Both 漢字 (Japanese Kanji) and 汉字 (Chinese Hanzi) are translated as Chinese Characters’. At the present time, approximately 70% of the characters share the same meaning in both languages. Let’s take a look at 30 examples with different meanings!
| Chinese Character | Japanese Meaning | Chinese Meaning |
| 湯 | hot water, hot spring | soup |
| 東西 | east and west | things |
| 聞 | listen | smell |
| 切手 | stamp | cut hand |
| 娘 | daughter | mother |
| 手紙 | letter | toilet paper |
| 勉強 | study | reluctance |
| 高校 | high school | college |
| 走 | run | walk |
| 丈夫 | strong | husband |
| 大丈夫 | no problem, alright | gentleman |
| 汽車 | train | car |
| 食 | to eat | food |
| 床 | floor | bed |
| 小人 | child | vile person |
| 愛人 | mistress | lover |
| 老婆 | old woman | wife |
| 結束 | unity | finish |
| 謝 | apologize | thank |
| 吃 | stutter | eat |
| 上手 | skillful, expert | start to know how to do |
| 下手 | poor, clumsy | start |
| 先生 | teacher | mister |
| 怪我 | injury | blame me |
| 机 | desk | machine |
| 顔色 | facial colour | colour |
| 新聞 | newspaper | news |
| 下水 | sewage | launch, internal organs |
| 大家 | landlord | everyone |
Bonus: Did a pig became a wild boar?
| Chinese Character | Japanese Meaning | Chinese Meaning |
| 猪 | wild boar | pig |
猪 means wild boar in Japanese while 豬 means pig in Chinese. Pig is one of the Chinese zodiac animals and there is a year of the pig in many countries. However, there were no pigs in Japan when the Chinese zodiac was introduced from China to Japan. Therefore, it was translated as a wild boar that resembles a pig.
Read about Chinese words that made in Japan.
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