To Go

by Nao

yu-ku, i-ku, okona-u, kō, gyō, an

“Let’s go” is “ikō” or “ikimashō” in Japanese. Also, you can say, “yukō” or “yukimashō.” The English verb “go” is “iku” or “yuku.”　The suffix “–mashō” makes words polite.

“Iku” and “yuku” are not always compatible. When you express one’s future, you can say, “yuku sue.” But don’t say, “iku sue.”

“Ichi gyō” means one row or one line. “Ni gyō” means two rows or two lines.

Since the suffix –me makes ordinal numbers, “ichi gyō me” means the first row or the first line. “Ni gyō me” means the second row or the second line.

Another meaning of kō and gyō is one’s behavior or action. Jikkō is practice, execution, or implementation. With the same characters, “fu gen jikkō” expresses a voluntary action without being declared to be done beforehand. Gyōsei is administration or governance. The sei of gyōsei means politics.

Iku means not only “to go” but also “to work.” When things work well, you can say, “umaku iku.” The opposite case is “umaku ikanai.”

The way something goes is described with a “-yuki” suffix.

Nariyuki expresses how things change. Kumoyuki means how clouds go. Kokoroyuki means how your heart goes.

Draw the left hand side of the character first.

1. Draw the sweeping stroke in the upper left corner of the character.
2. Draw the sweeping stroke below it.
3. Draw the vertical stroke.
4. Draw the shorter horizontal line.
5. Draw the longer horizontal line.
6. Draw the vertical line with an upward turn.