Kanji: 発 付 欲 集 始

1. Vocabulary List

2. Kanji Breakdown

発 — Departure / Beginning

The radical of 発 is 癶, which describes the movement of legs. 癶 looks like a tent — when we take down a tent, we are ready to depart (出発する).

付 — With / To Attach

The radical of 付 is イ (person). 休 and 何 share the same radical. Note: 付 has a dot in the middle — don't omit it.

欲 — Longing / Desire

The radical of 欲 is 欠 (open mouth). We open our mouths (欠) when we have a cavity (谷) in our stomach because we have an appetite (食欲). Also appears in 歌 (to sing) and 飲 (to drink).

集 — To Collect / To Gather

The radical of 集 is 隹 (bird). Birds (隹) are gathering (集) on a tree (木).

始 — To Start

The radical of 始 is 女 (woman).

3. Grammar & Sentences

• 日本へ出発する。(Nihon e shuppatsu suru.) — I'll depart for Japan.
• 付き合う。(Tsukiau.) — To be in a relationship.
• ちゅう車場付きの家。(Chuushajou tsuki no ie.) — A house with a car park.
• 今日はあまり食欲がありません。(Kyou wa amari shokuyoku ga arimasen.) — I don't have much of an appetite today.
• 鳥が木に集まっています。(Tori ga ki ni atsumatte imasu.) — The birds are gathering on the tree.
• 古いお金を集める。(Furui okane wo atsumeru.) — To collect old money.
• 仕事を始める。(Shigoto wo hajimeru.) — To start a job.
• よやくのうけ付を開始する。(Yoyaku no uketsuke wo kaishi suru.) — To start accepting reservations.
• 日本の切手を集めています。きょ年始めました。(Nihon no kitte wo atsumete imasu. Kyonen hajimemashita.) — I'm collecting Japanese postal stamps. I started last year.

4. Learning Context

• 出発 word order: 出 comes before 発 — 出発する (shuppatsu), not 発出する. Common error in exercises: writing the kanji in reverse order.
• 食欲 word order: 食 before 欲 — 食欲 (appetite = food + desire). Reversed 欲食 is wrong.
• 付 dot: The kanji 付 has a small dot (丶) in the upper-right area — a common stroke to omit. 受付 (reception) is a useful anchor word.
• 始める vs 始まる: 始める (transitive — I start something) vs 始まる (intransitive — something starts on its own). Same split as 集める (collect) vs 集まる (gather/come together).
• 始業式 cultural note: In Japan, each school term starts with a special ceremony called 始業式 (しぎょうしき). The head of school gives a speech and pupils sing the school song. Japanese schools have 3 terms: April, September, and January.
• 発 compounds: All four compounds use the はつ/ぱつ reading — 発明 (invention), 出発 (departure), 発音 (pronunciation), 発見 (discovery). The ぱつ reading appears in compounds where the preceding sound causes voicing (出発 → しゅっぱつ).

5. Progress Tracker