Skip to main content

Zdenek's definitions

ATX

Share definition
Stands for Advanced Technology Extended (PC). Refers to the computer case, power supply and motherboard specifications. The older variety is AT.
When you assemble a machine, the 3 components mentioned above must be all of the same kind, either AT or ATX. The ATX power supply additionally offers a 3.3V power and 5V stand-by for keyboard power-on, Wake-On-LAN and possibly a non-interrupted USB slot. It is also software-driven, while the older AT kind can be only turned on/off manually.
Wow, this AMD K6 board has both AT and ATX power connectors! They have been thinking about everything!
by Zdenek June 23, 2004
Flag
mugGet the ATX mug.

kanji

Share definition
It is, and means, the Chinese characters. This conceptual writing system is believed to be totally archaic by the European linguistic experts who don't have a single idea about the whole thing. Their logic goes as follows, from the most primitive to their Latin:
pictures - hieroglyphs - kanji - syllabary (on the Cyprus island) - Greek - LATIN.
Which is a complete nonsense, to say at least. I will try to explain why KANJI is the best script for certain Asian countries and why it should come to our general knowledge as well.
When a language contains a lot of homophones, which is seen on a regular basis in Japanese and Chinese, putting it simply phonetically will not do for more complex texts. So the text is much more clear with the glyphs. It shall also be taken into consideration that different scripts are optimised for different audiences. Unlike Latin, which was developed for general public and needed to express tongue-twisting sounds, and is therefore good for fast learning (some children learn it in 1 week), the Kanji is targetted to well-educated and subsequently wise people. It is also proved that when one masters Kanji, he can absorb information 2 times faster than when reading Roman letters. But there's more: Unlike Latin letters, one can see interesting coherences in the Kanji's radicals, which allow an experienced reader to understand a new character without exactly remembering it, and, what's more interesting, enrich their mind with understanding how a difficult word can be made of the simpler ones.
Now one piece of information related strictly to the Japanese use of Kanji: They use both traditional and simplified variants of it, which may complicate simultaneous learning of Chinese and Japanese. They also include okurigana suffixes after the word roots to express the tense.
\-|-|-
\(=+=)
. -+-
/ /~\

(~~'~~)
.~~~~/
. |~
. j
by Zdenek June 8, 2004
Flag
mugGet the kanji mug.

katakana

Share definition
It is a Japanese syllabary alphabet used to spell out foreign, now mostly English words. Consists of approx. 45 syllables, which can be further modified with accents "=b and °=p, prolongations (nigori) and smaller versions of vowels, ya-yu-yo and tsu. It doesn't allow for an exact transliteration, thus introducing a thick Japanese accent.
George > jio-ji
America > amerika
burger > ba-ga-
Windows > uindo-zu
by Zdenek June 8, 2004
Flag
mugGet the katakana mug.

hiragana

Share definition
Invented by the Japanese women in the 8th century AD, it can express any native Japanese word. It's useful for writing poems like haiku, as it allows only one way of reading, unlike kanji. It is in much heavier use now, as the kanji stops being as remarkable sign of tough knowledge as before. See also Katakana.
by Zdenek June 8, 2004
Flag
mugGet the hiragana mug.

okurigana

Share definition
All the suffixes added after a root of a word written in kanji. Used in Japan.
It's -maru in the example.
ha ji
-/-|-
.< | 4 . ma ru
. x . D
by Zdenek June 8, 2004
Flag
mugGet the okurigana mug.

harakiri

Share definition
The most (in)famous kind of Japanese suicide. As it says, I'm slitting my stomach, it refers to this gruesome kind of killing oneself.
He was not able to stand the pressure of the society, so he decided to solve the problems in an "honorable" way.
by Zdenek June 8, 2004
Flag
mugGet the harakiri mug.
Most of the kanji characters have more than just one (Chinese) reading in Japan. And the Japanese way of reading it is called Kun-yomi. It's written in Hiragana for the kids (likely for this ookii=big symbol) or for artistic purposes.
--+--
. A . . . oo.kii
_/ \_
by Zdenek June 8, 2004
Flag
mugGet the kunyomi mug.