Meaning

Primary

To Teach

Alternative

To Tell

Word Type

transitive verb, ichidan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means teach so the verb vocab version means to teach. It's also used to mean to tell in a more general sense.

Reading

おしえる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

Think about your favorite teacher. Now think about them teaching you the following: "Today I'm going to teach you about the ocean (おし)." It is big. Really big. Inside it are krakens, space aliens, and lost cities.

Here is where you continue the lesson in your head, making it the most ridiculous lesson about the ocean you've ever heard. Focus in on the ocean part, since that's the reading, always coming back to it.

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • やり方を教える

    to teach how to do something

    ちがいを教える

    to teach someone the difference

    ポイントを教える

    to teach key points

Context Sentences

私はいつも子どもに「ありがとう」と言う大切さを教える。

I always teach my child the importance of saying "thank you."

海外生活の仕方を教えて下さい。

Please tell me how to live abroad.

地理の先生が、火山の見分け方を教えてくれました。

The geography teacher taught me how to distinguish the volcanos.

Kanji Composition