what they write about than Japanese – 漢字しかないね。
One of those kanji compounds that most people can read, but that very few people actually use. Shame, really.
Of course… kanji aren’t かわいい. 😉
Not cute? そうかもしれないが、漢字はきれいだと思います。