The Complete Guide to Japanese Kanji_ (JLPT All Levels) Remembering and Understanding the 2136 Standard Characters

脱1682 DATSU, nugu extended senses. Note: (兑) is typically taken
L1 take off, shed, escape as showing person 41 with mouth 22 on
top, signifying ‘call out, pray’, with ‘eight’ /
11 strokes 70 in its other meaning ‘disperse, out, away, off’;
taken here as indicating either ‘words directed
DATSUI undressing to the deities, pray’ by a shaman (Katō), or ‘man-
DAPPI emergence ifestation of the spirit of the deities’ (Shirakawa).
DASSHUTSU escape KJ1970:603; MS1995:v1:92-5; OT1968:823;
SS1984:560; TA1965:548-9. Suggest ‘elder
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 209 brother’ 114, as ‘off’, plus ‘body’ .
‘meat, body’, and (NJK; ‘shaman, one who
pleases the deities; see Note below) as phonetic Mnemonic: ELDER BROTHER TAKES CLOTHES
with associated sense ‘come off, remove’, thus
‘grow thin’. ‘Escape; take off/shed (clothes)’ are OFF BODY AND ESCAPES

奪1683 DATSU, ubau tion of as in the bronze form (Gu). Ogawa,
L1 snatch, capture, for his part, interprets and as making
up one compound part of , i.e. 奞 ‘bird flaps
captivate its wings’. Despite these various differences,
overall meaning of the seal form is still typi-
14 strokes cally considered to be ‘bird flies off out of the
hand’, though Mizukami notes an alternative
DASSHU seizure interpretation as ‘’pull out from under the arm
DAKKAI recovery a bird caught in hunting’. ‘Captivate’ may be
ubaisaru carry off seen as an extended sense, but views diverge
as to whether ‘seize, deprive someone of
Bronze ; seal . Bronze has ( 324 something’ should be regarded as an ex-
‘bird’ between upper and lower elements tended sense or a loan use in relation to ‘bird
of ‘clothing’, here in sense of ‘cover’ 444), flies off’. It appears to have been at the clerical
meaning ‘bird flies off/about to fly off’; script stage that was replaced by 920,
beneath there is 2003 ‘hand’, giving the also meaning ‘hand’; the substitution of
overall meaning ‘bird flies off out of the hand’ ‘hand’ for in this way was not uncommon.
(Katō), or ‘covered bird about to flap wings MS1995:v1:306-7; GY2008:241; KJ1970:678;
and escape’ (Gu). The seal form has the three QX2000:76; OT1968:289; ZY2009:v1:199;
elements , 56 ‘big’, and ; interpreta- SK1984:195. Take as variant of ‘big’ .
tions of this combination differ. In all cases
Mnemonic: CAPTIVATING BIG BIRD
is taken as ‘bird’, and as ‘hand’, but in
one view here is taken as ‘person’ (Tōdō), SNATCHED FROM HAND
while another analysis takes as phonetic
with associated sense ‘get loose’ (Katō), and
alternatively again is taken as an abbrevia-

棚1684 tana Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 73
L1 shelf, trellis ‘wood, tree’, and (‘friend’; see Note below)
as phonetic with associated sense ‘stick close
12 strokes together’, giving (a structure such as) ‘cover/
shelves made of wood or reeds’ (Tōdō), or
HONdana bookshelf ‘(temporary) bridge’ (Ogawa). Note: at the
todana cupboard OBI stage, the above graph for ‘friend’ was
tanaage pigeonhole originally ‘shell currency on two strings’, writ-

500 The Remaining 1130 Characters

ten with a pictograph showing two strings Take the two shells as 18 ‘months’.
of shell currency; this led to extended senses
such as ‘pair; cluster together’, though these Mnemonic: TAKE TWO MONTHS TO PUT UP
have become defunct in modern times. WOODEN BOOKSHELVES!
TA1965:155; OT1968:513; MS1995:v1:636-8.

誰1685 dare, tare, SUI Bronze ; seal . Has 118 ‘words; speak’,
L1 who? and 324 (‘short-tailed bird, bird’) as pho-
netic with associated sense ‘this’ or ‘who?’,
15 strokes giving ‘who?’ or ‘anyone, someone’. In modern
Japanese, ‘who?’ only. MS1995:v2:1202-03;
SUIKA Who goes there!? WD1974:640-41.
darekare many people
taresore Mr So-and-so Mnemonic: WHO OWNS THAT TALKING BIRD?

丹1686 TAN, ni OBI ; seal . OBI through to seal stages
L1 red, red earth, sincere depict a pit, with a mark in the middle which
is taken to represent an excavated red sub-
4 strokes stance, specifically vermilion ore. The shift
towards the block script shape can be seen
TANNEN diligence in some clerical script occurrences. ‘Sincerity’
TANSEI assiduity is a very minor meaning, probably borrowed.
ninuri painted red MS1995:v1:14-16; OT1968:23; KJ1970:682-3;
SK1984:15. We suggest using 1450 ‘boat’.

Mnemonic: ONLY HALF THE BOAT IS RED

旦1687 TAN, DAN OBI ; seal . OBI and bronze occurrences
L1 dawn, morning of vary to some extent, but are taken as
depicting the sun 66 rising out of cloud,
5 strokes or reflected in the sea. The seal form changes
to show the sun above a line representing
TANSEKI day and night the horizon. Hence the meaning ‘dawn, early
DANNA master, husband morning’. MS1995:v1:608-9; OT1968:459.
GANTAN New Year’s Day
Mnemonic: SUN RISES AT DAWN OVER THE

HORIZON

胆1688 TAN, kimo Seal ( ) ; a late graph (Shuowen); tradi-
L1 gall-bladder, liver, tional ; is a later, post-Shuowen graph.

courage consists of / 209 ‘flesh, meat; body’,
with (CO; ‘talkative’) as phonetic with
9 strokes associated sense taken in one view as ‘jar-
shaped’, giving ‘gall-bladder’ (Katō), though
TANNŌ gall-bladder ‘bag-shaped’ might be a better description
TANSEKI gallstone (and see Note below). Alternatively, Ogawa
RAKUTAN discouragement takes the associated sense as ‘fill’, likewise

The Remaining 1130 Characters 501

giving ‘gall-bladder’. Shuowen defines as lar everyday usage the native Japanese
‘organ which joins the liver’. is in ori- word kimo can refer to either, probably
gin a different graph from , listed in the reflecting the close relationship between
Guangyun dictionary (early 11th century) as the two. Similarly, attempts are made to
originally having another meaning (possibly distinguish the use of and to write
‘saliva’), but was subsequently borrowed kimo meaning ‘liver/gall-bladder’ on the one
to write . Traditionally the gall-bladder hand and ‘courage’ on the other, but actual
was perceived to be the seat of courage, usage may not adhere to this. KJ1970:251;
hence the extended use in that sense. Today, ZZ1671:v2:949 GY2008:896; TA1965:839;
ZY2009:v3:1017,1040; OT1968:819. We sug-
can be used in a general, non-technical gest taking as ‘dawn’ 1687.
way for either ‘gall-bladder’ or ‘liver’ (see
Note following). Note: in modern Japanese, Mnemonic: AT DAWN, GALL-BLADDER AND
the medical term for gall-bladder is
TANNŌ ( is ‘bag’ [NJK]) and that for liver LIVER WILL BE TAKEN FROM BODY
is KANZŌ (see 1142), but in popu-

淡1689 TAN, awai OBI : seal . Has 42 ‘water’, and
L1 pale, light, faint 1050 (‘fierce flames’, [doubled flame 8]),
with associated sense taken as i] ‘peaceful,
11 strokes calm’ (Mizukami), or ii] ‘few’ (Ogawa), or iii]
‘weak soup’ (Katō) giving ‘watery/bland soup’;
TANSUI freshwater by extension, ‘pale (color), weak (flavor),
TANSHOKU light color faint’. MS1995:v2:760-61,796-7; OT1968: 591;
awayuki light snow GY2008:1323; KJ1985:371.

Mnemonic: WATER ON FLAMES MAKES THEM

PALE AND FAINT

嘆1690 TAN, Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 22
L1 nageku/kawashii ‘mouth; speak’, and (provisional meaning
understood as ‘drought, starvation’: see also
lament, admire 265) with associated sense taken either as i]
‘suffer’, thus ‘become disheartened and sigh’
13 strokes (Ogawa), or ii] ‘swallow, unable to talk’, giving
‘make lamenting sound’ (Katō), either way giv-
TANSOKU sigh ing ‘lament’. Basis for the minor meaning ‘ad-
KYŌTAN admiration mire’ is not clear. DJ2009:v1:119; OT1968:193;
nagekisakebu wail KJ1970:683. Take as ‘Han male’ (265).

端1691 TAN, hashi, hata, ha Mnemonic: HAN MALE OPENS HIS
L1 extremity, edge, MOUTH – TO LAMENT OR ADMIRE?

upright, tip Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 77
‘stand’, and ‘plant growing’ (see Note be-
14 strokes low), giving original meaning ‘upright’ (Qiu).
‘Edge, extremity’ are considered extended
KYOKUTAN extreme senses (Gu). Ogawa, alternatively, treats as
TANSEI upright phonetic with associated sense ‘flat’, giving
michibata roadside ‘stand with good posture’. Note: OBI occur-
rences of are taken in one view as a pic-

502 The Remaining 1130 Characters

tograph of a young plant putting out shoots down, but this is not convincing. QX2000:266;
above ground and showing roots below, MS1995:v2:1054-5; GY2008:1748; OT1968:747.
giving the meaning ‘pointed shoot of a plant’, Take as ‘mountain’ 26 and as rake.
and by extension, ‘beginning; edge’. This view
is set out in Mizukami, who also notes another Mnemonic: RAKE STANDS UPRIGHT ON
interpretation of this graph (put forward by EXTREME EDGE OF MOUNTAIN
Tōdō) as representing edges of cloth hanging

綻1692 TAN, hokorobiru A late, post-Shuowen graph. Has 29
L1 be torn, rip, come ‘thread’, and 371 (‘fix, establish’) as pho-
netic with associated sense taken either as i]
apart, unravel ‘appear on outside’, giving ‘be ripped and ap-
pear on outside’ (referring to lining of a gar-
14 strokes ment becoming visible) (Tōdō), or ii] ‘be cut,
snap’, giving ‘be rent apart/ripped; unravel’
HATAN failure, bankruptcy (Ogawa). Examples of are found in clerical
hokorobi open seam, rip script onwards. TA1965:534-5; OT1968:782;
hokorobaseru break into smile SK1984:571.

Mnemonic: FIXED THREADS CAN UNRAVEL

OR BE TORN

鍛1693 TAN, kitaeru Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 16
L1 forge, train ‘metal’, and 944 (‘step, grade’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘hit, strike’, giving ‘beat
17 strokes and temper heated metal’. OT1968:1048;
GY2008:1723-4.
TANKŌJO smithy
TANREN forge, train Mnemonic: FORGING METAL IS A STEP IN
TANKIN beating gold
ONE’S TRAINING

弾1694 DAN, hiku, hazumu, OBI ; seal ; traditional . The OBI form
L1 tama, hajiku shows some variation, but more semantically-
explicit occurrences have a small object, taken
bullet, spring, play, to be a stone for use as a projectile, inside a
bow. Seal form has 107 ‘bow’ and / 569
bounce (‘simple’) as phonetic with associated sense
‘round ball’, giving ‘bow to project stone mis-
12 strokes siles’; by extension, ‘hit; pull bowstring; play
stringed instrument’. ‘Bounce’ and ‘spring’
DANYAKU ammunition would seem to be extended meanings.
DANRYOKU elasticity MS1995:v1:472-3; OT1968:342; KJ1970:682.
hikite player
Mnemonic: BULLET SPRINGS FROM SIMPLE

BOW!?

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壇1695 DAN, TAN Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 64
L1 stage, platform ‘earth’, and (CO ‘granary full of grain’ [Gu])
as phonetic with associated sense i] ‘make
16 strokes level and firm’ (Ogawa), or ii] ‘raised’ (Katō), ei-
ther way giving ‘raised area of flattened earth’.
KADAN flower bed Initially used for rituals, later generalized.
DANJŌ stage OT1968:226; KJ1970:681; GY2008:1636-7. Take
DOTANba execution platform as ‘dawn’ 1687, ‘turn’ 92, atop .

Mnemonic: EARTHY SHOW AT DAWN ATOP

REVOLVING STAGE

恥1696 CHI, haji, Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 164
L1 hajiru/zukashii ‘heart, feelings’, with 31 (‘ear’) as phonetic
with associated sense i] ‘shrink’ (Katō, Tōdō),
(a)shame(d), shy or ii] ‘feel shame’ (Ogawa), both giving ‘feel
shame’. KJ1970:692; TA1965:98-9; OT1968:370;
10 strokes SS1984:587.

CHIJOKU disgrace Mnemonic: ASHAMED TO HAVE HEART
MUCHI shamelessness
akahaji public disgrace SMALLER THAN EAR

致1697 CHI, itasu similarly-shaped ( [determinative no.
L1 do, send, cause 66]). The clerical script seems to have been the
time of transition which saw a change to
10 strokes in this graph, no doubt because when (or

ITCHI unity, accord [‘go down, descend’]) was written cursively
CHIMEITEKI fatal there was potential for confusion with ( )
SŌCHI sending ‘hit, strike, coerce’. As for the meanings ‘cause
(to do)’ and ‘do’, it may be that was some-
Bronze ( ) ; seal . Bronze and seal forms times used also for a near-homophone in early
have 886 ‘reach’, with not ( ) 112 ‘hit, Chinese meaning ‘bring about’, which could ex-
strike’, but what in the bronze form Katō takes plain the sense ‘do’ as well. MS1995:v2:1092-3;
to be a standing person with heel on the KJ1970:445,58-9; SK1984:606-7; GY2008:1032-
ground as a fuller version of ‘walk slowly/ 3; OT1968:833; AS2007:617-8.
drag foot’ (see Appendix). Original meaning
of the graph is taken as ‘send; arrive (from Mnemonic: COERCIVELY SEND SOMEONE,
afar)’. Later, the foot element was replaced by
WHO DOES ARRIVE

遅1698 CHI, okureru, osoi Bronze ; seal ; traditional . The bronze
L2 tardy, slow, late form has / 85 ‘go, walk’, with CO 屖, the
latter taken to mean either ‘tarry, linger’ (Qiu)
12 strokes or ‘person crawling cannot move forward’
(Mizukami). By the seal stage, however, the
CHIKOKU lateness graph had changed so as to be written
CHICHI slowly (as before) but now instead with (NJK,
osozaki late blooming ‘slow-moving beast, rhinoceros’: see Note

504 The Remaining 1130 Characters

below); the associated sense of here is which corresponds to 1888 ‘tail’, but one
taken either as i] ‘become loose’, thus giving must bear in mind that this does not reflect
‘move slowly’ (Ogawa), or ii] ‘become blocked’, the earlier composition of (noted above).
giving ‘move slowly almost as if blocking the MS1995:v2:1308-9,v1:412-13; QX2000:254;
way’ (noted in Mizukami). Alternatively, can OT1968:1007,638; SS1984:588. We suggest
be taken as semantic, combining with to taking the right-hand elements as ‘sheep’
give ‘move slowly like a rhinoceros’ (this view 426 and ‘corpse’ 256.
noted in Mizukami also). Note: consists – at
the seal stage – of 108 ‘ox, cow’ (here, ‘ox/ Mnemonic: MOVE LIKE A SHEEP’S
cow-like beast’), combined with an upper part
CORPSE – SLOWLY!?

痴1699 CHI lacking intelligence’ (Katō), hence ‘foolish’, or
L1 foolish ii] ‘not advancing’, again giving ‘foolish’ (Oga-
wa). The popular form replaces with
13 strokes 186 ‘know’ as semantic and phonetic, giving
‘illness related to thinking’. Unfortunately,
HAKUCHI idiot beyond saying that is a post-seal form it
GUCHI idle complaint is difficult to give an indication of the period
CHIJŌ infatuation when it evolved. OT1968:680; KJ1970:691-2;
DJ2009:v2:613.
Seal ( ) ; is a late, post-Shuowen
equivalent. The seal form has 404 ‘sick- Mnemonic: I MAY BE FOOLISH, BUT I KNOW
bed, sickness’ and 848 (‘doubt, suspect’)
as phonetic with associated sense taken as I’M ILL
i] ‘slow’, giving ‘illness of someone vague or

稚1700 CHI ‘grain plant not big as yet’, and by extension
L1 young, immature ‘very young’ (Ogawa; see Note below). At the
clerical script stage, examples are found of
13 strokes both 稺 and . Kangxi zidian has separate
entries for both graphs, but treats them as
CHIGYO fish fry essentially being the same. Note: Ogawa
CHISETSU naivety says ‘rice plant not big as yet’ (mada ōkiku
YŌCHIEN kindergarten naranai ine), but refers to grain plants in
general, not just rice plants. OT1968:734;
is a late, post-Shuowen graph. The seal ZY2009:v3:875,878; SK1984:542,544.

form corresponds to 稺, comprising 87 Mnemonic: YOUNG BIRD AMONG IMMATURE
‘grain plant’, with 屖 (‘tarry, linger’, etc.) (later
GRAIN PLANTS
replaced by 324 ‘short-tailed bird, bird’) as

phonetic; associated sense is ‘small’, giving

緻1701 CHI A late, post- Shuowen graph; added to a later
L1 fine, minute, exact version of Shuowen by the 10th century scholar
Xu Xuan. Consists of 29 ‘thread’, combined
16 strokes with as phonetic with associated sense
‘fine, detailed’, giving ‘fine texture’, and then
KŌCHI elaborate ‘fine, detailed’. The difference in shape be-
CHIMITSU fine, exact tween the phonetic element in this graph –
SAICHI detailed, minute originally 致 (with right-hand 夊 or [see

The Remaining 1130 Characters 505

Appendix], not 112 ‘strike’) and 1697 other earlier official character lists has been
(q.v.) – is a subtle one which resulted in regularized in shape to , a change which
fluctuation in the shape of even in the avoids an otherwise troublesome fine point
leading dictionaries in Qing dynasty China: of difference. KZ2001:2052/3671; OT1968:786;
Zhengzitong gives the printed form of this GY2008:1032-3; SS1984:589; ZZ1671:v2:909.
graph as it would be written today, as , We suggest taking 1697 as ‘do’, with 29
while the authoritative Kangxi zidian presents ‘thread’.
it in what its scholars saw as the more correct
form. In the 2010 Jōyō kanji List, though, this Mnemonic: DO FINE, EXACT THREADWORK
relatively uncommon graph not included in

畜1702 CHIKU then written distinctively from the seal script
L2 livestock stage onwards. Thus analyses diverge. One
view treats as having 63 ‘field’, with as
10 strokes phonetic with associated sense ‘rest, give rest’,
giving overall meaning ‘let soil rest from culti-
CHIKURUI livestock vation’, and by extension ‘accumulate’ (Ogawa,
CHIKUSHŌ beast, Damn! Katō). Alternatively, the top element is taken
CHIKUSAN stockbreeding to be ‘black’, giving ‘grow crops in rich black
soil’ (Tōdō). MS1995:v2:878-9,648-9,v1:448-9;
Bronze ; seal . It is hard to determine OT1968:671; KJ1970:387-8; TA1965:178.
whether the top element in was origi-
nally or . The shapes of 1297 (‘black, Mnemonic: LIVESTOCK IN FIELD ARE FOR
occult’) and 29 (‘fine thread’), were often
very similar if not identical in bronze, and OCCULT PURPOSES

逐1703 CHIKU, ou changed to 85 ‘go, walk’. These combined
L1 chase, pursue elements are generally taken as ‘follow
wild boar’, then more generally ‘chase prey,
10 strokes chase’. An alternative minority view (noted in
Mizukami) takes 89 ‘wild pig’ as phonetic
KUCHIKU driving off with associated sense ‘chase’, thus ‘chase
CHIKUICHI one by one along path’ or ‘chase and surround prey’, but
CHIKUGOTEKI literal still same generalized meaning, i.e. ‘chase’.
MS1995:v2:1292-3; MR2007:244; TA1965:178;
OBI ; seal . OBI form has pictograph of QX2000:192; OT1968:1000; SS1984:591.
wild animal varied in shape, but often felt
to represent wild boar or similar, with an Mnemonic: GO IN PURSUIT OF WILD PIG
element for ‘foot’. At bronze stage, ‘foot’ was

蓄1704 CHIKU, takuwaeru Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 53
L1 accumulate, store ‘plants’, and 1702 taken in one view in the
extended sense ‘accumulate’, giving ‘accumu-
13 strokes late vegetables (for winter)’ (Tōdō, Ogawa). A
different view takes as phonetic with associ-
CHOCHIKU savings ated sense ‘soak skeins in pot of dye’, giving ‘ac-
CHIKUDEN charging cumulate’ (color from plant dyes). TA1965:178;
CHIKUSEKI accumulation OT1968:866; SS1984:1591.

Mnemonic: LIVESTOCK FED ON

ACCUMULATED PLANTS IN STORE

506 The Remaining 1130 Characters

秩1705 CHITSU replenish’ (Tōdō; see Note below), or ii] ‘join
L1 order up in order’, giving ‘put grain plants in rows’,
and by extension ‘accumulate’ (Ogawa; see
10 strokes Note following). Note: both Tōdō and Ogawa
say ‘rice plant’ (ine), but is generally inter-
CHITSUJO order preted as ‘grain plant’, though Qiu prefers to
MUCHITSUJO disorder take more specifically as ‘foxtail millet’, a grain
SHINCHITSUJO new order plant grown at an early period in ancient
China. TA1965:748; OT1968:748; QX2000:176.
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 87 ‘grain
plant’, and 529 (‘lose’) as phonetic with Mnemonic: LOSING GRAIN PLANTS IS OUT
associated sense i] ‘fill up, accumulate’, giving
‘accumulate grain plants and make complete/ OF ORDER

窒1706 CHITSU Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 860
L1 block up, plug ‘hole, cave’, and 886 ‘reach’. Usually taken
with as phonetic with associated sense ‘be-
11 strokes come full’, thus ‘hole becomes blocked’, then
generalized to ‘block, cover, close off’ (Ogawa).
CHISSO nitrogen OT1968:742; AS2007:617; GY2008:1333.
CHISSHI asphyxia
CHISSOKU suffocation Mnemonic: REACH INTO HOLE TO PLUG IT

嫡1707 CHAKU and by extension ‘direct lineage’. Gu also takes
L1 legitimate (child) ‘original legal wife’ as original meaning. Alter-
natively, the associated sense is taken as ‘stay
14 strokes in one place’, and seen to give original meaning
as ‘woman’s respectful and compliant attitude’
CHAKUSHI legitimate heir (Katō); in this treatment, Katō regards senses
HAICHAKU disinherit such as ‘direct lineage’ as loan usages. The time
CHAKUSHI legitimate child when 啇 replaced in this graph is hard to es-
tablish. TA1965:462-3; OT1968:262; KJ1970:721;
Seal ; late, post-Shuowen form. Has 37 GY2008:769; MS1995:v1:238-9; ZY2009:v1:130.
‘woman, female’, and (NJK ‘say just one As 778 / 779, take 啇 as ‘funny tower’.
thing, only’; later replaced by CO 啇 ‘origin’ [see
778, 779]) as phonetic with associated sense Mnemonic: WOMAN BESIDE FUNNY TOWER
taken as i] ‘straight, direct’ (Tōdō), or ii] ‘stand
facing’ (Ogawa), either way giving ‘original wife’, IS LEGITIMATE

沖1708 CHŪ, oki OBI ; seal . Has 42 ‘water’, and 59
L1 open sea, soar ‘middle’ as phonetic with associated sense
taken as i] ‘shake, wobble’ (Katō), or ii] ‘gush/
7 strokes flow out’, giving ‘water gushes out’ (Ogawa).
The meaning ‘offshore expanse of sea’ is found
CHŪTEN ascendancy in Japanese only. ‘Soar up’ is a very minor
okiai offshore meaning. MS1995:v2:736-8; KJ1970:700-01;
okizuri offshore fishing OT1968:561; GY2008:316-7.

Mnemonic: WATER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE

SEA MEANS OPEN SEA

The Remaining 1130 Characters 507

抽1709 CHŪ Seal form A ( 㨨 ) ; seal form B ( ) ;
L1 pull, draw out a late graph (Shuowen). The Shuowen entry
heading has 㨨, and notes as an alterna-
8 strokes tive writing. Has 34 ‘hand’, and 824
(‘stop; fasten’; later replaced by 421 [‘rea-
CHŪSHŌ abstraction son, means’]) as phonetic with associated
CHŪSHUTSU extraction sense ‘pick/pull out’, giving ‘pull out (with
CHŪSEN lottery hand)’. DJ2009:v3:993; OT1968:408;
KJ1970:699.

Mnemonic: THERE’S A REASON FOR PULLING

YOUR HAND OUT

衷1710 CHŪ Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has
L1 inner feelings 444 ‘garment’, and 59 ‘middle, inside’
as semantic and phonetic, giving ‘inside
9 strokes garment’, i.e. ‘underwear’. Senses such as
‘sincere’ and ‘inner feelings’ are best taken
SETCHŪ compromise as loan usages (Qiu, Ogawa), though Shi-
CHŪSHIN true feelings rakawa and Gu take as extended senses.
KUCHŪ anguish OT1968:902; QX2000:273-4; GY2008:1104-5;
SS1984:595.

Mnemonic: ONE’S INNER FEELINGS ARE

INSIDE ONE’S CLOTHES

酎1711 CHŪ, sake says ‘spirits with sediment’. In Japan, it
L1 sake, wine refers to lower-grade distilled alcohol with
high alcohol content, made from sweet
10 strokes potato or rice wine lees. Mizukami lists a
proposed bronze equivalent. Note: was
SHŌCHŪ low-grade sake originally (OBI) a pictograph of a hand with
(no other compounds) fingers bent, about to grab hold of some-
thing, hence ‘grab with the hand’. It was
Seal . Has 318 ‘wine’ (originally, pic- subsequently borrowed to signify ‘Ox’ as
tograph of wine jar), and 920 (‘hand’) as the second of the Twelve Branches, used in
phonetic. The latter element is considered traditional Chinese culture for such things
to be an abbreviation here; views differ as to as marking year dates on a recurrent cycle
what it is an abbreviation for. In one treat- of sixty years. Shirakawa’s proposal is based
ment, it is taken as abbreviation for (NJK, on similarity in shape at the seal stage be-
‘elbow’) with associated sense ‘brew well’ tween and . MS1995:v2:1346-7,v1:6-7;
(Mizukami, Ogawa). Other proposals for the OT1968:1026; GY2008:1014-15; AS2007:345.
unabbreviated phonetic are 151 (‘time’,
Gu) and 1454 (‘ox’, Shirakawa; see Note Mnemonic: HAND ON THE WINE
below). Despite some variation regarding
the phonetic, commentators agree on the BOTTLE – IT’S PROBABLY LOW-GRADE SAKE
overall meaning ‘strong alcohol’; Schuessler

508 The Remaining 1130 Characters

鋳1712 CHŪ, iru appears to be phonetic with associated sense
L1 cast, found, mint ‘red’ (as of molten metal) (Katō).The seal form

15 strokes consists of 16 ‘metal’, with (traditional
form of 1445 ‘long life’) as phonetic with
CHŪZŌ casting associated sense taken as i] ‘melt’, giving
CHŪTETSU cast iron ‘melt and pour metal’ (Ogawa), or ii] ‘extend
igata mold everywhere’, giving ‘pour molten metal every-
where within a mold’ (Tōdō); either way, the
Seal ; traditional . Bronze forms vary overall meaning is ‘cast metal’. KJ1970:697;
somewhat, and all are different in structure QX2000:89; AS2007:627; SS1984:596;
from the seal form. The bronze form has OT1968:1044; TA1965:179-83.
hands – or more probably pincers – hold-
ing a container upside down over fire and Mnemonic: METAL SHOULD HAVE A LONG
metal, and so readily understood as ‘cast’
(Shirakawa); also includes an element which LIFE IF CAST IN FOUNDRY

駐1713 CHŪ Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 210
L2 stop, stay ‘horse’, and 315 (‘master; main’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘stand still, stay’, giving
15 strokes ‘horse stands still’; sense then generalized
to ‘stop, stay’. OT1968:1125; TA1965:281-4;
CHŪSHA parking GY2008:758-9.
CHŪZAI residence, stay
CHŪNICHI resident in Japan Mnemonic: MASTER STOPS HORSE AND STAYS

弔1714 CHŪ, tomurau giving ‘dwarf’. is seen quite differently by
L1 mourn Shirakawa based on some bronze forms, as
showing string attached to arrow, signifying
4 strokes ‘arrow with string attached for catching birds’,
and seen as the ancestral form of ‘uncle’
KEICHŌ condolence 1466, not of ; this more traditional view is,
CHŌMON sympathy call however, dismissed by Mizukami and Katō.
CHŌBUN funeral address Tōdō takes ‘deities bestow favor’ as extended
sense from ‘hang down’, and ‘sympathize
OBI ; seal . Views vary: in one, is seen as with others, mourn’ as a further extension,
a pictograph originally, taken by one scholar while Katō sees latter meaning as loan use of
as showing a snake clinging to a person
(Ogawa), but by another as a vine hanging . OT1968:338; TA1965:197-9; SS1984:600;
down from a pole (Tōdō). Katō, by contrast, MS1995:v1:466-8,24-5.
takes as 41 ‘person’, combined with
Mnemonic: MOURN MAN CRUSHED LIKE
60 ‘insect’ (or ‘snake’ 1434/ 184) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘twisted’, thus STICK BY TWISTING SNAKE
‘person with twisted body’, or ‘shrink, small’,

The Remaining 1130 Characters 509

挑1715 CHŌ, idomu Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 34
L1 challenge, defy ‘hand’, and 573 (‘sign, omen’) as phonetic
with associated sense taken in one view as
9 strokes ‘leap up’, thus ‘raise up high with hands’, giv-
ing ‘challenge, confront’ (Ogawa), presum-
CHŌHATSU provocation ably taking raised hands as confrontational
CHŌSEN challenge posture. Alternatively, here is taken as
CHŌSENTEKI aggressive associated sense ‘divide in two, open’ (Tōdō),
though how this relates to ‘challenge’ is not
clear. OT1968:414; TA1965:243-4.

Mnemonic: RAISED HANDS ARE A SIGN OF

CHALLENGE

彫1716 CHŌ, horu semantic and phonetic, giving ‘surround with
L1 carve, sculpture decorative carving’ (Ogawa, Tōdō). In another
analysis, is taken as phonetic with associ-
11 strokes ated sense ‘knife’, giving ‘fashion decorative
elements with knife’ (Katō); based on a short
CHŌKOKU carving passage in Lun Yu (The Analects of Confucius),
CHŌZŌ sculpture Katō maintains that the original meaning of
tebori hand carving
is ‘carve wood with knife’. TA1965:179-83;
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 115, OT1968:345; KJ1970:514.
a determinative taken to signify ‘decora-
tive feathers/features’, combined with Mnemonic: THREE LINES CARVED AROUND
532 ‘encircle, around’, taken in one view as
SCULPTURE

眺1717 CHŌ, nagameru Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 76
L1 gaze, look ‘eye’, and 573 (‘sign, omen’) as phonetic
with associated sense taken as i] ‘distant’,
11 strokes giving ‘look into the distance’ (Ogawa), or
ii] open’, giving ‘open up the field of vision’
CHŌBŌ view, outlook (Tōdō). OT1968:700; TA1965:244-5.
nagame view, scene
CHŌBŌZEKKEI beauty spot Mnemonic: GAZING EYE LOOKS FOR SIGN

釣1718 CHŌ, tsuru/ri Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 16
L1 fishing, entice, lure, ‘metal’, and ‘scoop up, catch’ (see Note
below) as semantic and phonetic, giving
change ‘scoop up/catch (fish)’. Alternatively, is
taken as phonetic with associated sense
11 strokes ‘pull out’, but still giving essentially the same
meaning, in this view ‘pull fish out of water’
tsuriba fishing spot (Tōdō). It is unclear as to how came to
CHŌGYO angling
tsuriSEN change (coin)

510 The Remaining 1130 Characters

mean ‘monetary change’. Note: was origi- OT1968:1037; GY2008:639; TA1965:247-8;
nally (OBI stage) a pictograph of a scoop MS1995:v1:146-7.
or ladle, giving ‘scoop up’ as an extended
sense. It was removed as an independ- Mnemonic: FISH WITH LADLE-LIKE METAL
ent graph from the Jōyō kanji List in 2010. HOOK

貼1719 CHŌ, haru early meaning (Ogawa). In Shirakawa’s view,
L1 affix, paste however, this represents the later meaning
as given in Shuowen xinfu. On the basis of
12 strokes earlier usage, he takes the original meaning
as ‘add to, supplement’, and points out that in
haridasu put up (a notice) the Tang Dynasty when Imperial edicts were
harifuda placard, poster amended this was referred to in Chinese as
harigami sticker, poster
(tie huang) ‘attach/stick yellow [paper]’.
Seal ; a late graph (later version of OT1968:956; SS1984:604.
Shuowen). In one analysis, has 10 ‘shell
currency, valuables’, and 1598 (‘divina- Mnemonic: PASTE NOTICE ABOUT
tion’) as phonetic with associated sense
‘store, put aside’, thus ‘give as security’ as the DIVINATION USING SHELLS

超1720 CHŌ, koeru/su Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has
L2 exceed, cross, super-, 179 ‘run’, and 1486 (‘summon; wear’) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘leap over’,
ultra- giving ‘leap over’; ‘superior’, ‘ultra-’, and
‘exceed’ are extended senses. OT1968:967;
12 strokes TA1965:246.

CHŌJIN superman Mnemonic: SUPER-FAST RUNNER
CHŌKA excess, surplus
NYŪCHŌ imports excess SUMMONED FOR EXCEEDING LIMIT

跳1721 CHŌ, haneru, tobu Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has
L1 spring, jump, leap 54 ‘foot, leg’, and 573 (‘sign, omen’) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘leap up’,
13 strokes thus ‘dance upwards’ (Ogawa). Shirakawa
considers also has a semantic function
CHŌYAKU spring, jump here, linking it to the cracks which ran
tobiita springboard along a turtle shell when heated as part of
hanekaeru rebound the divination process employed in Shang
times (see 573). OT1968:972; SS1984:604;
GY2008:1596.

Mnemonic: LEAPING LEGS ARE AN OMEN

The Remaining 1130 Characters 511

徴1722 CHŌ, shirushi sense. Shirakawa looks to attribute a ritu-
L1 sign, indication, alistic, shamanist-orientated derivation to
this graph. Mizukami lists proposed bronze
collect, summon equivalents also. Note: Tōdō, however, takes
as 5 ‘ruler’, and as phonetic with associated
14 strokes sense ‘raise up’, thus ‘ruler elevates/promotes’.
Most scholars, though, regard as originally
SHŌCHŌ symbol , not . ‘Summon’, ‘collect’ seem extended
CHŌSHŪ levy senses. DJ2009:v2:669; KJ1970:803-04;
TOKUCHŌ characteristic MS1995:v1:490-92; OT1968:355; TA1965:93-5;
SS1984:604-5. Take as ‘go’, as ‘mountain’
Seal ; traditional . Has as abbrev of 26, 5 as ‘king’, and 112 ‘beat/force’.
1890 ‘faint, indistinct’, with (‘stand straight/
tall; sign, indication’; see Note below) with Mnemonic: SIGN FORCES KING TO GO TO
associated sense taken in one view as ‘show’,
thus ‘give hint/subtle indication of will’ (Katō, MOUNTAIN
Ogawa), and ‘sign, indication’ as extended

嘲1723 CHŌ, azakeru Seal ; late graph (later Shuowen version).
L1 ridicule Has 22 ‘mouth’, and as phonetic with
associated sense ‘challenge’ ‘ridicule’.
15 strokes OT1968:196; SS1984:606. Now is ‘morning’

嘲 CHŌRŌ ridicule 191.
嘲 CHŌBA taunt, insult
Mnemonic: OPEN MOUTH IN THE MORNING,
JICHŌ self-scorn
BUT ONLY TO RIDICULE

澄1724 CHŌ, sumu/masu (Katō). Ogawa, though, takes the phonetic
L1 clear, settle in as having associated sense ‘gradually

15 strokes becomes clear’, thus ‘cloudy water becomes
clear’. Katō sees as a popular form, but
SEICHŌ clear, limpid Shirakawa rejects this proposed lower status
sumikiru be clear on the grounds that was already used in
sumashigao smug look Han epitaphs. best seen as alternative
form of that later became predominant.
Seal ; is not in Shuowen form (see below). DJ2009:v3:899; KJ1970:733; OT1968:608;
Has 42 ‘water’, and (Shirakawa treats as SS1984:606. Use 382 ‘climb’.
abbrev of 1722 ‘sign; summon’) as phonetic
with associated sense taken in one view as Mnemonic: WATER CLEARS AS ONE CLIMBS
‘go through’, thus ‘water is see-through/clear’
UP RIVER

聴1725 CHŌ, kiku OBI ; seal ; traditional . The ancestral
L1 listen (carefully)
forms of this graph (OBI and bronze) typi-
17 strokes
cally have 31 ‘ear’ next to 22 ‘mouth’ or
CHŌKŌ attending lecture
TŌCHŌ wiretapping in some OBI occurrences two mouths, giving
CHŌSHINKI stethoscope
‘listen to’. At seal stage, structure of graph
changed. CO ‘straight, virtue’ was com-
bined with , and (‘stand up straight/tall;

512 The Remaining 1130 Characters

tower above; sign’) was added as phonetic form, but at least one example that includes
with associated sense taken as i] ‘straight, can be found. Note: Zhengzitong has what
hit mark decisively’, giving ‘clearly/care- looks like in this graph rather than 㙯, and
fully listen to ’(Mizukami, Tōdō), or ‘question, Kangxi zidian (Peking Palace printed edi-
inquire’, thus ‘listen and make correct judge- tion) has a shape which could be seen as
ment’ (Ogawa); by extension, ‘comply’. As Qiu (orig pictograph of spinning spool) equally
observes, both and 922 ‘sage’ were well as if not more so, a point highlight-
generally identical in shape at the OBI stage, ing just how fragile the distinction between
at least in some occurrences correspond- the very similarly-shaped and was. This
ing to (though some occurrences of what fine distinction verged on the impractical or
later evolved as 922 have 41 ‘person’ unrealistic to maintain, even in the scholarly
as additional element), and the one graph at realm. MS1995:v2:1062-3,1058-9; TA1965:467;
that stage represented two different words of OT1968:812; QX2000:195-6; ZZ1671:v2:944;
similar pronunciation, meaning ‘listen to’ and KZ2001:2140/3671. Take ‘ear’ 31, 罒 as ‘eye’
‘sage’. For ‘sage’ (later ), at seal stage the 76, ‘ten’ 35, and ‘heart’ 164.
extra element was changed to . Much
variation in shape of is found in clerical Mnemonic: EAR IS WORTH TEN EYES WHEN
script, due in part no doubt to its intricate
LISTENING TO HEART

懲1726 CHŌ, koriru/rasu ‘clarify’, giving ‘find out past wrongs/trans-
L1 chastise, learn gressions’ (Ogawa). The latter analysis leads
to ‘chastise’ as extended sense. Kangxi zidian
18 strokes retains the form with (‘stand up straight/
tall, tower above; sign’) as phonetic, but in
CHŌBATSU punishment the modern period this has been modified to
CHŌKAI reprimand
CHŌAKU punishing evil 5 ‘king’, on the basis of the latter being a
similarly-shaped element which is commonly
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen); traditional occurrent. KJ1970:703; OT1968:390.
form has 1722 ‘sign’ as upper element.
Modern form 164 ‘heart, mind’, with Mnemonic: SIGN THAT CHASTISED HEART
as phonetic with associated sense taken as
i] ‘change, renew’, thus ‘reform’ (Katō), or ii] HAS LEARNED LESSON

勅1727 CHOKU ‘make to do, manipulate’, thus giving ‘bring
L1 imperial (edict) neatly under control’. This appears to be a
sound analysis. On the other hand, though,
9 strokes another commentator (Katō) chooses to treat

CHOKUGO imperial edict as having the same meaning as – in other
CHOKUSHI imperial will words functioning here as a variant of –
CHOKUNIN imp. appointment 561 (‘bundle, manage’) as phonetic with asso-
ciated sense ‘straight’, giving ‘hit with stick and
Bronze ; seal ( ) . The bronze form make straight’, in other words, ‘control’. Mizu-
is taken in one view (Gu) as consisting of kami likewise treats in this graph as essen-
‘divide up’ (CO, in its bronze form, made up of tially the same as , and lists another result-
the element ‘divide, separate’ [see ‘eight’ ant meaning similar to Katō’s, viz. ‘tighten/
constrict with some force’. Mizukami regards
70] within 561 ‘bundle’), and (/ )
112 ‘hit with stick, strike’ in its extended sense

The Remaining 1130 Characters 513

‘make subjects and the like behave in upright as a variant writing. has been adopted as
manner’ as an extended sense, and by further standard in modern Japanese usage, though
extension ‘edict; warn, punish’. According to in Chinese usage has been retained as
Katō, in Han times this graph was used in the standard. GY2008:1205,811; KJ1970:648-
sense of a warning issued by government of- 9; MS1995:v1:576-7; DJ2009:v1:265;
ficials; it appears that subsequently it took on OT1968:127,498; ZY2009:v2:449,v1:78.
the more specialized meaning ‘imperial edict’.
Also in Han times , entailing ‘strike’ being Mnemonic: POWERFUL IMPERIAL EDICTS
replaced by 78 ‘strength, power’, emerged
COME IN A BUNDLE

捗1728 CHOKU, hakadoru clear), a proposal which is supported by sound
L1 (make) progress values for as opposed to . According to
Ogawa and Shirakawa, the original mean-
10 strokes ing of 捗 in Chinese was ‘collect’. Schuessler,
though, gives ‘promote’ as an additional sense
捗 SHINCHOKU progress for , and this leads to the meaning ‘make
捗 hakabakashii rapid, active progress, advance’. OT1968:416; SS1984:609;
(no other compounds) AS2007:619.

A late, post-Shuowen graph. Has 34 ‘hand’, Mnemonic: WALKING ON HANDS, BUT STILL
and (traditional form of 221 ‘walk’),
which here appears to be an abbreviation for MAKING PROGRESS

(‘climb’) as phonetic (associated sense un-

沈1729 CHIN,shizumu/meru see Note below) as phonetic with associated
L2 sink sense ‘hang down heavily, sink deep’, giving
‘sink in water’; sense then generalized to
7 strokes ‘sink’. Note: 冘 originally (OBI stage) depicts
a person carrying a heavy object such as a
CHINBOTSU sinking weapon or agricultural implement, thereby
CHINTAI stagnation giving the meaning ‘heavy’. It also has a
CHINKA subsidence meaning of ‘doubtful’ in modern Chinese.
MS1995:v2:738-9,v1:112-3; KJ1970:683-5;
OBI ; seal . The ancestral OBI forms GY2008:502-3; BK1957:174-5; OT1968:562
vary somewhat; all have / 42 ‘water’ We suggest taking 冘 as man with crooked
(here, ‘river’), and many occurrences have leg and two broken arms.
enclosed within the water/river 108 ‘ox/
cow’, signifying an ox/cow being submerged, Mnemonic: ALAS, HEAVY MAN WITH
and meaning ‘sink ox/cow into river in ritual
to river deity’. The structure of this graph CROOKED LEG AND TWO BROKEN ARMS
changed at the bronze stage more consist-
ently to , combined with 冘 (CO ‘heavy’; SINKS INTO THE WATER

514 The Remaining 1130 Characters

珍1730 CHIN, mezurashii gives proposed OBI equivalents which have
L2 rare, curious 10 ‘shell currency’ together with an enclosing
element of uncertain meaning. Note: OBI and
9 strokes bronze occurrences of 㐱 have 41 ‘person’
combined with (see 115, 517), an element
CHINKI novel, rare which is interpreted not in its typical determi-
CHINPIN rare item, curio native meaning ‘decorative feathers/features’
CHINPON rare book but as a shape representing thick human
hair. Note also that as a determinative jade
Seal . Has 15 ‘jade, precious stone, jewel’,
and 㐱 (‘thick hair’; see note below) as pho- almost always drops its dot. OT1968:655;
netic with associated sense taken either as i] MS1995:v2:854-5; GY2008:178-9; BK1957:123-
‘be full/complete, replenish’, giving ‘fine jade/ 4. We suggest taking top right as ‘person’
precious stone without blemish’ (Ogawa), or 41, and as scratches.
ii] ‘free from impurity’, giving ‘fine jade/pre-
cious stone of solid (pure) colour’ (noted in Mnemonic: PERSON HAS CURIOUS AND RARE
Mizukami together with i] above). Mizukami
JEWEL WITH THREE SCRATCHES

朕1731 CHIN ‘sparks’, but in this seems to be an errone-
L1 (imperial) We ous rendition into seal script of the pounding
pole and hands referred to above. Traditional
10 strokes and present-day versions of the right side of

CHIN we represent variants of 灷; at least one exam-
CHIN no Our ple close in shape to modern can be found
CHINTOKU Our Virtue in clerical script. Note also that as a compo-
nent in compound graphs, ‘boat’ and /
OBI forms , ; seal ( ) ; traditional . 209 ‘meat, body’ were being confused with
OBI forms have 1450 ‘boat’, combined with
18 ‘moon’ due to similar shapes as early as
‘two/both hands’ (stylized representa- clerical script stage (Qiu). The sense (Impe-
tion) holding a pole for pounding grain or rial) ‘We’, , is loan use based on the sound
similar. The latter two elements are treated as value of this graph, or rather – to be precise
phonetic with associated sense taken in one – its ancestral forms; found used in this latter
view as ‘continue’ (from action of repeatedly sense from the Qin dynasty on. KJ1970:705-6;
raising pounder), giving ‘joins in boat planks/ MS1995:v2:1102-03; OT1968:482; SK1984:391;
timbers’ (Katō). Another view sees the action ZY2009:v2:660. Take right hand as 62
of raising (as opposed to lowering) the pole, ‘heaven’ and 70 ‘out’.
attributing an original meaning ‘turn boat
upside-down’ (Ogawa). The seal form has the Mnemonic: OUR IMPERIAL BODY IS OUT OF
right-hand side changed to 灷, an element/
graph interpreted in Yupian as meaning HEAVEN

陳1732 CHIN, noberu Bronze ; seal . Bronze has / 262
L1 state, show, set out ‘hill, piled-up earth’, often combined with
(‘set out objects taken from a bag’ [Ogawa;
11 strokes Tōdō takes role of as indicating action])
as phonetic with associated sense taken as
CHINJŌ petition, appeal i] ‘surround with earth’, thus ‘hills/mountains
CHINRETSU show, display with central low-lying area’, or ii] ‘set out flat/
KAICHIN statement evenly’, thus ‘pile up earth evenly in rows’

The Remaining 1130 Characters 515

(both views listed in Mizukami; ii] is favored Note: some bronze forms include ‘earth’
by Tōdō); by extension, ‘set out’; for more 64 as third element, taken by Tōdō as clearly
detail, see Note below. is the abbrev form indicating that which is being made even
(seal stage on). Alternatively, Ogawa takes or flat. MS1995:v2:1396-8; OT1968:1069;
fuller bronze form as originally referring to ZY2009:v2:451; TA1965:757-9; AS2007:184.
name of ancient Chinese state of Chen, with Take as ‘east’ 201.
the abbrev form then later borrowed to
represent core meaning of , i.e. ‘set out’, Mnemonic: STATEMENT SHOWS SET-OUT OF
and by extension ‘explain’. See also 1553.
EASTERN HILLS

鎮1733 CHIN, shizumaru/meru Seal ; traditional . Has 16 ‘metal’,
L1 calm, suppress, and 341 (traditional form of ‘true’) as
phonetic with associated sense taken either
weight as i] ‘put, place’, giving ‘metal weight to press
things down’ (Ogawa), or ii] ‘fill up, block up’,
18 strokes giving ‘metal weight’, and by extension ‘press
down, suppress’ (Tōdō). Mizukami lists several
CHINTSŪZAI painkiller proposed bronze equivalents. OT1968:1049;
CHINSEI calm, quiet TA1965:743-6.
BUNCHIN paperweight
Mnemonic: CALMLY SUPPRESS WITH TRULY

HEAVY METAL WEIGHT

椎1734 TSUI, tsuchi, shii Japanese, refers to a variety of tree (J. shii
L1 mallet, backbone, [members of beech family including Castano-
psis sieboldii]). This may be loan usage of
type of beech, hit based on its SJ (on) pronunciation (modern
values: TSUI, SUI). ‘Backbone’ would seem
12 strokes to be extended sense. Used for its sound
value in writing ‘shiitake mushroom
shiitake type of mushroom (Lentinus edodes)’. OT1968:512; SS1984:612;
TSUIKOTSU vertebra GY2008:1388.
MUSEKITSUI invertebrate
Mnemonic: HIT BACKBONE OF BIRD WITH
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 73
‘wood, tree’, and 324 (‘short-tailed bird, MALLET MADE OF BEECH
bird’) as phonetic with associated sense
‘break’ (Ogawa), giving ‘mallet’. In modern

墜1735 TSUI Bronze ; seal ; traditional . Has 64
L1 fall ‘earth, ground’, and 567 ‘corps, military
unit’, used here in its original meaning ‘fall
15 strokes from a hill’, giving ‘heavy soil falls from moun-
tain/hill (or similar)’ (Mizukami). Meaning then
TSUIRAKU fall generalized to ‘fall’. AS2007:630; OT1968:225;
GEKITSUI shooting down MS1995:v1:278-9.
TSUISHI falling to death
Mnemonic: MILITARY UNIT FALLS TO THE

GROUND

516 The Remaining 1130 Characters

塚1736 tsuka, CHŌ mound’. The direct predecessor of modern
L1 mound, tumulus is , which represents with 64 ‘earth,
ground’ added as determinative in a reinforc-
12 strokes ing role. is of late origin, noted in both
Zhengzitong and Kangxi zidian as a popular
kaizuka shell mound writing for . Official Japanese character
tsukaana grave lists from the Jōyō kanji List of 1923 onwards
Takarazuka place-name already have the regularized shape . Note:
Mizukami lists multiple OBI occurrences of 豖,
OBI ; bronze ; seal . Analyses vary. The OBI which have an animal – quite possibly a pig –
form is treated by one commentator (Gu) as with an additional stroke low down between
‘cliff’, with 豖 ‘fat castrated pig’ as semantic and the legs, which he interprets as meaning ‘hob-
phonetic in the generalized sense ‘big’, giving bled pig has difficulty walking’. GY2008:1156;
‘massive/lofty cliff’; the relationship to the sense SS1984:603; MS1995:v2:1222-3; ZZ1671:v1:276;
‘mound’ is not indicated (see Note below). In ZY2009:v1:180. We suggest taking the modern
another interpretation, this graph is analysed form of this graph as presumed pig (see e.g. 89
as 豖 taken differently as ‘dog sacrifice’, and 1807) 豕 under a cover .
combined with ‘cover’ to make , giving
‘cover dog sacrifice with earth’ (Shirakawa); by Mnemonic: EARTHEN MOUND COVERS PIG IN
extension, ‘mound, grave’. The seal equivalent
is explained in Shuowen as ‘high tumulus/burial A TUMULUS

漬1737 tsukaru/keru, SHI Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 42
L1 pickle, soak ‘water, liquid’, and 751 (‘liability, blame’) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘put/pile up
14 strokes on top’ (Ogawa, Katō), giving ‘put water on
top’, i.e. ‘soak’. ‘Pickle’ is an extended meaning.
tsukemono pickles OT1968:603; SS1984:376; KJ1985:380.
chazuke tea on rice
shiozuke salting Mnemonic: TAKE BLAME FOR OVER-SOAKED

WATERY PICKLES

坪1738 tsubo, HEI Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen); traditional
L1 tsubo, sq.measure . Has 64 ‘earth, ground’ and 411 ‘flat,

8 strokes even’, giving ‘flat piece of land’. In Japanese only,
used for tsubo, a unit of measure (area) approx
tatetsubo floor space 3.31 square metres. OT1968:215; KJ1970:837.
GOtsubo 5 tsubo
tsuboSŪ area (in tsubo) Mnemonic: TSUBO ARE MEASURED ON FLAT

GROUND

爪1739 tsume, tsuma- Originally (OBI) a pictograph. Taken in one
L1 claw, nail, talon interpretation as depicting either claws or
talons (Shirakawa), or in another as a hu-
4 strokes man hand with fingers apart, poised to grasp
something (Mizukami, Gu, Ogawa). Mizukami
tsumekiri nail clippers lists several proposed OBI forms, and if these
tsumasaki tip-toe are accepted then they do seem to represent
tsumeato a scratch

The Remaining 1130 Characters 517

a hand rather than a claw. ‘Hand’ is often the better to take as extended sense (if ‘hand’ is
more appropriate sense in compound graphs, considered to be what is originally depicted).
where is usually represented in the modi- SS1984:538; MS1995:v2:818-9; GY2008:93-4;
fied shape (see e.g. 709 ‘take, gather’). OT1968:630.
The latter two commentators consider ‘claw,
talon’ etc. to be borrowed usage, but it seems Mnemonic: THREE TALONS CLAWING

鶴1740 tsuru, KAKU way taken as ‘crane’. Regarding i] above, it is
L1 crane, stork worth noting that cranes are very vocal birds,
and at least some varieties have cries which
21 strokes carry a long distance. Note: 隺 is explained in
Shuowen as ‘bird ( ) rising up and wanting
KAKUSHU stretch neck to go through a boundary’. DJ2009:v2:433;
tsuruhashi pickax OT1968:1155; SS1984:110; TA1965:264-6;
tsurukame congratulations MS1995:v1:106-7; BK1957:287. Take 隺 as
‘bird’ 324 and as ‘odd’ claws 1739.
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 190
‘bird’, and CO 隺 664 (‘reach high up, fly’; see Mnemonic: BIRD WITH ODD CLAWS
Note below) as phonetic with associated
sense taken as i] ‘(bird) calls/sings/chirps’ ALONGSIDE ANOTHER BIRD – A CRANE
(Ogawa, Shirakawa), or ii] ‘white’ (Tōdō), either

呈1741 TEI words’. Note: the lower element is given in
L1 present, offer Mizukami’s entry heading for as (‘spin-
ning spool’), but is clearly an error; this may
7 strokes have crept in at the typesetting stage. Modern
computer fonts for Japanese (and Chinese)
TEIJŌ presentation typically do not support the / distinction;
ZŌTEI donation they support only the latter. (See Appendix.)
SHINTEI presentation OT1968:173; MS1995:v1:220-21,262-3,282-3;
KJ1970:708-9. Suggest taking lower part as
Seal form: . Traditional form has 22 ‘king’ 5.
‘mouth; speak’, and 1722 (‘stand up straight
/ tall; sign, indication’) as phonetic with as- Mnemonic: OFFER PRESENT FOR KING’S
sociated sense ‘extend in a straight/direct
manner, show’, giving ‘show, express clearly in MOUTH

廷1742 TEI Bronze ; seal . The bronze form is inter-
L1 court, govt. office preted as consisting of , taken as represent-
ing the corner of a courtyard, combined with
7 strokes an element for ‘person standing upright’
(later : see 1722), and another for piled-
TEISHIN courtier up earth supporting a banner for indicating
HŌTEI law court official rank; the overall meaning is taken to
KYŪTEI court be ‘official standing at prescribed position
in courtyard at Court for Imperial audience’
(Mizukami, Katō). Several of the fuller bronze
occurrences are of a shape which might sup-

518 The Remaining 1130 Characters

port such an interpretation, though it does right’ (Shirakawa has this correctly as , but
seem to push the possible interpretation Mizukami and Katō have the similarly-shaped
towards the outer limit. It could be that the but different ‘spinning spool’ – possibly an
original context in which the bronze forms error at the typesetting stage). Note, though,
occur might lend support to this analysis. that even the authoritative Kangzi zidian has
Shirakawa, though, takes the bronze form less the form with , not . MS1995:v1:458-60;
specifically, as probably meaning ‘courtyard’. KJ1970:710; SS1984:613-4; KZ2001:738/3671.
The seal form is erroneous in shape, having We suggest taking as ‘samurai’ 521 with
a hat on.
, a determinative which functions as an
abbreviation of 131 ‘crossroads; go’ (Katō) Mnemonic: HATTED SAMURAI GOES TO COURT
or – according to Mizukami – has the mean-
ing ‘extend’ with ‘person standing up-

抵1743 TEI is used in (unspecified) classical Chinese texts
L1 resist, match with slightly different meaning ‘reach up to/
against’. Note: fuller OBI forms corresponding
8 strokes to have an element interpreted as a
depiction of hillocks, with a horizontal stroke
TEIKŌ resistance underneath, thus ‘flat land at foot of hillocks’
TEITŌ mortgage (Mizukami). KJ1970:713; OT1968:408-09;
TAITEI generally TA1965:748; MS1995:724-6. Take as ‘clan’
522 with 1 as bottom line.
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 34
‘hand’, and CO (see Note below) as phonetic Mnemonic: BOTTOM-LINE CLAN RESISTS
with associated sense ‘hit/strike against’, thus
‘push aside with hand’; by extension, ‘resist’. In WITH HANDS
minor variation of interpretation, Tōdō notes

邸1744 TEI sense taken as i] ‘settle, dwell’ (Ogawa, Katō),
L1 mansion, residence or ii] ‘low, base’ (Tōdō), both giving ‘house in
capital for nobles/officials etc from provinces
8 strokes to reside’ – but puzzling as nobles preferred
hills. OT1968:1018; KJ1970:714; TA1965:749-
TEITAKU mansion 52. As with 1743, take left side as ‘clan’ 522
TEINAI premises
KANTEI official residence 1 with bottom line.

Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has / 376 Mnemonic: BOTTOM-LINE CLAN RESIDES IN
‘village’, with (‘flat land at foot of hillocks’;
see 1743 Note) as phonetic with associated MANSION IN VILLAGE!?

亭1745 TEI phonetic with associated sense taken in one
L1 pavilion, inn view as ‘stay’ (Katō, Ogawa), giving ‘(turreted)
building where people stay and relax’ such as
9 strokes a pavilion; by extension, ‘inn’. Mizukami, who
gives proposed bronze equivalent, considers
TEISHU husband, host ‘stay’ to be later associated sense, and that
RYOTEI inn before that it was ‘stand upright’, thus ‘building
RYŌTEI restaurant which stands upright’. KJ1970:715; OT1968:38;
MS1995:v1:38-9. Take as ‘nail’ 367.
Seal . Has as abbrev of 132 (‘high,
tall’ orig pictograph of tall structure such as Mnemonic: NAIL SUPPORTS TALL PAVILION
a watchtower), with 367 (‘block; exact’) as

The Remaining 1130 Characters 519

貞1746 TEI the norm, with proviso that is progressively
L1 chaste, virtue abbreviated to . Bronze onwards 鼑/ is
taken as ‘perform divination inquiry’, with
9 strokes lower element , here generally taken as ab-
brev of as phonetic with associated sense
TEISŌ chastity taken as i] ‘ask; summon’ (Katō, Mizukami)
FUTEI infidelity or ii] ‘understand directly’ (Mizukami), thus
TEIJO chaste woman ‘perform divination and inquire of the gods/
the Supreme Being’. ‘Understand directly’
OBI ; bronze ; seal . At OBI stage, seems to indicate some sort of intuitive
often written as ‘tripod vessel’, i.e. and understanding obtained via divinatory pro-
cess. The sense ‘make divination inquiry’ was
appear initially to have been one and the later generalized to ‘ask’. Shirakawa asserts
same graph. When used not in the sense ‘tri- that serves in this graph not as phonetic
pod vessel’ but as a loan for a separate word but as semantic element, reflecting use of
(near-homophone) in early Chinese meaning tripod vessels in divination, but lacks sup-
‘perform divination inquiry’, there seems to port. Mizukami takes ‘correct’ as a loan usage.
have been a tendency to use a slightly abbrev Similarly, Tōdō takes ‘straight, correct’ as loan
shape for latter sense, as noted by Karlgren usage; hard to know whether ‘virtue, chastity’
and suggested also by respective OBI forms is extended sense or further extended sense.
for and given by Mizukami. As for origi- MS1995V2:1230-31,1516-8; BK1957:221-
nal meaning ‘tripod vessel’, is often seen as 2; WB1994:56; KJ1970:707; TA1965:465-8;
a pictograph showing such vessel, but Boltz SS1984:616. Take as ‘shell’ 10.
argues it only looks like this if you already
know what is being shown. Very rarely, OBI Mnemonic: DIVINATION BY SHELL-CRACKS
forms occur with 96 ‘divination’ as top ele-
ment, giving 鼑 to clarify ‘divination inquiry’. PROVES VIRTUE AND CHASTITY
From bronze on, the two-element graph is

帝1747 TEI zontal line above altar, as offerings; and is in
L1 emperor almost all bronze forms, through to seal form,
later changing from horizontal to diagonal
9 strokes or upright. By extension, meaning changed
from ritual vehicle (altar) to object of worship,
TEIKOKU empire i.e. Supreme Being, and by further exten-
TEIŌ emperor sion to senses such as ‘ancestor, emperor’.
TEIŌSEKKAI Caesarian MS1995:v1:438-40; KJ1970:711; SS1984:615;
OT1968:316; FC1974:v1:688-90; AS2007:210.
OBI ; seal . OBI shows wooden structure Suggest combining 77 ‘stand’ and 106
with supporting cross-timbers, horizontal ‘broom’.
brace and flat top, an altar for deities; Mizu-
kami suggests it was for rituals of worship Mnemonic: EMPEROR STANDS OVER BROOM
to Supreme Being (Ch. shangdi), the most
powerful deity. Some OBI forms have hori-

520 The Remaining 1130 Characters

訂1748 TEI Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 118
L1 correct, revise ‘words; speak’, and 367 (‘block; exact’) as
phonetic with associated sense taken as i] ‘lev-
9 strokes el, just’, giving ‘fair words’ (Katō), or ii] ‘bring
together as one, consolidate’, giving ‘con-
TEISEI correction solidate words’ (Tōdō), or iii] ‘inquire’, giving
KAITEI revision ‘plan fairly’ and by extension ‘correct’ (Ogawa).
KAITEIBAN revised edition KJ1970:715; TA1965:470-74; OT1968:920.

Mnemonic: USE EXACT WORDS WHEN

REVISING AND CORRECTING

逓1749 TEI sociated sense ‘take the place of’, giving ‘go in
L1 relay, in sequence turns’. By extension, ‘send in turns, walk/send
and change at post station’; sense then gen-
10 strokes eralized to ‘relay, in sequence’. OT1968:1001;
KJ1970:712; ZY2009:v3:1130; SS1984:617.
TEISŌ forwarding Difficult mnemonically, but we suggest taking
TEISHIN communications right side as ‘cliff’, as ‘ten’ 35, and ‘city’
TEIJI in sequence 144.

Seal ; late graph (Shuowen); traditional . Mnemonic: CLIFF MOVES! NEED TO RELAY
Has 85 ’go, walk’, and (‘[mythical] tiger-
like beast with horn’ [Shuowen]; Shirakawa, NEWS TO TEN CITIES (IN SEQUENCE)
though, says ‘skin a tiger’) as phonetic with as-

偵1750 TEI Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 41
L1 spy, inquire, ‘person’, and 1746 (original meaning
‘inquire’, as here, though modern meaning
investigate is ‘chaste, virtue’) as semantic and phonetic,
giving ‘person who inquires/looks into some-
11 strokes thing’, and hence ‘investigate’. OT1968:75;
SS1984:617.
TANTEI detective, detection
NAITEI secret inquiry Mnemonic: SPY ON PERSON’S CHASTITY AS
TEISATSU reconnaisance
PART OF INVESTIGATION

堤1751 TEI, tsutsumi Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 64
L1 embankment ‘earth, ground’, and 1574 (‘proper; this’)
as phonetic with associated sense taken
12 strokes as i] ‘stop’, giving ‘piled-up earth to stop
(water)’, (Ogawa, Shirakawa), or ii] ‘extend
BŌHATEI breakwater thinly in even manner’, giving ‘earth which
TEIBŌ levee, dike extends thinly in even manner’ (Tōdō), either
TOTTEI pier, jetty way giving ‘embankment’. DJ2009:v3:1117;
OT1968:220; SS1984:618; TA1965:455-60.

Mnemonic: USE EARTH PROPERLY TO BUILD

EMBANKMENT

The Remaining 1130 Characters 521

艇1752 TEI Seal ; a late graph (late version of Shuowen).
L1 boat Has 1450 ‘boat’, and 1742 (‘court’) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘small’, giving
13 strokes ‘small boat’. Semantic range in modern Japa-
nese usage covers both ‘boat’ and ‘ship’, i.e. the
TEIKO boathouse connotation ‘small’ has been lost. KJ1970:710;
KANTEI naval vessel GY2008:1464-5.
KYŪMEITEI lifeboat
Mnemonic: COURT HAS ITS OWN BOAT

締1753 TEI, shimeru/maru Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 29
L1 bind, tighten, close, ‘thread’, and 1747 (‘emperor’) as phonetic
with associated sense taken as i] ‘bind’ (Katō,
shut Shirakawa), or ii] ‘become fixed’ (Ogawa), or
iii] ‘bring together at one point’ (Tōdō), all
15 strokes giving ‘bind with thread’ as the overall mean-
ing’; sense then generalized to ‘bind, tighten’,
TEIYAKU treaty and again to include ‘shut’. KJ1970:712;
shimekiri deadline SS1984:620; OT1968:786; TA1965:470-73.
shimedashi shut out, lock out
Mnemonic: BIND EMPEROR WITH THREAD

諦1754 TEI, akirame/meru er’, giving ‘put together a conclusion’). The
L1 resign oneself, meaning ‘make clear, clarify’ for was carried
over into pre-modern Japanese as akiramu;
abandon, clarify following this, was later borrowed for
its sound value to represent a separate verb
16 strokes akiramu meaning ‘give up (the idea, etc.), re-
sign oneself to’, leading to modern akirameru.
TEIKAN resigning oneself In modern Japanese, akirameru is only used
akirame abandonment in the latter sense. OT1968:938; SS1984:620;
(no further compounds) TA1965:470-73.

Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 118 Mnemonic: RESIGN ONESELF AFTER HEARING
‘words; speak’, and 1747 (‘emperor’) as
phonetic with associated sense taken as ‘look EMPEROR’S WORDS
into, go into detail’, giving ‘make clear, clarify’
(Ogawa, Shirakawa) (Tōdō says ‘bring togeth-

泥1755 DEI, doro, nazumu Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 42 ‘water’,
L2 mud, adhere and 1819 (‘nun, priestess’) as phonetic. Katō
treats the associated sense as unclear, on the
8 strokes basis that denotes a river name. This is the
explanation in Shuowen, but another commenta-
DEIDO mud, mire tor (Ogawa) takes as phonetic with associated
KŌDEI adherence sense ‘be sticky’, giving ‘muddy water, mud’; this
doroashi muddy feet view is supported by Shirakawa, who takes the
original meaning to be not a river name but
‘mud’. KJ1970:724; OT1968:567; SS1984:621.

Mnemonic: NUN IN MUDDY WATER

522 The Remaining 1130 Characters

摘1756 TEKI, tsumu/mamu Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 34
L1 pluck, extract ‘hand’, and (NJK; ‘say just one thing, only’)
(later, 啇 [CO, ‘origin’; see 778/9, 1707])
14 strokes as phonetic with associated sense ‘bring
together’, giving ‘pick and bring together’.
TEKIYŌ summary Orig. apparently referred to picking fruit, but
TEKIHATSU disclosure later more generalized ‘picking’. TA1965:470-
tsumitoru pluck, pick 73; GY2008:1706; KJ1970:721; SS1984:623;
OT1968:427. As with 778/9 and 1707, we sug-
gest taking 啇 as ‘funny’ tower (see 132).

Mnemonic: PLUCK FRUIT BY HAND NEXT TO

A FUNNY TOWER

滴1757 TEKI, shizuku, shitataru of dripping water (Katō, Ogawa), or ii] as
L2 drip, drop phonetic with associated sense ‘come together’,
denoting water collecting and at times
14 strokes dripping down (Tōdō), either way giving
overall meaning ‘water drips; water droplets’.
TEKIKA dripping KJ1970:721; OT1968:604-05; TA1965:470-73. As
SUITEKI water droplet with 1756, we suggest taking 啇 as ‘odd’ tower
ITTEKI one drop (see also 132).

Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has ‘water’ Mnemonic: WATER DRIPS AT THE ODD
42, and (NJK; ‘say just one thing, only’) (later,
啇 [CO, ‘origin’; see 778/9, 1707]) as phonetic TOWER
taken either i] as onomatopoeic for the sound

溺1758 DEKI, oboreru/rasu form of 154 ‘weak’) as phonetic (associated
L1 drown, indulge sense unclear) to denote a river name. 溺 ap-
pears to have been borrowed at an early stage
13 strokes to represent a homophone or near-homo-
phone meaning ‘drown’. We suggest taking it
溺 DEKISHI death by drowning as ‘weak’ 154. OT1968:601; SS1984:1625;
溺 TANDEKI indulgence GY2008:1660.

溺 DEKIAI infatuation Mnemonic: IF WEAK IN THE WATER, YOU

Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 42 MIGHT GET DROWNED
‘water’, and (which is in fact the traditional

迭1759 TETSU Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 85 ‘walk
L1 alternate, rotate along a road’, and 529 (‘lose’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘take the place of, hand
8 strokes over to’, giving ‘walk along road and change
(messengers)’. KJ1970:722; TA1965:757.
TETSURITSU alternating
KŌTETSU reshuffle Mnemonic: LOST WHILE WALKING ALONG
TEKKI alternate occurrence
ROAD, NEED ALTERNATE ROUTE

The Remaining 1130 Characters 523

哲1760 TETSU 164 ‘heart, mind’ as determinative and not .
L1 wisdom, clarity, per- Mizukami takes as combined with
as phonetic (same associated sense as above),
ceive, respect giving ‘decide clearly in one’s mind’; ‘respect’,
‘find out, clear, perceive, comprehend, wise’
10 strokes are treated as loan senses. Mizukami is not
as confident, though, that is the ancestral
TETSUJIN sage form of , suggesting rather that might
TETSUGAKU philosophy just have served sometimes as a loan writing
SENTETSU sage of old in place of . Shuowen has in the main
heading, with noted as an alternative form.
Seal . Has 22 ‘mouth, speak’, and 551 DJ2009:v1:109; MS1995:v1:232-3,510-12;
(‘bend, break’) as phonetic with associated OT1968:183; GY2008:1027.
sense ‘cut with ax’ and by extension ‘clearly
decide’, giving ‘make (appropriate) judge- Mnemonic: SPEECH BROKEN BUT CLEARLY
ment’, as when decisively cutting trees with ax
(Mizukami, Ogawa). By contrast, Gu feels STILL WISE AND RESPECTWORTHY
may be ancestral form (bronze) of , with

徹1761 TETSU disambiguate the underlying word ‘go through’
L1 go through from what in early Chinese was a homophone,
a separate word meaning ‘remove’. As for use of
15 strokes
in the sense ‘remove’ (no longer a meaning),
TETSUYA all night this may be a case of the graph sometimes
TETTEITEKI thorough being used interchangeably, with similarly-
KANTETSU fulfillment shaped 1762 ‘remove, withdraw’. Note: most
scholars view as comprising 1431 ‘three-
OBI ( ); ; seal . is a rare graph, not legged cooking pot’ with 2003 ‘hand’; and
listed in Zhengzitong or Kangxi zidian, usually based on certain fuller forms of in OBI and
taken as ‘remove pot (from above fire)’ (see bronze, Mizukami takes the three legs to be
Note below). It is taken (Mizukami, Katō, Gu) as filled with water, to help with the cooking from
the ancestral form of . Initially, 131 ‘road/ the fire beneath. Shirakawa has a divergent
go’ was often lacking. Later was changed view of as meaning ‘set out (filled) cooking
(Mizukami and Katō say misinterpreted) to . pots as offering to the deities’. MS1995:v1:492-
Then at seal stage, was added as determi- 3,v2:1482-3; KJ1970:721-2; GY2008:460;
native and assumed a phonetic role with BK1957:88; OT1968:356; AS2007:182-3;
associated sense taken as i] ‘go through’, giving SS1984:627. Take elements as 131 ‘go, road’,
‘road goes/passes through’ (Mizukami, Katō),
or ii] ‘project, penetrate through’, thus ‘go 247 ‘educate’, 112 ‘coerce/force’.
through and move forward’ (Ogawa). Adding
determinative can be explained as helping Mnemonic: FORCED TO GO THROUGH

EDUCATION

撤1762 TETSU A late, post-Shuowen graph. Katō lists the OBI
L1 remove, withdraw form of (for explanation, see 1761 ‘go
through’) as the ancestral form of this graph,
15 strokes which probably was used to represent what
were in early Chinese two homophonous
TEKKAI withdrawal words, one meaning ‘go through’, the other
TEKKYO removal meaning ‘remove’. By the time of Shuowen, the
TESSHŪ removal former word was made potentially unam-

524 The Remaining 1130 Characters

biguous in writing through addition of deities’ (in this connection, see 1761 Note).
131 ‘road, go’ to indicate motion. Sometime KJ1970:722; SS1984:627; BK1957:88. We sug-
later, 34 ‘hand’ was added to help indicate gest taking elements as ‘hand’ 34, 247
in writing the homophonous word ‘remove’. ‘educate’, 112 coerce/ force.
A different interpretation is put forward by
Shirakawa, who takes to mean ‘remove Mnemonic: FORCE REMOVAL OF HANDY
cooking pots containing offerings to the EDUCATION

添1763 TEN, sou/eru takes as having the associated sense ‘stay
L1 accompany, add at one spot/place’, giving ‘cause/drop a stain’
(Tōdō) At a later stage (post-Shuowen),
11 strokes sometimes came to be written instead as
(see Note below) in popular usage, and the
TENKA annex, addition latter form subsequently became predomi-
TENPU append nant for the sense ‘add’. Katō regards ‘add’
soegi splint, brace as an extended sense from ‘overflow, full of
water’. Note: in relation to , replaces the
Seal ( ): . The ancestral form of is phonetic element here with (CO; ‘feel
considered to be , which consists of / shame’) as phonetic, both have the same
42 ‘water’, combined with 1598 (‘per- sound value in early Chinese. KJ1970:725-6;
form divination; occupy’) as phonetic with OT1968:567; GY2008:1315; SS1984:629-30;
associated sense taken in one view either TA1965:836-8. We suggest taking as a ‘big
as ‘supply beyond needs’, giving ‘overflow’ man’ 56 and as an odd variant of /
(Katō), or ii] ‘adhere, stay’, giving ‘become 164 ‘heart/feelings’.
moist/wet’ (Ogawa); Shirakawa diverges
somewhat, treating the overall meaning Mnemonic: ACCOMPANIED BIG MAN
as ‘add to/increase items of food’, though
this does not explain the presence of the WITH BOWED HEAD FEELS ODD – NEEDS
element . Another different analysis of
ADDITIONAL WATER

填1764 TEN Shirakawa offers a different view, taking
L1 fill, plug, stop up in the sense representing the main interpre-
tation, i.e ‘person upside down’ (again, see
13 strokes 341), thus overall original meaning for as
‘ritually bury upside-down a dead person
JŪTEN filling (tooth etc) who met unfortunate end (through disaster,
TENPO making up for murder, etc.)’. According to Shirakawa, this
TENGEKI caulking, filling ritual was performed to bring repose to the
soul of such a person; in the latter view,
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 64 ‘fill up, block’ is a generalized sense. Note
‘soil, ground’, with 341 (traditional form of modern simplified form . TA1965:743-5;
OT1968:222; GY2008:1540-41; SS1984:631.
‘truth, essence’) as phonetic with associ-
ated sense usually taken as ‘block, fill up’, Mnemonic: FILL A GAP WITH TRUE SOIL
thus ‘fill/block with earth’. This is one of sev-
eral proposed etymologies for (see 341).

The Remaining 1130 Characters 525

殿1765 DEN, TEN,tono, dono specific overall meaning for . Later
L2 palace, lord, Mr came to be used to represent other words
which were homophones or near-homo-
13 strokes phones such as ‘rear (of army)’ (noted by
Schuessler) and ‘heavy foundations’. Based
KYŪDEN palace on the latter sense, came to be used by
GOTEN palace further extension for big buildings with
tonosama lord heavy foundations such as palaces (Tōdō
says this meaning evolved from the Qin Dy-
Seal ( ) ; late graph (Shuowen). Views nasty onwards). In texts in the clerical script,
diverge. One view treats as ‘strike’ 170 examples can be found of written in what
(see Note below), with left hand part of was then a variant form, i.e. ; over time,
(explained below) taken as phonetic, serving this came to be the norm for this graph.
as onomatopoeic for the sound of hitting Note: has 2003 ‘hand’ holding , a
something, to give ‘hit something and make very stylized version of what in OBI occur-
noise’ (Katō, Ogawa). This view is based on rences of is a depiction of halberd or simi-
traditional explanation in Shuowen. Tōdō lar. KJ1970:189-90; OT1968:547; TA1965:676-
takes a different view, following instead 82; SK1984:431; MS1995:v1:408-10,712-14;
information from the Han Dynasty character AS2007:211. Take as slumped person, and
textbook Jijiupian, which explains as ‘hit
buttocks of criminal with bamboo whip’. In ‘together’ 484.
this view, left hand part of represents a
pair of buttocks seated on a stand or similar Mnemonic: TOGETHER WITH LORD, STRIKE
This seems a reasonable assessment of the
seal form, and one which results in the more SLUMPED PERSON AT PALACE

斗1766 TO from seal stage, eventually resulting in two
L1 dipper, measure quite distinct forms. By extension, came
to denote a unit of measure – in mod-
4 strokes ern Japan, ca.18 litres (cf. ca.1.8 liters).
Other senses such as ‘Big Dipper’ (constel-
HOKUTOSEI Big Dipper lation name) may be seen as loan usages.
TOSHU kegs of sake MS1995:v1:590-92,166-7; MM1993:378;
TAITO an authority OT1968:447,137; SS1984:635,435;
SK1984:354-6,115-6.
OBI ; seal . Originally (OBI), picto-
graph of scoop or ladle; probably at that Mnemonic: BIG DIPPER HAS SLOPING CROSS
stage the same graph as 1485 (q.v.).
Distinguished in shape from at least AND TWO DOTS!?

吐1767 TO, haku Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 22
L1 disgorge, vomit ‘mouth, speak’, with 64 (‘earth, ground’) as
phonetic with associated sense taken either as
6 strokes i] ‘push out’, giving ‘push out from the mouth’
(Katō), or ii] ‘become full, come together in
TOZAI emetic one place’, giving ‘that which is pent-up inside
hakike nausea and close to bursting point is disgorged all
TOiki gasp, sigh together’ (Tōdō). Either way, ‘disgorge, vomit’.
KJ1970:730; TA1965:325-7.

Mnemonic: DISGORGE VOMIT FROM MOUTH

TO GROUND

526 The Remaining 1130 Characters

妬1768 TO, netamu/mi/mashii struct’, giving ‘woman is obstructive/difficult’
L1 be jealous, envy (Ogawa), or ii] ‘become full, come together
at one point’, giving ‘woman experiences
8 strokes strong feelings of displeasure’ (Tōdō). These
do not seem to link clearly to jealousy and
TOSHIN jealousy envy. Perhaps so as to address gender is-
SHITTO jealousy, envy sues, Shirakawa refers also to a high-profile
netami jealousy, envy case of male jealousy in the Tang Dynasty.
OT1968:256; TA1965:325-30; SS1984:636.
A late, post-Shuowen graph. Has 37
‘woman’, with 47 (‘stone’) as phonetic Mnemonic: JEALOUS WOMAN THROWS STONE
with associated sense taken either as i] ‘ob-

途1769 TO as denoting a river name. comprises
L2 road, way 42 ‘water’, with as phonetic with as-
sociated sense ‘abundant; extend’, giving
10 strokes ‘river with abundant flow’, or ‘mud’, giving
‘muddy river’ (both interpretations listed in
TOCHŪ along the way Mizukami); Mizukami treats ‘road’ as a loan
ZENTO (one’s) future usage. Schuessler and Karlgren, though, give
TOTAN verge, just as/when different meanings for , viz. ‘path along
bank of a canal; paved path’, in which case
A late, post-Shuowen graph. Taken in one ‘road’ can be seen as an extended sense.
view as 85 ‘move, walk along a road’, with KJ1970:730; MS1995:v2:754-5; AS2007:501;
BK1957:39-40.
820 (‘ample’) as phonetic with associated
sense ‘step, tread’, giving ‘route people have Mnemonic: ROAD PERMITS AMPLE MOVEMENT
trodden’, i.e. ‘road’ (Katō). is listed in the
6th century Yupian; before that (OBI onwards),

was used, a graph which Shuowen treats

渡1770 TO, wataru/su Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has’water’
L2 cross, hand over / 42 (or ‘river’), with 377 (‘degree,

12 strokes times’) as phonetic with associated sense
‘cross, traverse’ (Katō says ‘cross from one
TOKŌ passage, crossing edge to the other’), thus ‘cross water/river’.
TOSEI livelihood Ogawa prefers to treat here as both
iiwatashi (court) sentence semantic and phonetic, based on its initial
sense of ‘measure with hand’, whereby
an object was measured by moving the
hand across it, hence the sense ‘crossing’.
OT1968:596; KJ1970:612.

Mnemonic: CROSS WATER BY DEGREES

The Remaining 1130 Characters 527

塗1771 TO, nuru Seal ; late graph (late version of Shuow-
L1 plaster, coat, paint en). Has 64 ‘earth, ground’, with (‘mud’,
see 1769) as phonetic with associated sense
13 strokes taken as i] ‘muddy water, mud’ (Katō, Oga-
wa), or ii] ‘extend, spread’ (Tōdō), both giving
TOSŌ painting ‘paint/smear mud (on walls)’. TA1965:336-9;
nurimono lacquerware KJ1970:730; OT1968:223.
nurigusuri ointment
Mnemonic: USE MUDDY EARTH FOR PLASTER

賭1772 TO, kake/keru Seal ; late graph (late version of Shuowen).
L1 gamble, bet Has 10 ‘shell currency, valuables’, with
16 strokes (賭) 314 (‘person’) as phonetic with associated
sense ‘aim for’ (Ogawa), giving ‘do something
kakegoto betting, gambling with wealth as the aim’, and hence ‘gamble’.
kakeKIN stakes, bet OT1968:961; SS1984:638.
TOBAKU gambling
Mnemonic: PERSON GAMBLES WITH

SHELL-MONEY

奴1773 DO, yatsu, yakko (noted in Mizukami [ is apparently taken
L1 slave, servant, guy as semantic here also]). Katō gives a similar
interpretation, but is not gender-specific, tak-
5 strokes ing overall meaning as ‘engage in work’, and
suggests later may simply be in error for
DOREI slave
yatsura those guys (see Note below). Note: OBI examples of
yakkosan that guy listed by Mizukami (and also by Matsumaru)
mostly have OBI equivalent of (seen to
OBI ; seal . Views differ. One takes as 37 represent downward-facing arm); the change
‘female’, with 2003 ‘hand’, here in the sense to seems to have occurred at the bronze
‘capture’, thus ‘female slave’ (Tōdō, Ogawa). stage: all the bronze equivalents of listed
However, most OBI forms of have not by Mizukami have (hand facing upwards).
but 78 ‘strength; effort’, and this combina- The seal form also clearly has . TA1965:355-
tion is taken in another view as ‘exert effort’, 7; OT1968:251; MS1995:v1:310-11,136-7,192-3;
with as phonetic with associated sense MT1993:81,372-3; KJ1970:1739-40.
‘follow, obey’, giving ‘female slave who follows
commands and does hard physical work‘ Mnemonic: HAND-MAIDEN IS A SLAVE

怒1774 DO, ikaru, okoru Seal . Has 164 ‘heart, feelings’, with
L2 anger, rage 1773 (‘slave, servant’) as phonetic with associ-
ated sense taken as i] ‘strain, stretch, tense’
9 strokes (Mizukami, Katō, Ogawa), or ii] ‘exert extreme
force’ (Shirakawa), both giving ‘one’s mind be-
DOKI anger comes tense/extreme’ > ‘become angry’. Mizu-
DOnaru shout, bawl kami lists proposed bronze. MS1995:v1:504-5;
ikarikuruu rage madly KJ1970:731; OT1968:365; SS1984:640-41.

Mnemonic: SLAVE’S FEELINGS ARE OF ANGER

528 The Remaining 1130 Characters

到1775 TŌ, itaru Bronze ; seal . Bronze has 41 ‘person’,
L2 go, reach, arrive with 886 ‘reach’ (showing arrow shot and
landing upside-down, giving original mean-
8 strokes ing ‘fall over’, later written 1777). Arrow has
travelled and landed, hence ‘go, arrive’. At seal
TŌRAI arrival, advent stage, right-hand element changed from to
TŌTATSU arrival
TŌTEI absolutely 198 ‘sword’; likely due to error as the bronze
forms of these two graphs had similar shapes.
MS1995:v1:130-31,40-41,122-3; KJ1970:445-6.

Mnemonic: ON ARRIVAL, REACH FOR

SWORD

逃1776 TŌ, nigeru/gasu, noga- Seal . Views diverge. Has 85 ‘go’, with
L2 reru/su 573 ‘sign, omen’. Here, latter is usually treated
as phonetic, with associated sense taken as
escape, evade, miss i] ‘escape (stealthily)’, leading to generalized
meaning ‘escape’( Katō), ii] ‘leap up’, giving
9 strokes ‘leap up and escape’ (Shirakawa), or iii] ‘split
in two, open’, thus ‘(two entities) move so as
TŌBŌSHA fugitive to split into two’, and ‘escape’ (Tōdō). Ogawa,
minogasu overlook however, takes here as both semantic and
nigemichi escape route phonetic with a meaning ‘move away’, but this
seems a rather extreme interpretation of the
original meaning of ‘sign, omen’, presum-
ably based on a perception of motion when a
crack is formed. Mizukami also lists proposed
OBI and bronze forms. KJ1970:703; SS1984:643;
TA1965:243; MS1995:v2:1290-91.

Mnemonic: THE OMEN SAYS ‘GO’, SO ESCAPE

NOW!

倒1777 TŌ, taoreru/su Seal ; late graph (late version of Shuowen).
L2 fall, topple, invert Has 1775 ‘reach, arrive’ (originally showing
arrow coming to rest upside-down), with 41
10 strokes ‘person’ added as determinative (in one view)
to indicate clearly the meaning ‘fall over’
TŌSAN bankruptcy (originally written as ) (Ogawa; Gu also).
MENDŌ trouble Shirakawa prefers to take original meaning of
TŌCHI inversion
as ‘meet, greet’, giving ‘meet/greet someone
who has arrived’; he does not indicate the
relationship to ‘fall over’. The former analysis
is probably the one to follow. OT1968:71;
GY2008:1074-5; SS1984:643.

Mnemonic: PERSON ARRIVES THEN FALLS

OVER

The Remaining 1130 Characters 529

凍1778 TŌ, kōru, kogoeru Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 401
L2 freeze ‘ice’, with 201 (‘east’) as phonetic with as-
sociated sense taken as i] ‘pile up, accumulate’,
10 strokes thus ‘become covered with thick ice’ (Ogawa),
or ii] ‘penetrate, pass through’, giving ‘(thick)
TŌKETSU freezing ice forms everywhere’ (Tōdō), or iii] ‘form
REITŌZAI refrigerant together’, giving ‘ice solidifies/forms’ (Katō).
kōritsuku freeze to TA1965:286-9; OT1968:104; KJ1970:732.

Mnemonic: ICE FORMS IN THE FREEZING EAST

唐1779 TŌ, Kara subsequently, the original meaning of was
L1 (Tang) China, foreign forgotten, and the graph came to be used to
denote the name of the capital of the mythi-
10 strokes cal Emperor Yao, then later borrowed for ‘big’.
The difficulty with Ogawa’s interpretation is
TŌJIN Chinese, foreign that in OBI and bronze occurrences of , the
karate karate bottom element corresponds to the typical
karauta Chinese poem shape for ‘mouth; speak’, not that for
84 ‘enclosure; place’. In relation to any of the
OBI ; seal . Has lower element inter- above treatments, use of in the sense ‘Tang
preted in one view as 22 ‘mouth’; speak’, (China)’ represents a loan usage, as also does
combined with ‘7th of the 10 Heavenly ‘foreign’. Note: OBI forms of appear to show
Stems’ (originally, pictograph of pounder for a pounder set within a stabilizing frame; at the
grains; see Note below), the latter element bronze stage, occasionally a depiction of two
then being taken as phonetic with associ- hands (left and right) is added lower down,
ated sense ‘big, big talk’, giving ‘boast, talk an element which was made more promi-
absurdities’(Mizukami, Katō). In another analy- nent at the seal stage at the same time as the
sis (Tōdō), is taken semantically as ‘make pounder element was simplified in shape. The
hard and firm’; this gives a provisional mean- beginnings of the change in shape towards
ing ‘speak by opening mouth wide’ and hence
‘talk exaggeratedly’, i.e. essentially the same are just discernible in the clerical script.
meaning as the two commentators above. Yet MS1995:v1:230-32,450-52,204-05,250-51;
another treatment (Ogawa) is quite differ- KJ1970:666; OT1968:183; TA1965:345-8;
ent: it takes in the same way as Tōdō, but SK1984:270-71. Take as hand holding stick,
considers firstly that the bottom element is
(normally ‘enclosure’), here indicating ‘place’, 127 ‘building’, and as ‘entrance’.
giving an original meaning ‘embankment,
dyke’ (later written as ); secondly, that Mnemonic: FOREIGN HAND HOLDS STICK AT

ENTRANCE TO CHINESE BUILDING

桃1780 TŌ, momo Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 73
L1 peach ‘tree, wood’, with 573 (‘sign, omen’,
initially pictograph of cracks formed on
10 strokes turtle shell or similar in divination), the latter
element taken in one view as semantic and
HAKUTŌ white peach phonetic, giving ‘tree with fruit stones which
momoiro peachy pink split in two’, i.e. ‘peach’ (Ogawa, Tōdō). Alter-
TŌGENKYŌ Shangri-La natively, is treated here by Katō just as

530 The Remaining 1130 Characters

phonetic, with associated sense ‘beginning’, (Cf. the Japanese legend of Momotarō, the
giving ‘tree with fruit used at beginning Peach Boy.) OT1968:506; TA1965:243-4;
of pregnancy’, reflecting the popularity of KJ1970:703.
this fruit in ancient times among pregnant
women and an association with procreation. Mnemonic: A PEACH TREE IS AN OMEN

透1781 TŌ, suku/kasu/keru sense taken either as i] ‘project, stick out’,
L1 clear, transparent considered to give ‘walk out in front of oth-
ers’ or ‘leap up’ or ‘go past’ and by extension
10 strokes ‘penetrate’ (Katō), or ii] ‘dance’, giving ‘dance
up’, and as loan usage ‘go, pass through;
TŌMEI transparency be transparent’ (Ogawa). ‘Leading’ may
TŌSHA tracing also suggest clearing the way. KJ1970:736;
sukitōru be clear OT1968:1002.

Seal ; late graph (a later version of Mnemonic: EXCELLENT MOVEMENT CLEARS
Shuowen). Has 85 ‘move’, with 1451
(‘excellent’) as phonetic with associated THE WAY

悼1782 TŌ, itamu Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 164
L1 grieve, mourn ‘heart, feelings’, with 1675 (‘table; excel’)
as phonetic with associated sense taken in
11 strokes one view as ‘feel pain’, giving ‘the heart feels
pain’ (Katō). Alternatively, the associated
AITŌ grief, mourning sense of is taken as ‘come out’, giving
TSUITŌ mourning ‘sadness which leaves one feeling exhausted’
itamubeki lamentable (Ogawa); the basis for Ogawa’s very specific
meaning here is not made clear. KJ1970:675-
6; OT1968:376.

Mnemonic: FEELINGS OF GRIEF OVER LOSS

OF EXCELLENT TABLE

盗1783 TŌ, nusumu sense of slightly differently as ‘look at food
L2 steal in another’s bowl and feel envious’, but still
arrives at the same extended sense as above.
11 strokes Mizukami lists proposed OBI and bronze
equivalents for . Note: 㳄 is comprised of
TŌYŌ appropriation ‘water, liquid’, combined with 496 (original-
GŌTŌ robbery ly, depiction of person with mouth wide open;
nusubito* thief ‘lack; gap’), hence the meaning ‘drool saliva’.
MS1995:v2:906-7; KJ1970:669; OT1968:532.
Seal ; traditional . Consists of CO 㳄 We suggest taking the modern upper part of
‘drool saliva’ (see Note below), combined with 1783 as ‘next’ 308.

300 ‘bowl, dish’, interpreted in one view as Mnemonic: STEAL A BOWL NEXT
giving ‘drool saliva over bowl of food, wanting
to take it’ (Mizukami, Katō); by extension, ‘(qui-
etly) take, steal’. Ogawa interprets the original

The Remaining 1130 Characters 531

陶1784 TŌ ware, pottery’ appears to be a loan use. It is
L1 porcelain, train, unclear as to the acquisition of very minor
meanings, namely ‘educate, train’ (which
pottery, happy may be an extended meaning to train pot-
ters) and ‘happy’. (See example words.) Note:
11 strokes
is comprised of 1141 ‘(earthenware)
TŌKI ceramic ware pot’, combined with 611 ‘enclose’; the
TŌZEN happily drunk latter element is taken to be an abbrevia-
TŌYA training, education tion for i] NJK ‘(lightly) roast’, giving the
overall meaning ‘bake earthenware; earthen-
Seal . Consists of / 262 ‘hill, piled- ware’ (noted in Mizukami), or ii] as meaning
up earth’, with (‘bake earthenware’; see ‘spread evenly all across mold’, giving ‘knead
Note below) as phonetic with associated evenly and make earthenware’ (Tōdō).
sense taken in one view as ‘(pile up) hill/ MS1995:v1:150-51,144-6; OT1968:1070;
mountain on top of a hill/mountain’, giving KJ1970:667-8; TA1965:179-83. We suggest
overall sense ‘piled-up hills’ (Ogawa) or taking as ‘pot’, as ‘enclosed’, and as
‘name of double-layered mountain’ (Katō). ‘piled up earth’.
Alternatively, is taken with associated
sense ‘spread evenly’, giving overall meaning Mnemonic: POTS ARE ENCLOSED BY PILED
for as ‘pound piled-up earth and make
firm’ (Tōdō). Use of in the sense ‘earthen- UP EARTH

塔1785 TŌ resent the Chinese approximation of the
L2 tower, monument Sanskrit syllable tū in stūpa. Note: accord-
ing to Katō, these Buddhist shrines were
12 strokes originally built using stone, tiles, and earth,
which would help explain use of as the
SEKITŌ tombstone determinative in , but he suggests there
SOTŌBA* stupa was also a semantic link between and
GOJŪTŌ five-storied pagoda 584 ‘hall, temple’ on the one hand and
1930 ‘mound, burial mound’ on the other. As
Seal ; a late graph (later version of is often the case, once loanwords have been
Shuowen). This graph appears to have been adopted into a language, their meaning can
devised in the course of the monumental change; in this case, changing to encompass
task of translating the Buddhist canon from a different shape such as a pagoda, and
Sanskrit into Chinese. As part of this process, the use of wood as one of the construction
many Sanskrit Buddhist terms were carried materials. KJ1970:666-7; SS1984:647,645;
across into Chinese as loanwords by adapt- OT1968:221. We suggest taking as 53
ing them to the sound system of Chinese, ‘plant’, and 134 ‘join, put together’, along
very often also with abbreviation of the with ‘earth’ 64.
original Sanskrit. In this case, Sanskrit stūpa
(‘Buddhist shrine’) was reduced to just one Mnemonic: PUT PLANTS AND EARTH
syllable and represented by , consisting of
TOGETHER TO MAKE A MONUMENT
64 ‘earth, ground’, with (CO, original
meaning ‘red beans’) as phonetic to rep-

532 The Remaining 1130 Characters

搭1786 TŌ hand’ (Gu). According to Shirakawa, used in
L1 load, board early modern times in a range of meanings
for actions such as ‘hit’ and ‘mix’, and now in
12 strokes the sense ‘load, come/go on board’, which he
maintains reflects earlier usage in military
TŌSAI loading jargon but has now been adopted into
TŌJŌ boarding general usage. Katō states that ‘load, board’
TŌJŌKEN boarding pass are borrowed meanings. GY2008:1401;
SS1984:647; KJ1985:269. We suggest taking
A very late post-Shuowen graph. Consists of
/ ‘hand’ 34, combined with (original as ‘plant’ 53, and ‘join, put together’
134, along with ‘hand’ / .
meaning: ‘red beans’: see 1785) as phonetic
(associated sense somewhat unclear, though Mnemonic: HANDS PUT PLANTS TOGETHER
Katō states ‘strike with the hand’). Original
meaning is ‘grasp’ or ‘hold up/support in the FOR LOADING

棟1787 TŌ, mune, muna- Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Consists
L1 ridgepole, building of 73 ‘wood, tree’, combined with 201
(‘east’) as phonetic with associated sense
12 strokes ‘pierce, penetrate’, giving ‘ridgepole which
extends to the roof ridgebeam’ (Ogawa), or
BYŌTŌ hospital ward ‘framework timber which extends across to
munagi ridgepole (framework) extremity’ (Tōdō). In Japanese
BETSUmune outbuilding usage only, a counter for houses (-mune).
OT1968:512; TA1965:286-9; SS1984:647-8.

Mnemonic: WOOD FROM EAST IS BEST FOR

BUILDING’S RIDGEPOLE

痘1788 TŌ A very late post-Shuowen graph. Consists of
L1 smallpox 404 ‘sickbed; illness, disease’, combined

12 strokes with 379 ‘bean; miniature’ as semantic and
phonetic, giving ‘disease producing bean-like
SUITŌ chicken pox pustules’, i.e. ‘smallpox’. Note that early Japan
SHUTŌ vaccination had serious problems with smallpox as they
TENNENTŌ smallpox lacked the endemicization that the Chinese
had (such as exposure to chicken-pox, a
milder form). In the years 735-737 there was
a massive smallpox epidemic, which killed up
to a third of the entire population of Japan.
GY2008:1481-2; OT1968:679; KJ1970:734-5.

Mnemonic: SMALLPOX IS A DISEASE WITH

BEAN-LIKE PUSTULES

The Remaining 1130 Characters 533

筒1789 TŌ, tsutsu Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Consists of
L2 tube, cylinder 58 ‘bamboo’, combined with 204 (‘same’)
as phonetic with associated sense ‘penetrate,
12 strokes pierce; hollow’, giving ‘bamboo tube (with
joint obstructions removed)’. Katō prefers
ENTŌ cylinder to take it as ‘flute’, though this is probably a
tsutsunuke directly specialized sense. OT1968:751; TA1965:286-9;
tsutsugata cylindrical AS2007:499-500; KJ1970:73.

Mnemonic: BAMBOO IS ALL THE

SAME – CYLINDRICAL

稲1790 TŌ, ine, ina- sticky by working/kneading in a mortar’,
L1 rice (plant) also considered to mean ‘rice’ (this view
noted in Mizukami, who also lists proposed
14 strokes OBI equivalents). Note: 舀 is interpreted as
originally depicting 319 ‘hand’ taking
SUITŌ paddy rice something small (such as grains, represent-
inaSAKU rice crop ed by dot-like shapes) out of 677 ‘mortar’
Waseda* place-name (Qiu). KJ1970:762-3; MS1995:v2:969-70;
QX2000:189. We suggest taking the lower
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . Con- right element as ‘old’ 677, or as ‘one’
sists of 87 ‘grain plant, grain’, combined ‘day’ 66.
with CO 舀 (‘ladle out, remove’; see Note
below) as phonetic with associated sense Mnemonic: HAND PICKS OLD RICE PLANTS
taken either as i] ‘soft, pliant’, giving ‘grain
softer than millet for pounding’, i.e. ‘rice’ Or: HAND WILL PICK RICE PLANTS ONE DAY
(Katō), or ii] ‘knead, work’, giving ‘make

踏1791 TŌ, fumu/maeru the ground’, i.e. ‘tread, stamp’ (Katō). Note 1:
L1 tread, step on is defined in Shuowen as ‘fly vigorously’,
i.e. fly with vigorous wing movements. Gu,
15 strokes though, maintains that the original mean-
ing is rather ‘wings spread ready for flight’.
TŌHA tramp, travel on foot Note 2: the seal form of shows that the
ashibumi step, tread, stalemate lower element is not 66 ‘sun, day’, but
fumikomu step into
1048 ‘speak’, which combines with 42
Seal ( ) . The graph is a popular ‘water’, giving ‘talk eloquently’, i.e. words like
equivalent of later origin which rose to flowing water. OT1968:974,478; TA1965:796-
predominance. The seal form consists of 8,833; GY2008:1041,769; KJ1970:669;
54 ‘foot, leg’, combined with (CO; later DJ2009:v1:170,297. We suggest taking the
replaced by ) (see Notes below) as pho- lower right element as ‘sun’.
netic with associated sense taken either as
i] ‘accumulate’, giving ‘accumulate stepping Mnemonic: FOOT STEPS ON SUNLIT WATER
action, tread/trample on’ (Ogawa, Tōdō), or
ii] ‘attach’, giving ‘foot is firmly planted on Or: TREADING WATER AS THE SUN SHINES

534 The Remaining 1130 Characters

謄1792 TŌ Seal ; late graph (Shuowen); traditional .
L1 copy Has 118 ‘words’ (here ‘written’), with 1731
(royal ‘We’), as phonetic with associated sense
17 strokes taken as i] ‘succeed’ (Ogawa) or ii] ‘write’ (Katō),
thus ‘succeed in copying written
TŌSHA copy text’. OT1968:941; KJ1970:736.
TŌHON manuscript
TŌSHAKI copy machine Mnemonic: ‘OUR’ WORDS SHOULD BE

COPIED

藤1793 TŌ, fuji Late post-Shuowen graph. Has 53 ‘plant’,
L1 wisteria with (‘rise up, boil’; see Note) as phonetic
with associated sense taken as i] ‘rope’ >
18 strokes ‘plant twisted like rope’, i.e. ‘vine’ (Ogawa), or
ii] ‘alternate; become twisted’ > ‘plant which
fujiiro lilac colored becomes twisted’, i.e. ‘vine; wisteria’ (Tōdō).
fujidana wisteria trellis The narrow sense ‘wisteria’ seems a Japa-
KATTŌ entanglements, discord nese-only usage. Note: Shirakawa takes
as 氺, variant of 42 ‘water’, with 1731
(‘royal We’; Shirakawa says orig meaning is
‘offer up’) as phonetic with associated sense
‘rise’. OT1968:876; TA1965:90-92; SS1984:650.

Mnemonic: ‘WE’ HAVE WATERED THE

WISTERIA PLANT

闘1794 TŌ, tatakau phonetic with associated sense ‘hit’. Later,
L1 fight determinative changed from to ‘gate’
(seemingly a common transition in clerical
18 strokes script; also, 斲 was replaced by as pho-
netic (same associated sense), probably at
TŌSHI fighting spirit block script stage. Note: 斲 has 1233 ‘ax’,
TŌSHI fighter with (CO; ‘large wine vessel’) as phonetic
SENTŌKI fighter plane with associated sense ‘cut, strike, shave off’
(Mizukami). originally (seal form) shows
Seal (鬭) ; late graph (Shuowen); tradi- wine vessel in profile. MS1995:v2:1478-
tional: 鬭. Has , a determinative (not to 9,v1:598-9; KJ1970:732-3; OT1968:1138;
be confused with 231 ‘gate’) OBI form KZ2001:3256/3671,1025/3671; SK1984:802.
of which shows two people (or possibly Use ‘bean’ 379, ‘hand’ 920, ‘gate’ 231.
two beasts) facing each other or locked
in fighting), with 斲 (CO, ‘cut tree with ax’; Mnemonic: FIGHT IN GATEWAY
see Note below) taken either as i] semantic
and phonetic (‘cut’) > ‘fight’ (Ogawa), or ii] OVER HANDFUL OF BEANS

The Remaining 1130 Characters 535

騰1795 TŌ Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen); tradi-
L1 rise, leap tional form: . Consists of 210 ‘horse’,
combined with 1731 (the royal ‘We’) as
20 strokes phonetic with associated sense taken either
as i] ‘take over, succeed to’, giving an original
TŌKI (price) rise meaning ‘relay horse, post horse’, with ‘climb,
TŌRAKU fluctuations rise up’ as a loan usage (Ogawa), or ii] ‘leap,
BŌTŌ sharp rise climb’, giving ‘horse leaps up’, then general-
ized to ‘rise, leap’ (Katō, Tōdō). OT1968:1129;
KJ1970:736; TA1965:93-6.

Mnemonic: ‘WE’ WILL LEAP ONTO ‘OUR’

HORSE

洞1796 DŌ, hora Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 42
L1 cave, penetrate
‘water’, with 204 (‘same’) as phonetic with

9 strokes associated sense taken in one view as ‘pass

through’, giving ‘water passes through’, and

DŌKUTSU cavern, cavity by extension ‘pierce’ (Ogawa, Tōdō); with this
DŌSATSU insight
KŪDŌ cave, hollow interpretation, ‘cavity, hollow’ can perhaps be

seen as a further extended sense based on the

action of erosion by flowing water. Alterna-

tively, is taken here with associated sense

‘tube, hollow’, giving ‘cave where water has

entered deep into’ (Shirakawa). OT1968:576;

TA1965:286-9; SS1984:655.

Mnemonic: SAME WATER PENETRATES
CAVE

胴1797 DŌ A late, post-Shuowen graph. Has / ‘meat,
L1 body, trunk, torso flesh; body’ 209, with 204 (‘same’) as
phonetic with associated sense taken either
10 strokes as i] ‘big’ (Katō), or ii] ‘tube-shaped, hollow’
(Ogawa, Shirakawa), either way giving ‘large
DŌTAI body, trunk intestine, colon’. This is the meaning given
SŌDŌSEN catamaran for in the 6th century Yupian, but then the
DŌmawari girth associated word and graph were also ex-
tended to other tube-shaped or hollow parts
of the body; over time, ‘torso, trunk’ appears
to have become the dominant meaning.
KJ1970:738; OT1968:822; SS1984:655.

Mnemonic: TORSO IS OF SAME FLESH AS

BODY

536 The Remaining 1130 Characters

瞳1798 DŌ, hitomi A late, post-Shuowen graph. Has 76 ‘eye’,
L1 pupil (of eye) with 385 (‘child’) with associated sense
‘swell up in round shape’ (Ogawa), giving
17 strokes ‘pupil’. OT1968:703; GY2008:1930.

DŌKŌ pupil (eye) Mnemonic: A CHILD IS A PUPIL WITH PUPILS
DŌKŌSANDAI dilation
DŌKŌSHUKUSHŌ miosis

峠1799 tōge A graph of the kokuji type, i.e. devised in
L1 past, crest, crisis Japan based on the formational principles of
Chinese characters. Consists of 26 ‘moun-
9 strokes tain’, combined with a right-hand side made
up of 39 ‘go up’ and 7 ‘go down’, giving
tōgemichi pass ‘go up and down through mountains’, and
Usui Tōge Usui Pass hence ‘mountain pass’. By extension, ‘high
YONJŪ no tōge midlife crisis point, crisis’. OT1968:303.

Mnemonic: PASS GOES UP AND DOWN

MOUNTAIN

匿1800 TOKU under armpit so no-one can see’ (Katō). In
L1 conceal another view, taken as ‘enclosure’, with
as phonetic with associated sense ‘mulberry
10 strokes leaves’ or ‘greens’, giving ‘keep things like
mulberry leaves or greens within enclosure’.
TOKUMEI pseudonym Alternatively, is taken as signifying ‘hidden/
INTOKU concealment remote place’, and in its possible original
HITOKU concealment meaning, denoting a shamaness dancing
wildly, giving the overall meaning ‘pray to the
Bronze ; seal . Analyses diverge. The deities secretly’ (Shirakawa). All the above in-
element 1487 (q.v.) is a determinative terpretations may be taken as leading to ‘hide,
with a meaning which may provisionally be conceal’ as an extended or generalized sense.
taken as ‘enclosure’. In one view, is treated OT1968:134-5; KJ1970:705; SS1984:659.
as representing the meaning ‘hunch the
body over and enclose (something) with the Mnemonic: YOUNGSTER CONCEALED IN AN
arms’, with or 896 (‘young’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘put, place’, giving ‘hide ENCLOSURE

督1801 TOKU Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Consists of
L1 supervise, urge 76 ‘eye’, combined with 1466 (‘uncle’) as

13 strokes phonetic with associated sense taken either
as i] ‘urge, apply pressure’, giving ‘watch over
TOKUREI encouragement work of others’ (Ogawa), or ii] ‘stop, bring to
KANTOKU supervision rest’, giving ‘bring eyes to rest and watch,
TOKUSOKU urging watch over’ (Katō). OT1968:702; KJ1970:744-5.

Mnemonic: UNCLE’S EYE SUPERVISES

The Remaining 1130 Characters 537

篤1802 TOKU down’, giving ‘horse advances steadily
L1 sincere, serious
putting its hooves down firmly’ (Katō). In

16 strokes either interpretation, ‘sincere’ and ‘serious’

are taken as loan usages. On a cultural note,

TOKUSHI benevolence the two components bamboo and horse,
KITOKU seriously ill
TOKU to seriously pronounced chikuba, refer to a toddler’s

wooden horse, and the term chikuba no

Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 210 tomo (now rather dated) means
‘horse’, combined with / 58 ‘bamboo’
as phonetic with associated sense taken ‘a friend from early childhood’. OT1968:1126;
either as i] ‘crouch, cower’, giving original
meaning ‘slow horse’ (Ogawa), or ii] ‘stamp KJ1970:744.

Mnemonic: A BAMBOO HORSE SIGNIFIES
SERIOUS SINCERITY

栃1803 tochi This graph refers to the ‘Japanese horse
L1 horse chestnut chestnut (Aesculus turbinata)’ or its fruit. A
graph of the kokuji type, devised in Japan
9 strokes using the formational principles of Chinese
characters. Determinative is 73 ‘tree, wood’,
TochigiKEN Tochigi Prefecture but etymology of the graph unclear beyond
tochigayu chestnut porridge that. OT1968:501. We suggest taking the
tochikona chestnut meal right-hand element as cliff and 227 ‘ten
thousand’.

Mnemonic: THERE ARE TEN THOUSAND

CHESTNUT TREES ON THE CLIFF

凸1804 TOTSU, deko A late, post-Shuowen graph. Pictographic
L1 convex, protrusion representation of a shape with project-
ing middle part, thus conveying ‘convex’.
5 strokes Contrasts with 1061 ‘concave’. According
to Qiu, devised after the Qin and Han dynas-
dekoboko unevenness ties. OT1968:109; QX2000:54,175.
TOTSUMEN convexity
ŌTOTSU unevenness Mnemonic: BOX-SHAPE HAS A PROTRUSION,

SO IT IS CONVEX

突1805 TOTSU, tsuku OBI ; seal ; traditional . Consists
L2 thrust, lunge, of 860 ‘hole, cave’, and 19 ‘dog’, but
interpretations vary considerably as to how
protrude to analyse the two elements. In one view,
taken as ‘dog rushes out from hole/cave’, and
8 strokes by extension ‘project; sudden’ (Ogawa, Gu).
Ma, though, argues this is an inappropri-
TOTSUZEN suddenly ate analysis, given that OBI forms depict a
TOTSUNYŪ thrust dog facing into a hole, not out from it, and
tsukkomu thrust, plunge considers the graph originally meant ‘sud-
den’. A different approach takes as ‘hole/

538 The Remaining 1130 Characters

cave’, and as phonetic with associated sacrifice, as a ritual to cleanse the stove.
sense ‘project’, giving ‘hole which projects a Note that in modern form the dog has lost
short way above ground/roofline (as smoke its spot, thus now ‘big’ 36 . OT1968:740;
vent)’ (Katō). A further, quite different view GY2008:947; MR2007:374; KJ1970:745;
is put forward by Shirakawa, who takes SS1984:663.
as an abbreviation for NJK ‘cooking stove’,
and as here signifying a dog offered as Mnemonic: THRUST INTO BIG HOLE

屯1806 TON OBI ; seal . Pictograph of seedling largely
L1 barracks, camp, post, curled up but just starting to emerge above
ground. Katō takes it as a struggling plant,
station and its growth is stopping, extending to stop
at a place. Other views see ‘stop, encamp’
4 strokes as probable loan usages. MS1995:v1:414-5;
MR2007:219; OT1968:299; GY2008:72;
TON’EI barracks KJ1985:185. Take as ‘strange hair’ 230.
CHŪTON posting
TONDENHEI colonial troops Mnemonic: HAIR-LIKE SPROUTING PLANT

FOUND IN CAMP

豚1807 TON, buta OBI ; bronze ( ) ; seal . OBI form
L1 pig, pork has ‘wild pig, boar’ 89, with / ‘meat,
flesh’ 209, taken as ‘plump wild piglet/boar
11 strokes (meat) to offer as sacrifice’. In bronze,
‘hand’ 2003 was added to signify clearly
TONMŌ pig bristle ‘offer as sacrifice’. At the seal stage, is
butaNIKU pork given in the Shuowen entry heading, with
TONKATSU pork cutlet noted as an alternative form. An occurrence
with omitted can be found in the clerical
script. MS1995:v2:1220-21; DJ2009:v2:768-9;
KJ1970:745-6; GY2008:1285; OT1968:949;
SK1984:679.

Mnemonic: MEATY WILD PIG PROVIDES PORK

頓1808 TON, tomi ni Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Consists of
L1 sudden, quick, bow ‘head’ (see 103), combined with (‘camp’

13 strokes 1806) as phonetic with associated sense ‘come
up against, come to a halt’, giving ‘bow head to
TONCHI quick wit the ground’. Other meanings such as ‘sudden’
TONSHI sudden death are loan usages. OT1968:1102; SS1984:665. As
TONSHU bow, kowtow with 1806, we suggest taking as ‘strange
hair’ 230.

Mnemonic: BOWING SUDDENLY MAKES HAIR

ON YOUR HEAD GO STRANGE

The Remaining 1130 Characters 539

貪1809 DON, TAN, musaboru Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 10
L1 covet, voracity ‘shellfish, shell currency’, with 138 (‘now’)
taken as ‘hide away’, giving ‘covet wealth’
11 strokes (Ogawa), or as phonetic with associated
sense ‘addicted to’ (Katō), giving ‘have ex-
DONSHOKU voracity treme attachment to valuables’. KJ1970:685;
DON’YOKU rapaciousness OT1968:954.
TANRAN covetousness, greed
Mnemonic: NOW I COVET SHELL CURRENCY

鈍1810 DON, nibui Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Consists
L2 blunt, dull of 16 ‘metal’, combined with 1806
(‘camp’) as phonetic with associated sense
12 strokes ‘blade which is blunt and rounded’, giving
‘blunt, dull’; later, ‘dim-witted’ evolved as an
DONKAN insensitivity extended sense. KJ1970:745; OT1968:1038. As
DONSAI stupidity with 1806, we suggest taking as ‘strange
nibuiro dull gray hair’ 230.

Mnemonic: STRANGE HAIR BLUNTS DULL

METAL

曇1811 DON, kumori/ru Seal ; late graph (later version of
L2 cloud, dim, mar Shuowen). Has 66 ‘sun’ over 83 ‘cloud’,
thus ‘sun obscured by clouds below’,
16 strokes hence ‘cloudy’. KJ1970:746; GY2008:614;
OT1968:475.
DONTEN cloudy sky
hanagumori hazy spring sky Mnemonic: SUN IS DIMMED BY CLOUD
kumorigachi cloudy

丼1812 donburi, DON This graph shape exists in Chinese usage as
L1 donburi (bowl of rice an old variant of 1575 ‘well’ (q.v.) or as
one element in a compound graph such as
with meat or fish)
493 ‘mold, type’ where it may represent
5 strokes a mold or frame. In Japanese, though,
is best regarded as a separate graph, used
oyakodonburi egg + chicken to represent a Japanese dish (or range of
TENdon rice + tempura dishes) called donburi. This consists of rice
DONBURIKANJŌ rough estimate with ingredients on top which vary but
include beef, fish, or chicken and which have
been simmered in a special sauce. The term
donburi originally referred to the large, deep
bowl in which this popular food was served,
but then came to refer to the food itself.

540 The Remaining 1130 Characters

How, though, did the graph come to be though Ogawa notes donburi as a Japanese-
used originally to denote a large, deep bowl only meaning. Note that oyako means ‘parent
for food? While not entirely clear, possibly and child’, i.e chicken and egg, and tanin
there is a connection to a traditional bowl (donburi) means ‘strangers’, in this case egg
cover shape, with the representing raised and beef. GY2008:57; TA1965:491; OT1968:24.
wooden crosspieces on top of the cover.
Most Japanese commentators refer to Mnemonic: SOMETHING’S IN
only as a variant of in its meaning ’well’,
THE WELL – LOOKS LIKE A DONBURI

那1813 NA ated sense unclear. In Shuowen, defined as
L1 what? which? why? a barbarian state situated in the western
border region. Senses such as ‘what? why?’
7 strokes may be seen as loan usages. Sometimes
also borrowed for its sound value to
DANNA husband, master transliterate foreign loanwords (e.g. from
NAHA city in Okinawa Sanskrit). MS1995:v1:106-7; OT1968:1017;
SETSUNATEKI ephemeral DJ2009:v2:524; SS1984:666. Take as ‘sword’

Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has / 376 198 with two notches.
‘village’, with 冄 (CO; ‘head/facial hair hang-
ing down’; originally [OBI] seems to have Mnemonic: WHICH VILLAGE MAKES SWORDS
been a pictograph) as phonetic with associ-
WITH TWO NOTCHES, AND WHY?

奈1814 NA type of fruit tree, possibly a variety of apple.
L1 what? how? The change to the shape with 56 ‘big’ as
top element instead of seems to have
8 strokes become established at clerical script stage.
Interrogative senses such as ‘how?’ should
IKAN* what? how? be seen as loan usages. Gu alone, it seems,
NARAKU hades, hell proposes an OBI equivalent. DJ2009:v2:449;
NARA* Nara City/Prefecture OT1968:247; SS1984:666; SK1984:192;
WD1974:536; GY2008:584-5.
Seal ( ) . Seal stage is usually taken as
the oldest, having 73 ‘tree, wood’ with Mnemonic: HOW BIG IS THE ALTAR IN NARA,

723 (‘show’, originally pictograph of of- AND WHAT IS IT FOR?
fering table/altar) as phonetic (associated
sense unclear). Shuowen denotes this as a

梨1815 nashi, RI Seal ( ) ; late graph (Shuowen). Seal form
L2 pear, pear tree has 73 ‘tree, wood’, with (CO, ‘plow’) as
phonetic. The Shuowen entry for treats
11 strokes
here as a variant of 626 (‘profit, gain’ [q.v.]).
YamanashiKEN Yamanashi Pref. Associated sense of / is unclear. Change
RIEN pear orchard, theatrical world
YŌnashi Western pears in shape from to became well estab-

lish at the block script stage. DJ2009:v2:448;

GY2008:1264; OT1968:509.

Mnemonic: PROFIT FROM PEAR TREES

The Remaining 1130 Characters 541

謎1816 nazo, MEI plexed’. Several scholars take as phonetic
L1 riddle, puzzle (Ogawa, Shirakawa; associated sense un-
17 strokes (謎) clear), but another (Gu) puts forward a cred-
ible analysis by treating as both semantic
謎 nazokake Yamanashi Pref. and phonetic in function, giving ‘word
謎 nazotoki solving riddles which perplexes’, i.e. ‘secret word, slang’.
謎 nazonazo Riddle me! OT1968:942; SS1984:820; GY2008:1338.

Seal ; late graph (late version of Shuowen). Mnemonic: LOST IN A RIDDLE OF PUZZLING

Has 118 ‘words’, with 817 ‘lost, per- WORDS

鍋1817 nabe, KA with hollow centre’, i.e. ‘pot, pan’. Note:
L1 pot, saucepan comprises 22 ‘mouth’, with 冎 (see also
877 and 1325) as phonetic with associ-
17 strokes ated sense ‘distorted’. 冎 is interpreted as
‘empty skull’ (Katō) or ‘skull and top of
nabemono food served in pot spine’ (Mizukami). OT1968:1047; SS1984:81;
DOnabe earthen pot MS1995:V1:108-9; KJ1970:328. We suggest
hiranabe pan taking 659 as ‘topless’ tower (see also
‘high’ 132).
A very late post-Shuowen graph. Has 16
‘metal’, with (CO, ‘distorted mouth’; see Mnemonic: METAL POTS ARE MADE IN
Note below) as phonetic with associated
sense ‘hollow shape’, giving ‘metal artefact TOPLESS TOWER

軟1818 NAN, yawarakai ing ‘vehicle with wheels wrapped with reeds
L2 soft to soften vibrations’ > ‘soft’. Examples of
are found in clerical script; the element
11 strokes may have evolved from a cursivized form of

JŪNAN soft, pliable . Note: 11th century Jiyun dictionary has
NANKA softening (’weak body’) as phonetic instead of ,
NANSUI soft water giving the variant form 輭. DJ2009:v3:1181;
T1968:982; KJ1970:748,633; SK1984:699:
Seal (輀) ; late graph (Shuowen). Has FC1974:v2:1787-9. Take as ‘lack’ 496.
33 ‘vehicle’, with (‘beard’: see Note below)
as phonetic with associated sense ‘soft’, giv- Mnemonic: VEHICLE LACKS SOFTNESS

尼1819 NI, ama Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Analy-
L1 nun, priestess ses diverge. One view takes as ‘person
slumped/lying down, corpse’ 256, but here
5 strokes ‘lame person’, with (‘bent leg/ladle’ [see
Appendix]) as phonetic with associated
NISŌ priestess, nun sense ‘stop’, giving ‘lame person stops’ (Katō).
amadera convent In another view, is taken as meaning just
BIKUNI* Buddhist nun ‘person’, with as semantic, serving as ab-
breviation of 792 (originally, depiction of
two people lined up; ‘compare’), giving ‘line
up’ (Tōdō). Shirakawa, alternatively, takes

542 The Remaining 1130 Characters

as depicting one person leaning against TA1965:759-61; SS1984:668-9. Suggest tak-
another, giving ‘intimate’. The meaning ‘nun’ ing as sitting figure.
reflects the use of for its sound value to
write the final syllable of a loanword deriv- Mnemonic: CORPSE SITTING UP IS THAT OF
ing from Sanskrit bhiksunī ‘nun’. KJ1970:694; A NUN

弐1820 NI est stages of the script the two graphs were
L1 two similar in shape (at least in some occurrences),
leading – in his view – to being erroneous-
6 strokes ly rendered in seal script as . The rationale
for the top horizontal stroke in is not fully
NIJŪ twenty clear, but it may be that , an early variant of
NISEN two thousand
NIMAN’EN 20,000 yen ‘one’, was itself sometimes written in a vari-
ant form with the short horizontal stroke at
Bronze ( ) ; seal ( ) . There are various the top left of instead of the lower left, and
shapes or forms for this graph. According to at a later point in time was added to the
Katō, in ancient times counting was done in a lower left to indicate ‘two’, thereby resulting
concrete way by counting objects. One of the in the shape . In modern Japanese usage,
early ways of writing ‘two’ was , consisting
of 65 ‘two’ combined with 545 ‘weapon was not officially adopted in place of
handle’ or ‘stake’. Bronze forms include one until the promulgation of the Tōyō kanji List
with an element for a broad-bladed halberd in 1946. Complex graphs for numerals such
above ‘two’ and what is typically taken to as instead of are often used in legal and
be 10 ‘shell (currency), shellfish’, the latter financial documents to prevent fraudulent
possibly in a phonetic role with associated alterations. GY2008:772; MS1995:v1:464-
sense ‘distribute’ or ‘increase’ (Katō), though 6,v2:1230-31,1516-18; KJ1970:39; OT1968:1.
Gu takes that shape to not be but 1746
(‘tripod vessel’). As Gu observes, in the earli- Mnemonic: TWO STAKE-LIKE HALBERDS

匂1821 niou/i/wasu/waseru earlier stage of Japanese as nioi (id.). In
L1 smell another view (Mizukami), however, is felt
to be an extended sense deriving from the
4 strokes independent CO graph ‘equal, go round,
extend across’ (and presumably ‘permeate’).
nioibukuro sachet The former seems more persuasive. Either
nioiabura perfumed hair oil way, underwent minor shape change
nioiSHŌBU fragrant orris in Japan, resulting in evolving as kokuji.
OT1968:131,1100; MS1995:146-7. Take as
Graph of the kokuji type, i.e. made in Japan. In person sitting in corner.
one view (Ogawa), its origins trace back to
as a variant of 1037 ‘rhyme, tone’, a graph Mnemonic: SMELLY PERSON HAS TO SIT IN
the meanings of which include ‘elegance,
taste, charm’, leading to it being read in an CORNER

The Remaining 1130 Characters 543

虹1822 niji, KŌ substantially in shape to 60 ‘insect’, with
L1 rainbow 125 (‘work’) as phonetic with associ-

9 strokes ated sense taken either as i] ‘pierce, extend
across’, giving ‘(wondrous) insect/entity
鱒 nijimasu rainbow trout which extends across/pierces the sky’ (Mi-
KŌSAI iris (of eye) zukami, Tōdō), or ii] ‘hang sideways’, giving
nijiiro rainbow hues ‘seven-colored dragon which hangs across
the sky’ (Ogawa). Traditionally in Chinese
OBI ; seal . One scholar (Gu), sees the culture, dragons are seen as benevolent
OBI form as depicting an animal dipping its creatures, unlike in the West. GY2008:853;
two heads down to drink from a river (possi- MS1995:v2:1144-6; TA1965:302-06.
bly the Yellow River). In another view (Mizu-
kami), OBI form is taken as depicting not just Mnemonic: INSECTS WORK TO CREATE
an animal but more specifically two dragons
(male and female). The seal form changes RAINBOWS

尿1823 NYŌ OBI ; seal . OBI form graphically depicts
L1 urine a figure urinating. Seal form is of differ-
ent structure, having 256 ‘corpse, prone
7 strokes figure’, taken here to serve as abbreviation
for 1888 ‘tail’ (but sometimes ‘private
TŌNYŌBYŌ diabetes parts, genitalia’), with 42 ‘water, liq-
NYŌSO urea uid’, giving ‘liquid from private parts’, i.e.
NYŌI ‘call of nature’ ‘urine’. MS1995:v1:406-08; GY2008:521;
KJ1970:800-01.

Mnemonic: WATER FROM CORPSE IS URINE

妊1824 NIN, haramu OBI ; seal . Has 37 ‘woman’, with
L1 pregnant 777 (‘spindle’) as phonetic with associ-

7 strokes ated sense ‘swell’ > ‘pregnant’. Katō says at
bronze stage this graph was used for a clan
NINSHIN pregnancy name. KJ1970:568; MS1995:v1:316-7,282-3;
NINPU pregnant woman OT1968:253.
FUNINSHŌ infertility
Mnemonic: WOMAN WITH SPINDLE IS

PREGNANT

忍1825 NIN, shinobu Bronze ; seal . Has 164 ‘heart/mind’,
L1 endure, stealth with 1549 (‘blade’, q.v.) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘endure’ > ‘endure
7 strokes in one’s heart’. ‘Stealth’ may relate to not
showing feelings. KJ1970:569; GY2008:532;
NINJA ninja MS1995:v1:498-9,122-3; OT1968:359;
NINTAI endurance KZ2001:237-238/3671.
shinobikomu sneak into
Mnemonic: ENDURE A STEALTHY BLADE IN

THE HEART

544 The Remaining 1130 Characters

寧1826 NEI, mushiro ‘house’, with as phonetic with associated
L1 peace, preferably sense ‘calm, peaceful’, thus ‘house is peaceful
inside’ (Katō). Shirakawa, alternatively, pro-
14 strokes poses a different analysis, as signifying a ritual
of offering the heart of a wild animal in a bowl
ANNEI public peace to soothe ancestral spirits; Ogawa is in broad
TEINEI civility, care agreement. Other meanings such as ‘prefer-
NEIJITSU quiet day ably’ are loan uses. Note: OBI equivalents of
丂 have relatively little by way of curve in
OBI ; bronze ; seal . Views vary. OBI form the bottom stroke. GY2008:v1:195,v2:900-01;
has 30 ‘house’, with 300 ‘bowl’, plus 丂; MS1995:v1:386-7; KJ1970:853; SS1984:672;
the latter normally ‘floating aquatic weed’ 130, OT1968:283; WD1974:540-42. Take as eye
but taken here by Gu as pictograph for ‘shelf’, 76, nail 367.
giving overall meaning ‘house with plentiful
food’ (see Note below). Bronze forms typi- Mnemonic: FEEL PEACEFUL HOME IS
cally add 164 ‘heart, feelings’ as a further
element. One view takes the bronze form as PREFERABLE TO A NAIL IN THE EYE

捻1827 NEN, nejiru, hineru Seal ; late graph (later version Shuowen).
L1 twist, screw Has 34 ‘hand’, with 590 (‘thought,
concern’) as phonetic with associated sense
11 strokes probably ‘firm(ly)’, thus overall meaning
‘pinch with fingers, twist’. GY2008:1220;
NENZA sprain OT1968:421; SS1984:673-4; AS2007:401.
neJI* screw
NENTEN torsion Mnemonic: TWISTED HAND IS OF CONCERN

粘1828 NEN, nebaru millet’. Later (unclear when), the determi-
L1 sticky, glutinous native 220 ‘rice’ was sometimes used in
this graph in place of , resulting in ,
11 strokes though this was long regarded as a popular
equivalent: Kangxi zidian still treats as
NENDO clay a popular form of . ‘Sticky/glutinous’ is a
NENCHAKU adhesion generalized sense. KJ1970:624; TA1965:836-
nebarizuyoi tenacious 8; KZ2001:1995/3671.

Seal ( ) . Seal form has NJK ‘millet’, Mnemonic: DIVINE USING STICKY RICE?!
with 1598 (‘divination’) as phonetic with
associated sense ‘stick/adhere’ > ‘sticky

悩1829 NŌ, nayamu/masu Seal ; traditional forms 㛴, . Seal form
L2 worry, distress has 37 ‘woman’, with (‘brain’, later writ-

10 strokes ten 964), taken in one view as abbrevia-
tion for 匘 ‘brain matter, brain’ as phonetic
KUNŌ distress
NŌSATSU captivation with associated sense ‘pain’, giving ‘woman
ŌNŌ torment
feels pain in heart’ (Katō). In another view,
is taken as phonetic with associated

sense ‘bend softly, soft but circuitous’, giving

‘something that persists in the mind and

The Remaining 1130 Characters 545

won’t go away’ (Tōdō). The associated sense rate entries. In modern times became
the dominant determinative; the earliest
of here is alternatively taken as ‘be re- Jōyō kanji List (promulgated 1923) has .
TA1965:249-50; KJ1970:674; OT1968:373.
lated, surround’, giving ‘bad feelings persist’,
Mnemonic: WORRY AND DISTRESS AFFECT
and hence ‘be distressed’ (Ogawa). Later BOTH HEART AND BRAIN

(unclear when), the determinative 164

‘heart, mind’ was sometimes substituted for

; Kangxi zidian lists both forms as sepa-

濃1830 NŌ, koi Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 42 ‘liq-
L2 thick, deep, rich uid’, with 386 (‘farming’) as phonetic with
associated sense taken as i] ‘abundant’ (Katō),
16 strokes or ii] ‘wet’ (Ogawa), both giving ‘abundant
dew’ ( often used in this sense in Chinese
NŌKA thickening classics). Katō treats ‘thick, abundant’ as
NŌKŌ rich, intense extended sense and ‘strong (flavor)’ as further
aburakoi oily, fatty extended sense. KJ1970:739; OT1968:611.

Mnemonic: RICH LIQUIDS AID FARMING

把1831 HA, toru view as ‘grasp,’ thus ‘seize with hand’ (Ogawa,
L1 take, grasp, bundle Gu). In another interpretation, associated
sense of here is taken as ‘adhere evenly
7 strokes and thinly’, thus ‘apply hand flat against’,
but this gives slightly different hand action
HAAKU grasp and meaning, as Tōdō acknowledges. Use
HAJŪ retention as a counter meaning ‘armful, bundle’ is
totte handle extended sense. OT1968:404; GY2008:411;
MS1995:v1:432-3; TA1965:435-8. Take as
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 34 snake.
‘hand’, with NJK (now ‘spiral’, but origi-
nally either ‘snake’ [Gu, Tōdō] or ‘handle’ Mnemonic: HAND GRASPS SNAKE
[Shirakawa]) with associated sense in one

覇1832 HA element is not variant of 169 ‘west’
L1 domination, rule (see Note 2). ‘Dominance’ is loan use of .
Note 1: has 3 ‘rain’, here in broader
19 strokes sense ‘weather’, with 836 (‘leather’) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘white’
HAKEN domination > ‘bones bleached by exposure to ele-
HAKI ambition ments’. See 836 for link with bleached
SEIHA supremacy bones. Note 2: and (as top element)
are orig. pictograph of a stopper (Ogawa).
Bronze ( ) ; seal ( ) . Bronze and seal MS1995:v2:1424-6,1174-5; OT1968:485,911.
forms have 18 ‘moon’, with (‘bones Take as ‘body’ 209, as ‘west’.
bleached by elements’; see Note below)
as phonetic with associated sense ‘white’ Mnemonic: BODIES IN WESTERNS ARE
> ‘white light of moon’. Modern form is
late origin – Kangxi zidian still has ; top DOMINATED BY LEATHER

546 The Remaining 1130 Characters

婆1833 BA, baba Seal ( ) . The seal form has 37 ‘woman’,
L1 old woman with 1867 (‘general; carry’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘go round and round’,
11 strokes giving ‘woman dances round and round’.
The sense ‘old woman’ represents a loan
RŌBA old woman usage. Regarding the later form , which
SANBA midwife has 387 (‘wave’) in place of as phonetic
onibaba witch, hag (same associated sense), an example can
be found in clerical script. DJ2009:v3:1020;
罵1834 BA, nonoshiru KJ1970:784; SS1984:679; SK1984:202.
L1 insult, abuse
Mnemonic: ALAS, OLD WOMAN SINKS
15 strokes UNDER WAVES

BASEI jeers, boos Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has
BATŌ denunciation ‘net’ (top element: 570), with 210
AKUBA vilification, abuse (‘horse’) as phonetic with associated sense
‘anger’, giving ‘enmesh/enclose in anger’,
杯1835 HAI, sakazuki and hence ‘abuse, curse’. KJ1970:423-4;
L2 winecup, cup(ful) TA1965:453; OT1968:796. Suggest taking
as ‘eye’ 76.
8 strokes
Mnemonic: KEEP AN EYE ON THAT
KANPAI a toast, Cheers! HORSE – IT’S SUFFERED ABUSE
IPPAI a cup, full
sakazukigoto exchange of cups Or: HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY ONE-EYED
HORSE!

Seal (桮) . The seal form consists of
73 ‘wood, tree’, combined with 972 (‘no,
deny’) as phonetic with associated sense
taken in one view as ‘make to curve’, giving
‘vessel/receptacle made by making wood
curve’, specifically here ‘wine cup’ (Ogawa).
Alternatively, the associated sense is taken
as ‘divide up’, giving ‘wooden item for divid-
ing up wine’ (Katō; Mizukami regards this
latter interpretation as similarly meaning
‘wine cup’). At the clerical script stage,
as phonetic was sometimes replaced by
600 (‘not’), with the same associated sense.
DJ2009:v2:477; OT1968:495; KJ1970:795;
MS1995:v1:670-71; SK1984:398.

Mnemonic: THIS WINECUP IS NOT MADE OF
WOOD

The Remaining 1130 Characters 547

排1836 HAI Seal . Consists of 34 ‘hand’, combined
L1 reject, expel, with 794 (originally, depicts bird’s wings
outstretched; ‘not; fault’) as phonetic with
push away, anti- associated sense ‘open to right and left’,
giving ‘push open with hands’. By extension,
11 strokes ‘reject’. Mizukami lists proposed OBI equiva-
lents also. MS1995:v1:554-6; KJ1970:755;
HAIJO removal OT1968:421.
HAISUI drainage
HAIKIGASU exhaust gas Mnemonic: PUSHED AWAY AND REJECTED,
NOT WITH HANDS BUT WITH WINGS
廃1837 HAI, sutaru/reru
L1 abandon(ed), Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen); tradi-
tional . Consists of 127 ‘roof, building’,
obsolete combined with 392 (‘discharge, leave;
start’) as phonetic with associated sense
12 strokes taken either as i] ‘stop’, giving ‘house where
people stop living’ (Katō), or ii] ‘become
HAISHI abolition split in two, be destroyed’, giving ‘destroyed
HAIJI abandoned temple house’ (Tōdō, Ogawa). is a late abbrevi-
sutarimono useless object ated form (block script stage). KJ1970:752;
TA1965:647-51; OT1968:330.
輩1838 HAI
fellow, kin, line, Mnemonic: LEAVE BUILDING TO BE
ABANDONED
companion
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Consists of
15 strokes 33 ‘vehicle’, combined with 794 (originally,
depicts bird’s wings outstretched; ‘not; fault’)
wagaHAI I, me as phonetic with associated sense ‘be lined
SENPAI one’s senior up’, giving ‘vehicles lined up’, originally in a
TŌHAI companions battlefield context. By extension, ‘companion;
order, sequence’. KJ1970:755; OT1968:986;
培1839 BAI, tsuchikau SS1984:664.
L1 cultivate, grow
Mnemonic: FELLOW COMPANIONS IN A LINE,
11 strokes IF NOT IN VEHICLES

BAICHI culture (medium) Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 64
BAIYŌ cultivation ‘ground’, with CO 咅 (‘spit’, ‘split’; see Note
SAIBAISHA grower below) as phonetic with associated sense ‘add
to, pile up’ (Shirakawa says ‘swell’), thus ‘add
more soil’. Originally, was interchangeable
with 1840, meaning ‘increase, add to’ (later
meaning of : ‘attend, accompany’), but
over time, the two graphs came to be distin-
guished. came to be associated with grow-

548 The Remaining 1130 Characters

ing things, thus ‘grow, cultivate’. Note: In one ripe fruit about to split. OT1968:219,178;
view, 咅 has 22 ‘mouth; speak’, with top ele- KJ1970:758; TA1965:158; SS1984:686,798. Take

ment which is not 77 ‘stand’ but a variant of as ‘stand’, ‘hole’.

600 ‘not’, serving as semantic and phonetic, Mnemonic: STAND IN HOLE IN GROUND TO
CULTIVATE GROWTH
giving ‘spit in refusal’, or just ‘spit’ (Katō, Tōdō).
Shirakawa takes 咅 as originally depicting

陪1840 BAI Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 262
L1 attend, accompany ‘hill, mound’, with 咅 (‘spit’; see 1839 Note) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘pile up, swell’,
11 strokes giving ‘pile earth up high’. Originally, and

BAISHIN jury 1839 (later: ‘cultivate, grow’) were inter-
BAIJŪ wait upon, accompany changeable, meaning ‘increase, add to’, but
BAISHIN retainer over time came to be distinguished, being
used in extended senses ‘accompany’ and ‘at-
tend’. KJ1970:758; OT1968:1070; SS1984:686;
AS2007:159. Take as ‘stand’ 77, ‘hole’ 22.

Mnemonic: ACCOMPANYING ATTENDANT

STANDS IN HOLE IN HILLSIDE

媒1841 BAI Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 37
L1 intermediary ‘woman’, with 1973 (‘a certain’) as pho-
netic with associated sense usually taken as
12 strokes ‘consult, seek opinion’, giving original mean-
ing ‘mediate in marriage alliance’. ‘Intermedi-
BAIKAI mediation ary’ is the generalized sense. A divergent view
BAITAI medium takes as phonetic with associated sense
SHOKUBAI catalyst ‘give birth to child’, thus ‘man and woman
join and have a child’ (Tōdō). KJ1970:757-8;
OT1968:261; GY2008:1524-5; TA1965:166-8.

Mnemonic: A CERTAIN WOMAN ACTS AS

INTERMEDIARY

賠1842 BAI ‘return, give back’ (Katō), in either case giving
L1 compensate the overall meaning ‘make up for loss with
valuables’. Shirakawa makes a slightly different
15 strokes analysis, taking the associated phonetic sense
as ‘swell up’, giving ‘make up for loss of valu-
BAISHŌ compensation ables’. OT1968:960; KJ1970:759; SS1984:686-7.
BAISHŌKIN damages As with 1839 and 1840, we suggest taking
SONGAIBAISHŌ indemnity as ‘stand’ 77, and ‘hole’ 22.

A very late post-Shuowen graph. Has 10 Mnemonic: COMPENSATED WITH
‘shell currency, money’, with 咅 (‘spit’; see
1839 Note) as phonetic with associated sense SHELL-MONEY FOR STANDING IN HOLE
taken either as i] ‘supplement’ (Ogawa), or ii]

The Remaining 1130 Characters 549