I can't understand that Kanji >,<'

[Matysier]

I tried to find the meaning of that kanji in dictionary but my translation really doesn't make sense - i think that the kanji on the left is 内 (house?) and i firstly thought that right one was 下 but then noticed that the lower stroke is on other side. Hint: That kanji is written on a shop. Can anyone tell me what it really means? Thanks in advance.

[NileCat]

「財」　ざい　zai
And maybe it's Chinese, I guess.

[Matysier]

I thought that Kanji and Chinese looks the same, have similar meaning but different pronounciation. Looks like I was wrong Since it's chinese let's drop it i guess. But it would be nice to know what does it mean. ;]
But "財" would fit there perfectly! Maybe that's it ;] Thanks for help NileCat.

[Yudan Taiteki]

Chinese in the PRC uses simplified characters for some kanji, that image above is the modern simplified version of 財. Some of the simplifications are also used in Japan (i.e. 学), but not most of them.

[furrykef]

I thought that Kanji and Chinese looks the same, have similar meaning but different pronounciation.

They look the same most of the time, if it's Traditional Chinese. Simplified Chinese simplifies an extremely large number of characters, making them hard to recognize if you only know Japanese. Some Japanese characters are simplified, and some of them are just written slightly differently. And there are plenty of characters that are used in China and not at all in Japan (and a small handful that are used in Japan and not China).

Probably the most dramatic illustration of the difference between Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese is the character 竜. It goes like this:

Traditional Chinese: 龍
Simplified Chinese: 龙
Japanese: 竜

I don't think this happens particularly often, though. It's more common for the Traditional Chinese and Japanese to be the same or almost the same character (or, on occasion, for the Simplified Chinese and Japanese to be the same).

As for similar meaning, this is a lot more sketchy, and the "meaning" of a kanji is often a rather vague concept to begin with, especially for kanji used only in compounds. Consider the morpheme "volve" in English: it's in "evolve", "revolve", "involve", and "convolve", but what does it actually mean? It turns out that etymologically it means "to turn" or "to roll", but it's not really that obvious or relevant.

Anyway, even when the meaning is clear, sometimes the meaning is exactly the same, and sometimes they're completely different. And then you get into compound words: in both countries, 手 means "hand" and 紙 means "paper", but they disagree on what it means when you put the two together: Japan says 手紙 means "letter" (as in what you mail someone) and China says it means "toilet paper"!

- Kef

[Harisenbon]

Traditional Chinese: 龍
Simplified Chinese: 龙
Japanese: 竜

[quibble] Japanese also has 龍 [\quibble]

[furrykef]

Yeah, I meant to mention that and it slipped my mind. Everybody in Japan knows that 龍 = 竜, and you will encounter the traditional form from time to time. Shōgi pieces use it, for example, and there are probably some personal/place names that require the traditional form (Japanese people are stubborn about that sort of thing). The unsimplified form is also used in some kanji, such as 襲う, which means "attack".

And as long as we're quibbling, you should have typed "[/quibble]" instead of "[\quibble]".

- Kef

[Harisenbon]

And as long as we're quibbling, you should have typed "[/quibble]" instead of "[\quibble]".

My quibble has been quibbled!
...
Ahh, the trouble with quibbles...
Trials and Quibbulations...

クイバれた・・

ok.. I'm just going to stop now..

[AJBryant]

Oooh, dibble quibble!

[Matysier]

Whoa, that's what people call "well explained". Big thanks furrykef

[keatonatron]

Oooh, dibble quibble!

Double dibble quibble!

[two_heads_talking]

Oooh, dibble quibble!

Double dibble quibble!

no double dibbling allowed.. it's not sanitary..

[AJBryant]

I sense a Seinfeld episode coming on.

[mbridge]

That kanji is written on a shop.

.. is it a wallet (財布) shop?