The Japanese adapted these characters, sometimes using them only for their sounds, and other times retaining their meanings as well. Because kanji were imported from China, they have both Chinese and Japanese pronunciations, both of which are used commonly in Japanese. The Chinese reading is called the on-yomi , which is the Japanese interpretation of the ancient Chinese pronunciation. The Japanese reading is called the kun-yomi , which is the original Japanese word for the ancient Chinese character. The reading depends on the word.
Most Japanese words consist of a pair of kanji , both of which usually take the on-yomi .
Fortunately, each kun pronunciation is usually unique to one kanji . Reading and writing is the most difficult aspect of the Japanese language, and while it is important to an overall understanding of the language and culture, beginners should make up their minds not to worry about it until they have a fundamental knowledge of Japanese grammar and a functional vocabulary. Particles always follow the word they modify. Looking at examples will help you tremendously. That's because Asian languages themselves don't normally use these features.