A New Year 新しい年
atarashii toshi4 characters22 strokes
新しい年 (atarashii toshi) means a new year: the year that is just beginning, greeted with a fresh heart as the old year comes to an end.
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Meaning 意味
What 新しい年 means
The Japanese word for A New Year, written in kanji and kana, read atarashii toshi.
新しい年 is the new year that is about to begin. The old year ends, and people welcome the new one with a fresh outlook.
The phrase mixes kanji and hiragana. The hiragana し and い complete the word 新しい, "new," and 年 means "year."
When people write it in Japan. People in Japan write it for kakizome, the first calligraphy of the New Year. It also fits any moment early in the year when you want to put a fresh start into words.
Japanese children know every kanji here by 2nd grade.
How to write it 書き方
Brush tips for 新しい年
Three things to watch
- Write 新 and 年 large and い a little smaller. Make し slim and let it run long from top to bottom.
- On the right side of 新, bring the 13th stroke, the final vertical, straight down. It should reach lower than any other part of the character.
- In 年, make the 5th stroke, a horizontal, the longest. Bring the 6th stroke, a vertical, straight down past it.
Stroke order
Follow the vermilion stroke, frame by frame.
Stroke order data: KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0.
How to practice 練習
Trace first, then copy
- PrintPrint both pages at actual size, on US Letter or A4. Page 1 is the model. Page 2 is the tracing sheet.
- TraceTrace the outlines with a brush pen. Or lay thin hanshi paper over the page and trace with brush and ink.
- CopySet the model beside your paper and copy it stroke by stroke. Look at the model more than at your own paper.
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