Apparently the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation decides one of these every year.

This year, 熊 (kuma) was selected, meaning bear. For whatever reason, Japan has had a bunch of bear issues lately.

  • Cyborganism
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    3 months ago

    I love how the drawing of the kanji with the brush stroke looks NOTHING LIKE THE ACTUAL KANJI. GAH!

    Kanjis are hard, yo. Even the Japanese say so.

    • k0e3
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      3 months ago

      It’s not so much the medium, but the style he writes in. And don’t worry, it can be hard for even Japanese people. This one is pretty easy for me because I’m adult with lots of experience, but my kid in 3rd grade probably wouldn’t be able to tell.

      • Cyborganism
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        3 months ago

        It’s the equivalent of writing in cursive with the western alphabet.

        • k0e3
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          3 months ago

          It’s almost like doctor’s notes.

    • emb@lemmy.worldOP
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      3 months ago

      Seriously! Even after knowing what it is, I look back at the picture and can barely see any hint of it.

    • Eagle0110@lemmy.world
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      30 days ago

      The flip side though is that once you get good work kanji, you can also be very expressive with them in ways not really possible with a phonetic script like the Latin alphabet :p