Identifying the correct reading for multiple Kanji


I've just started my "Kanji learning" and I'm a bit confused. I understand
that almost all Kanji can be read differently depending if its followed by
another Kanji or Hiragana. But how do I spot the correct reading in the
following cases? it seems like even if the Kanjis are followed by different
Kanjis the reading changes:

  1. 本田 = HON + DA
  2. 田中 = TA + NAKA (suddenly da changes to ta)
  3. 中国 = CHU + GOKU (and now naka has become chu)

Is it really just a memorization of the words themselves or is there a trick
to it? Sorry if this has already been posted my search didn't return any
results.




As you mention, there is no rule which predicts kanji readings with 100%
accuracy. But there are some general guidelines which people follow. This rule
of thumb is something like:

  * Kanji compounds (two or more kanji together without kana between them) often use ON-YOMI. For example, 学校, 大学, 日本, etc.
  * Words which have a single kanji combined with kana often use KUN-YOMI. For example, 食べる, 読みます, 折り紙, etc.
  * Names of (Japanese) people and places (in Japan) often use KUN-YOMI. 田中, 北山, 山川, etc.

I must stress that these are just guidelines, not rules. That's just how it is
with Japanese. In your examples, we see that 本田 uses the ON-YOMI of 本 combined
with the KUN-YOMI of 田. Already this doesn't conform to the guidelines I
listed and must be learned as an exception. As for pronouncing 田 as 'da'
instead of 'ta', this is an example of 'rendaku' (see
[here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendaku)), a common occurrence in
Japanese.




As you mention, there is no rule which predicts kanji readings with 100%
accuracy. But there are some general guidelines which people follow. This rule
of thumb is something like:

  * Kanji compounds (two or more kanji together without kana between them) often use ON-YOMI. For example, 学校, 大学, 日本, etc.
  * Words which have a single kanji combined with kana often use KUN-YOMI. For example, 食べる, 読みます, 折り紙, etc.
  * Names of (Japanese) people and places (in Japan) often use KUN-YOMI. 田中, 北山, 山川, etc.

I must stress that these are just guidelines, not rules. That's just how it is
with Japanese. In your examples, we see that 本田 uses the ON-YOMI of 本 combined
with the KUN-YOMI of 田. Already this doesn't conform to the guidelines I
listed and must be learned as an exception. As for pronouncing 田 as 'da'
instead of 'ta', this is an example of 'rendaku' (see
[here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendaku)), a common occurrence in
Japanese.

