完熟珈琲

Use the rikaichan popup dictionary or your favorite reference tool with my transcription below the photos if you need help reading this sign. Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the characters more clearly.

The last two characters aren’t on the list of general use kanji, but are seen more often than many that are.

These ‘coffee’ kanji were chosen for this loanword back when coffee was introduced to Japan for phonetic reasons rather than their meaning.  In addition to these kanji,  katakana コーヒー is also commonly used.   The kanji aren’t seen much aside from this usage, and people almost always choose katakana  when writing it, so it’s enough to be able to read them as a set when you see them on a sign or menu,  and the context will likely be enough to remind you of their meaning.  They’re made up of common elements, and actually have one in common.

The numbers below refer to the kanji I’ve transcribed below the photo, and correspond to their order of appearance in both Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji and Kanji in Context.

To learn more about how to work with this information and get the most out of my daily Kanji Kanban series, please read this.

Heisig(H187, H310, H2962, H2963)

Kanji In Context(KIC817, KIC864, KIC N/A, KIC N/A)