Transmission
June 1, 2010
tsuta-eru, tsuta-waru, tsuta-u, den
The on’yomi of this character is den, which does not inform us a lot. I vaguely remember TV sometimes broadcast news from abroad, mentioning the names of news agencies. Famous ones are “AP den” and “roitā (Reuters) den.” We rarely hear such expressions these days.
Den is used as a part of compounds, such as denki, which means biography.
The transitive verb tsutaeru means to inform or to transmit something; the intransitive verb tsutawaru, to become known, to be brought or to spread.
Tsutaeru
The objects of this transitive verb can be a heart, feelings, customs, news, heat, etc.
- Kokoro wo tsutaeru … to let somebody know your heart
- Kimochi wo tsutaeru … to let somebody know your feelings
- Shūkan wo tsutaeru … to pass down customs
- Nyūsu wo tsutaeru … to convey news
- Netsu wo tsutaeru … to transmit heat
Tsutawaru
The subjects of this intransitive verb can be feelings, information, vibrations, sorrow, an atmosphere, etc.
- Kimochi ga tsutawaru … One’s feelings are conveyed to somebody else.
- Jōhō ga tsutawaru … Information becomes known.
- Shindō ga tsutawaru … One feels vibrations from somewhere.
- Kanashimi ga tsutawaru … Sorrow is felt for somebody.
- Fun’iki ga tsutawaru … A certain atmosphere prevails.
You can see these phrases in Japanese -> here.
- Draw the sweeping stroke from the top to the lower left.
- Draw the vertical stroke below it.
- Draw the shorter horizontal stroke.
- Draw the longer horizontal stroke.
- Draw the rotated chevron.
- Draw the dot in the lower right corner of the character.
In kaishō, the fifth stroke is often separated into two.





