One more kanji recommendation post, this time for @kakehashi718 ! (Quite honestly, this post is so late that you’ve changed usernames since you reblogged the original post <3) Thank you for hanging in there! Due to your patience and the well-thought-out resources I continue to see you post...
For you, I chose the kanji 耐!
onyomi: tai kunyomi: tae.ru “tire”, you say! Never! This kanji has the opposite meaning: resistance!
It’s most often seen related to the verb 耐える (taeru), which jisho.org says has three definitions: 1. to bear; to stand; to endure; to put up with “あの騒音には耐えられない。I can not stand that noise.” 2. to support; to withstand; to resist; to brave “この家は地震に耐えますか。Does this house withstand earthquakes?” 3. to be fit for; to be equal to (No example sentence given)
Interestingly, it says that the first meaning can be both a transitive and intransitive verb, while the second two are only used as intransitive verbs.
Often, the kanji 耐 shows up as a prefix meaning ‘anti’ or ‘resistant’. For example: 耐震・耐震性 taishin/taishinsei resistant to earthquakes/earthquake-proof 耐火 taika fireproof 耐熱 tainetsu heat-resisting 耐圧 taiatsu pressure-resistant 耐水 taisui water-resistant; waterproof 耐性・耐性菌 taisei/taiseikin resistance (e.g. to antibiotics); tolerance (e.g. drug tolerance)/antibiotic-resistant bacteria 耐乏 taibou austerity; voluntary privation [although all of these technically use the ‘enduring’ meaning of 耐, you can replace most of them with anti-; this one, however, means ‘enduring deprivation’ rather than ‘anti-deprivation’]
It also has the meaning of ‘durability’, ‘long-lasting’. 耐久 taikyuu endurance; persistence 耐久力 taikyuuryoku stamina 耐久性 taikyuusei durability From example sentences, this last one seems to be the most common usage. ・“この車は高そうですが、耐久性があるので長い目で見れば得です。This (car) seems expensive, but it's so durable, it will pay off in the long run.” ・”洗濯の耐久性やあらゆることを考慮するとコチラに辿り着きました。Bearing in mind the durability in washing and various other factors, this is what we arrived at.”
Finally, this is practically unrelated, but the character 而 means ‘and’ in Chinese, so... don’t get them confused, I guess ^^;;
Other similar-looking (but different!!) kanji to watch out for are 喘 (in 喘息 zensoku asthma/喘ぐ aegu gasp) and possibly 端 (tan/hata/hashi, meaning ‘edge’)
(image is from a Chinese website, but the stroke order would be the same)
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