Newspapers

[shinzou]

Hey folks.
I was in town yesterday, and at my favourite coffee shop, I noticed a chinese newspaper written in kanji. I noticed that the kanji used were the same as Japanese kanji, which got me thinking.
Is kanji derived from the chinese language, and is pronunciation/definitions of the kanji the same?

(And yes, I do realize this may seem to be a newbie question to some, but hey, I am a newbie)

-Jon

[Schattenjedi]

The short answer is Kanji were indeed imported from Chinese. The pronunciations are very distantly related. The definitions are often the same. The long answer.

[Harisenbon]

The definitions are often the same.

Often being the operative word.
手紙 -- Japanese -- Letter
手紙 -- Chinese -- Toilet Paper

[hungryhotei]

Isn't this almost the same topic?
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4588

[ss]

手紙 -- Japanese -- Letter
手紙 -- Chinese -- Toilet Paper

Yeah

娘 --- Japanese --- Daughter, Unmarried Young Lady
娘 --- Chinese ---- Mother

So just call Coco-san : Coco 姑娘 ( in Chinese )

[keatonatron]

Harisenbon wrote:

The definitions are often the same.

Often being the operative word.
手紙 -- Japanese -- Letter
手紙 -- Chinese -- Toilet Paper

However, in both languages 手 = hand and 紙 = paper.

The meanings of the individual kanji are almost always the same, but since how you stick them together is often up to the speaker, the combinations can vary.