on'yomi & kun'yomi

[blasted by bubbles]

I've read about on'yomi & kun'yomi & about how there are clues telling you when & how to read each character, but how can you tell when a kanji is by itself or combined with other characters??

I'm a beginner at learning Japanese, but I've learned all Hiragana & 90% or Katakana. I know barely any Kanji. Maybe I should learn more characters before worrying too much about on'yomi & kun'yomi?  

[Ellembri]

Usually yes it would be better to get used to a base of kanji before worrying about on/kun readings but I don't see the harm in a brief synopsis. XD

Japanese Kanji usually have two or more ways to say them. Onyomi (chinese reading) are usually used when two kanji characters are paired together to make a word. Kunyomi (japanese reading) are usually used when a kanji character is paired with one or more hiragana. This is a very general rule but probably 8 time out of 10, it will be correct. Obviously it is not a law and there are exceptions the most notable being the number systems where it is sometimes hard to discern which reading to use with which counters and the like.

Examples:
女の人 - onna no hito (kunyomi) female person
女性 - josei (onyomi) female person

車 - kuruma (kunyomi) car
電車 - densha (onyomi) train; lit: electric vehicle  

[42applez]

That's an interesting tip. Honestly, I never noticed a pattern. I'll have to go through my books...

Truthfully (at least in my experience), it doesn't really matter which one you are using, you'll eventually be able to pick out the proper pronunciation based on context or character combination. You don't have to worry so much about whether it is the onyomi or kunyomi, specifically.  

[Pearls of Diamonds]

I've noticed this but had no idea what it was called! In fact, in my book when they used those terms I used to get super confused! Thanks. heart