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

貝10 kai times, shells were used as currency in China,
and so as a component in more complex
L3 shell, shellfish characters often serves a semantic role to
7 strokes indicate wealth, e.g. 712 ‘wealth, assets’.
MR2007:347; KJ1970:759-60. Suggest remem-
hotategai scallop bering by using 76 ‘eye’.
kaigara seashell
kaiRUI shellfish Mnemonic: SHELLFISH LOOKS LIKE AN EYE

OBI forms indicate that this is based on the WITH FEELERS
pictograph of a bivalve shell . In ancient

学11 GAKU, manabu , signifying crossbeams, roof, right and left
hands/help, and child respectively. The earliest
L5 learning forms (OBI) all omit the last of these elements,
8 strokes but the basic meaning represented appears to
be a building whose purpose was to help peo-
GAKKŌ school ple in some way. Later forms are then more spe-
KAGAKU chemistry cific, referring to children (see 27). SS1984:110;
GAKUSHA scholar KJ1970:171-2; MM1993:102. We suggest using
‘child’ 27.
OBI forms , ; traditional (Kangxi) form .
It has four elements, which on the basis of OBI Mnemonic: CHILD LEARNS UNDER ORNATE
and bronze forms Shirakawa takes as
ROOF

気12 KI, KE graph devised to write another word (a near-
homophone of in early Chinese) meaning
L5 spirit ‘give rice (or other food) as a gift’. Based on the
6 strokes above, the block script equivalent of the OBI
form for should be , not . The more
KIBUN mood familiar shape is probably based on a cursive
TENKI weather form of ; is standard in modern PRC usage.
DENKI electricity See also 1346 ‘ask for, beg’. QX2000:330;
MS1995:v2:726-8; KJ1970:247,230; OT1968:552;
OBI ; seal ; traditional . According to FC1974:v1:1245-7.
Qiu, the traditional form was used from the
Han dynasty onwards for ‘vapor’, but this was Mnemonic: SPIRIT-LIKE VAPORS OVER A CROSS
in fact a loan use, as is in origin a separate

九13 KYŪ, KU, kokono- of dragons (Shirakawa), or as the shape of an
elbow used when counting with one arm (Katō),
L5 nine or as a loaned character (Qiu, Schuessler).
2 strokes SS1984:170; TS2010:25; KJ1970:49; QX2000:32;
AS2007:320. We suggest remembering it as a
JŪKYŪ nineteen hook indicating the removal of one from ‘ten’
kokonoka ninth day
KUGATSU September 35.

Etymology unclear. One earlier form is . On Mnemonic: SOMETHING HOOKED AWAY
the basis of the corresponding ancient forms,
assessed variously as representing the shapes FROM TEN LEAVES NINE

50 The 80 First Grade Characters

休14 KYŪ, yasumu OBI . A ‘logical compound’ type character
which signified rest in the shade, being made
L5 rest(ing) up of / 41 ‘person’ next to 73 ‘tree’. This
6 strokes widely accepted interpretation is supported at
some length by Qiu, who rejects Shirakawa’s
KYŪJITSU holiday interpretation of early forms of this character as
KYŪSEN truce ‘person’ next to ‘standing grains’. QX2000:209-
natsuyasumi summer break 211; GY2008:278-9; AS2007:542; SS1984:171-2.

Mnemonic: PERSON RESTS AGAINST TREE

玉15 GYOKU, tama in bronze, and in the seal forms they were
virtually indistinguishable. In clerical script,
L3 jewel, ball was commonly written with a dot, no doubt
5 strokes to help distinguish it from . Note, though,
that as a determinative in compound graphs
GYOKUHAI jade cup (e.g. 692 ‘appear’), the dot in is omitted
tamatsuki billiards in the majority of cases. The meaning ‘ball’ for
medama eyeball
is Japanese-only usage. KJ1970:283,933;
OBI forms show pieces of precious stone MS1995:v2:850-63; MR2007:218; SK1984:490-91.
(probably jade discs) strung together on a cord
Mnemonic: STRING OF BALL-LIKE JEWELS FIT
. Though the shape of this graph stood in
contrast to 5 ‘king, ruler’ at the OBI stage, FOR A KING
the shapes of the two became less distinctive

金16 KIN, KON, kane an arrow at the top and an ax lower down
(Wen). Different again is a view (Katō) which
L5 gold, metal, money breaks the graph down into two semantic
8 strokes elements: 64 ‘earth’, together with dots to
represent something in the earth, and then an
KIN’YŌbi Friday abbreviated form of 138 (‘top/cover’) as a
KONJIKI gold color phonetic indicator. At an early stage in China,
kanemochi rich person often used in the sense of ‘bronze’, then some-
times ‘gold’, and by extension metals in general.
Variations in shape in the earliest occurrences SS1984:208; KJ1970:955-6; WL2010:410. We
/ , namely bronze inscriptions, have led to suggest remembering by using 5 ‘king’.

different interpretations. Shirakawa takes the Mnemonic: KING KEEPS TWO GOLD NUGGETS
small dots or dashes as representing lumps of
cast metal (bronze). Another view additionally UNDER COVER
treats the main part of the graph as depicting

空17 KŪ, sora, kara Bronze . The top five strokes (of the modern
form) depict the entrance to a hollowed-out pit,
L5 sky, empty or cave 860, i.e., something empty; subse-
8 strokes quently extended to mean ‘sky’. The lower ele-
ment 125 (‘work, tool’) serves as a phonetic,
KŪKI air with an associated sense of ‘hole’. References:
sorairo sky-blue SS1984:220; KJ1970:401; MS1995:v2:974-5. We
karabako empty box suggest remembering by using in its mean-
ing of ‘work’.

Mnemonic: WORK TO OPEN THE ROOF TO

SEE THE EMPTY SKY

The 80 First Grade Characters 51

月18 GETSU, GATSU, Originally depicting crescent moon with pitted
surface , later undergoing a cumulative pro-
L5 tsuki cess of stylization , . As a determinative, .
moon, month Note that the determinative for 209 ‘meat/
4 strokes flesh’ is of the same shape in compound
graphs. SS1984:252; KJ1970:953.
KONGETSU this month
GETSUYŌbi Monday Mnemonic: CRESCENT MOON IS PITTED AND
tsukimi moon viewing FACES DOWN

犬19 KEN, inu Based on pictograph of a dog rearing up .
Occurs also in the form as a left-hand deter-
L4 dog minative, sometimes in characters for other
4 strokes animals. References: QX2000:65-67; SS1984:254.
We suggest remembering it by taking it as
RYŌKEN hunting-dog 56 ‘big’ plus a spot.
inugoya kennel
koinu puppy Mnemonic: DOG IS BIG WITH A SPOT

見20 KEN, miru/seru/eru OBI forms such as , show the graph for
an exaggerated eye 76 on top of a variant
L5 look, see, show form for ‘person’ 41, originally bending but
7 strokes sometimes just ‘legs’. SS1984:255; QX2000:194.
Take as a bending figure.
HAKKEN discovery
KENBUTSU sightseeing Mnemonic: PERSON WITH BIG EYE BENDS TO SEE
mimono spectacle, sight
pieces of wood which cross each other, the char-
五21 GO, itsu- acter then being borrowed for its sound value to
represent another word meaning ‘five’. Alterna-
L5 five tively, Qiu seems to interpret the ancient form
4 strokes of this character as no more than a geometric
symbol, but the relationship to five is unclear.
GOGATSU May Also, some interpret it as a reel that replaces the
GONIN five people five fingers when winding yarn. This is one of
itsuka fifth day those graphs with a range of proposed etymolo-
gies. SS1984:281-2; QX2000:32.
Disputed etymology. OBI forms can simply have
five strokes on top of each other , but more Mnemonic: IS A MISSHAPEN REEL BETTER
commonly (unrelated to stroke number). On THAN FIVE FINGERS?
the basis of this latter, Shirakawa takes such
shapes as representing a lid constructed with ancestral forms of this character (with a meaning
‘mouth’) are rare, and more common are instanc-
口2L52 KŌ, KU, kuchi es of another graph of identical shape which
mouth, opening instead represents a ritual vessel. It is difficult
3 strokes to substantiate Shirakawa’s view, though some
support for caution in interpretation of the early
JINKŌ population occurrences is found in Matsumaru. Extended
KŌJITSU pretext meanings include ‘hole’, ‘opening’ and ‘speak’.
deguchi exit MS1995:v1:204-5; SS1984:284-5; MM1993:30;
KJ1985:98.
According to Katō et al., widely regarded as
based on a pictograph for the mouth . How- Mnemonic: SQUARE OPEN MOUTH
ever, according to Shirakawa, the early (OBI and
bronze) shapes which might appear to be the

52 The 80 First Grade Characters

校23 KŌ tree’ determinative 73 was added, to clarify
the sense ‘wooden shackles’. Other meanings
L5 school, check for , found already in the Chinese classics,
10 strokes include ‘compare’, ‘collate’, ‘check’, ‘enclosure’,
and ‘school’. Perhaps to be explained in the
KŌSEI proofreading sense of ‘school’ through the phonetic loan
KŌKŌ high school principle, as suggested by Katō. KJ1970:172;
KŌCHŌ school principal AS2007:536, 307; ZY2009:v2 506. We suggest
using ‘six’ 80 to help remember it.
A graph of the common semantic-phonetic
category. The right-hand component as an Mnemonic: CHECK OUT SIX WOODEN
independent graph has meanings of ‘crossed
(esp. legs), mixed’ (see 128). Later, the ‘wood/ CROSSES AT THE SCHOOL

左24 SA, hidari of tool used in work. Can be taken as semantic
compound (‘left hand’ with ‘tool, work’) (Karl-
L5 left gren), or as semantic-phonetic compound, in
5 strokes which case the first two strokes of have both
semantic and phonetic roles. MR2007:271-2;
SAHA leftist faction BK1957:22-3; SS1984:331; KJ1970:37;
hidarigawa left side AS2007:637.
hidarite left hand
Mnemonic: LEFT HAND HOLDS THE
OBI is based on a pictograph of a hand orien-
tated from left to right. Bronze equivalents add CARPENTER’S SQUARE

125, originally a pictograph for some kind

三25 SAN, mi- Three short straight lines , a simple mne-
monic device; occurring from OBI onwards.
L5 three Similar depictions were used in certain other
3 strokes ancient writing systems (Egyptian hieroglyphs,
Sumerian cuneiform, and suchlike). SS1984:350;
SANGATSU March KJ1970:40.
third day
Mnemonic: THREE FINGERS
SANKAKU triangle
OBI , based on jagged mountains.
山26 SAN, yama MR2007:407; KJ1970:40; QX2000:175.

L5 mountain, hill Mnemonic: TRIPLE PEAKED MOUNTAIN
3 strokes

HYŌZAN iceberg
TAKUSAN large quantity
yamamichi mountain trail

子27 SHI, SU, ko Based on a pictograph of an infant . Note
that this graph has also been used to denote
L5 child the first of the twelve ‘Earthly Branches’ of the
3 strokes traditional Chinese sexagenary cycle. QX2000:
178; BK1970:254; MR2007:517; KJ1985:158.
DENSHI electron
kodomo child(ren) Mnemonic: CHILD ON MUM’S BACK WITH
YŌSU state of things ARMS OUT

or: CHILD WRITES THREE THEN STRIKES IT OUT

The 80 First Grade Characters 53

四28 SHI, yo-, yon OBI and many bronze examples represent ‘four’
using four horizontal strokes . Some bronze
L5 four forms appear to represent an open mouth
5 strokes with teeth, etc., possibly with the meaning of
‘breathe’ . ‘Four’ is almost certainly a loan use.
SHIGATSU April KJ1970:42; QX2000:174; KJ1985:122. As a mne-
yokka fourth day monic, we suggest taking the present shape as
yonKAI four times a clenched fist.
Mnemonic: FOUR FINGERS IN CLENCHED FIST
糸29 SHI, ito
OBI forms show single thread (probably silk);
L3 thread seal . is a common determinative, as in
6 strokes e.g. 95 (‘picture’); distinguish from 855
(‘threads joined together’). The related element
SEISHI silk making
keito woollen yarn ‘fine thread(s), end of fine thread’ has ‘small,
itomaki thread-reel young’ as extended meanings. SS1984:364;
MS1995:v2:1002-04,v1:446-8.
字30 JI Mnemonic: SKEIN OF TWISTED THREAD

L4 letter, symbol Earliest forms such as show that this graph
6 strokes is made up of ‘roof’ (in turn indicating
‘building’ or ‘home’) and 27 ‘child’, originally
JIbiki dictionary with meanings such as ‘raise, bring up’. It later
akaJI ‘in the red’, deficit acquired the meaning of ‘[Chinese] character,
SŪJI digit, number written sign’ from ca. 100AD in Shuowen jiezi.
SS1984:379-80; GY2008:331.
耳31 JI, mimi Mnemonic: A CHILD AT HOME LEARNING LETTERS

L5 ear OBI is based on a pictograph of an ear.
6 strokes MR2007:457-8; SS1984:380; QX2000:178.
Mnemonic: POINTED EAR
JIKA otology
miminari tinnitus Derives from OBI and bronze graph similar to
mimikazari earring modern ‘ten’ 35 for a cut bone, the curve
coming later. In early Chinese ‘cut’ and ‘seven’
七32 SHICHI, nana- had a similar pronunciation, and so the graph
was borrowed to represent ‘seven’. SS1984:387;
L5 seven TS2010:3; AS2007:419,312.
2 strokes Mnemonic: BADLY WRITTEN TEN: ONLY
WORTH SEVEN
SHICHIGATSU July
nanoka* seventh day
nanae seven-fold

54 The 80 First Grade Characters

車33 SHA, kuruma Based on a pictograph of a two-wheeled
chariot. OBI . SS1984:391; KJ1970:490.
L5 vehicle Mnemonic: CHARIOT WITH TWO WHEELS
7 strokes
Bronze form shows five-fingered hand . In
DENSHA train compound graphs, usually . SS1984:399;
SENSHAJŌ carwash QX2000:178.
teguruma handcart Mnemonic: HAND WITH FIVE FINGERS BUT
THE MIDDLE ONE BENT
手34 SHU, te
Etymology disputed. Katō sees early (bronze)
L5 hand forms of one vertical stroke, often with a small
4 strokes swelling halfway down, as showing a needle,
later borrowed phonetically for ‘ten’: Mizukami
SHUDAN means is in agreement. The protrusion became a hori-
tebukuro gloves zontal stroke. Shirakawa, by contrast, interprets
JŌZU* skill
as a wooden counting stick. It has also been
十35 JŪ, tō interpreted as a knotted rope. KJ1970:50;
SS1984:50; TS2010:4; MS1995:v1:164-5.
L5 ten Mnemonic: A PROPER CROSS GETS TEN OUT
2 strokes OF TEN

JŪGATSU October Based on early forms such as , Qiu sees the
tōka tenth day graph as a foot stepping out of a pit dwelling,
JŪJI a cross noting the ancients lived in pits. Katō takes a
broadly similar view, interpreting such forms as
出36 SHUTSU, deru, dasu depicting a foot wearing a sandal setting out.
See also 143 ‘stop’. QX2000:192; KJ1970:301-2.
L5 emerge, put out Suggest using 26 ‘mountain’ as a mnemonic.
5 strokes Mnemonic: MOUNTAIN EMERGES ON TOP OF
ANOTHER
SHUPPATSU departure
omoide a memory OBI forms show a kneeling woman , later
hikidashi drawer stylized. MR2007:463; SS1984:432; QX2000:178;
KJ1970:253.
女37 JO, NYO, NYŌ, Mnemonic: KNEELING WOMAN

L5 onna, me
woman
3 strokes

JOSEI woman
NYŌBŌ wife
onna-no-ko girl

The 80 First Grade Characters 55

小38 SHŌ, chiisai, ko, o- OBI forms show a few small objects together
(typically three) – shells or suchlike .
L5 small MR2007:226; SS1984:435; QX2000:175.
3 strokes
Mnemonic: A STROKE DIVIDED INTO TWO
SHŌSETSU a novel SMALL ONES
koinu small dog, puppy
ogawa brook, stream

上39 JŌ, ue, uwa-, kami, OBI forms show two horizontal strokes, upper
one being shorter , but more commonly
L5 ageru/garu, noboru written as a short horizontal line above a longer
up, top, over, rise line gently curving upwards – perhaps the
3 strokes palm of the hand . A vertical stroke was
added later. ‘Go up’ etc. are extended meanings.
IJŌ over, above MR2007:210; SS1984:456; KJ1970:541; KJ1985:3.
kawakami upstream
neage price rise Mnemonic: BAR WITH HANDLE RISES UP

OVER THE BASE LINE

森40 SHIN, mori OBI is based on pictograph of three trees ,
indicating many trees. Three was often used to
L4 woods indicate plurality, including in ancient Egyptian
12 strokes hieroglyphs. Distinguish from 79 ‘forest’.
Can have Shintoist connotations in Japanese.
SHINRIN forest, woods MR2007:341; KJ1970:41-2.
SHINKAN silence
Aomori Aomori City/Pref. Mnemonic: THE WOODS CONTAIN MANY

TREES, ALL GROWING IN THREES!

人41 JIN, NIN, hito element, commonly ; other elements of
similar meaning include ‘person’, ‘person
L5 person, people (variant)’ (determinative no. 10), and (deter-
2 strokes minative no. 26) ‘kneeling person’. There are in
fact more forms relating to ‘person’, which can
NIHONJIN (a) Japanese be confusing. We will indicate these as they
NINGEN human being occur. MR2007:379; SS1984:479; KJ1970:563-4.
hitode crowd, turnout
Mnemonic: A PERSON WALKING WITH NO
OBI is based on the pictograph of a person
standing, viewed side-on. As a determinative ARMS OR HEAD?!

水42 SUI, mizu OBI is a pictorial representation of water
flowing; later stylized in shape to . Often
L5 water found in compound graphs in the form of .
4 strokes See also 50 ‘river’. MR2007:435; SS1984:515;
QX2000:175. We suggest taking right and left
SUIYŌbi Wednesday elements as narrowing banks.
SUISO hydrogen
ōmizu flood Mnemonic: WATER NARROWS BETWEEN

RIVER BANKS

56 The 80 First Grade Characters

正43 SEI, SHŌ, tadashii, ‘correct’appears to have come about probably
as a phonetic loan – the pronunciation of the
L4 tadasu, masa Chinese words for‘march against’and‘correct’
correct, proper being virtually identical in the late Han period
5 strokes (c. AD 25-220). Alternatively, regarded on basis
of OBI form as being identical at that stage to
SEIKAI right answer 54‘foot, leg’, representing lower leg (kneecap to
SHŌGATSU New Year foot), and by extension‘straight, correct’, based on
masa ni just, exactly unbending part of leg (Mizukami). SS1984:492-3;
AS2007:612; KJ1970:582-3; MS1995:v1:702-3. We
Etymology disputed. On the basis of OBI forms suggest a mnemonic using 143‘stop’(which
such as , Shirakawa considers the original mean- also involves feet).
ing of to be‘march/progress towards a walled
citadel’, a meaning later represented by the more Mnemonic: TO STOP AT THE LINE IS TO DO
complex graph 1577 (q.v.): this interpretation
is shared by Schuessler. Use of in the sense of THE CORRECT AND PROPER THING

生44 SEI, SHŌ, ikiru/kasu, OBI . Based on a pictograph of a growing
plant. KJ1985:412; SS1984:493.
L5 umu/mareru, nama
life, birth, grow Mnemonic: GROWING PLANT IS A SYMBOL
5 strokes OF LIFE

GAKUSEI student
ISSHŌ one’s whole life
ikimono living thing

青45 SEI, SHŌ, aoi of this character is taken to be a variant of 44,
functioning originally here as a phonetic (the
L4 young, fresh, Late Han words represented by and were
green/blue reasonably close in pronunciation); several com-
8 strokes mentators regard as also carrying a semantic
function (the green of young plants). SS1984:495;
SEINEN a youth KJ1970:963; GY2008:545; AS2007:459, 431. We
aozora blue sky suggest using‘moon’ 18 as a mnemonic. Note:
aomono greens the color spectrum is a continuum, and is broken
up somewhat arbitrarily in different languages.
On the basis of the shape in bronze forms , the Thus, for instance, the blue through green range
lower part is taken as a type of well dug for the is differentiated in English, but not traditionally in
excavation of cinnabar ( 1686). Although typi- Japanese, in which ao(i) covers both.
cally cinnabar is red in color, it does occur in other
colors such as brown and grey, and Shirakawa Mnemonic: YOUNG BLUE-GREEN PLANTS
notes several classical sources which refer to
‘white cinnabar’(perhaps grey?) and‘blue/green LIVE ON THE MOON
cinnabar’. The upper element in the modern form

夕46 SEKI, yū 18 ‘moon’, and at that period had the
meanings of ‘crescent moon’ or ‘evening’. At
L4 evening some stage in bronze inscriptions two differ-
3 strokes entiated shapes evolved, one for each of the
two associated words. SS1984:252; KJ1970:90;
KONSEKI this evening GY2008:38; AS2007:522.
yūSHOKU evening meal
yūhi setting sun Mnemonic: CRESCENT MOON WITH A WISP
OF CLOUD INDICATES EVENING
At the OBI stage, the shapes for this character
were often indistinguishable from those for The 80 First Grade Characters 57

石47 SEKI, SHAKU, ishi shape beneath the cliff to be a ritual vessel
related to ancient beliefs, not a rock. Some
L3 stone, rock scholars, including Katō, take as a pho-
5 strokes netic element with an associated sense such
as ‘split’ or ‘release’ (small rocks splitting off ).
KASEKI fossil OT1968:707; QX2000:198; KJ1970:610-11;
koishi pebble SS1984:504-5; YK1976:307-8.
SEKIYU petroleum
Mnemonic: LARGE STONE AT BASE OF
Etymology unclear. The OBI and bronze
forms, , may well depict a rock under an ROCKY CLIFF
overhanging cliff. Shirakawa considers the

赤48 SEKI, SHAKU, akai ing brightly’ and thus ‘red [flames]’. Shirakawa,
however, interprets the upper element more
L4 red literally as a person with outstretched limbs,
7 strokes to give a meaning such as ‘cleanse someone
of their crimes’, which one imagines would be
SEKIDŌ equator a final cleansing! Popularly believed to show
SEKIMEN blush ‘earth’ 64 over . This is incorrect, but use-
ful as a mnemonic. BK1957:209-10; OT1968:964;
akanbō baby SS1984:505.

Etymology disputed. Many scholars take the Mnemonic: BIG FIRE MAKES EARTH GLOW RED
OBI and bronze forms , to show 56 ‘big’
over 8 ‘fire’, , giving a meaning ‘fire burn-

千49 SEN, chi traditional interpretation (Shuowen), but it is
incorrect, as in early times the graph close in
L5 thousand shape to the modern stood for ‘seven’ 32.
3 strokes Shirakawa takes it as a version of the old graph
for ‘person’ modified to represent ‘thousand’
SEN’EN thousand yen by the addition of a horizontal stroke, with
GOSEN five thousand
chidori plover as a phonetic element (a view shared by
Katō). BK1957:104; AS2007:424; SS1984:515;
Etymology unclear. Early forms such as KJ1985:84.
might suggest interpretation as 41 ‘per-
son’ with 35 ‘ten’, representing ‘ten people Mnemonic: ADD A STROKE ON TOP, AND TEN
[each one hundred years old]’. This was the
BECOMES A THOUSAND

川50 SEN, kawa Based on pictographs of water flowing be-
tween two river banks, such as the OBI form
L5 river
3 strokes , later stylized. See also 42 ‘water’.
SS1984:515; QX2000:175; KJ1970:631.
kawaguchi rivermouth
SENRYŪ comic verse Mnemonic: RIVER FLOWS BETWEEN TWO
edogawa Edo River BANKS

58 The 80 First Grade Characters

先51 SEN, saki in some of the OBI and bronze forms differ-
ently, not as 143 (q.v.) but as (NJK; ‘move,
L5 prior, precede, tip go’), a graph indicating movement (either by
6 strokes a person walking or a plant growing). In either
case, Katō then takes the top element as pho-
SENSEI teacher netic in function with associated sense ‘die’,
SENGETSU last month giving ‘those who have gone before’, and by
yubisaki fingertip extension ‘the past’, and ‘advance’. The majority
view is perhaps the one to follow. SS1984:515;
The OBI form for shows a foot on top of a BK1957:131-3; OT1968:87; KJ1970:627;
person, signifying ‘walk ahead, go first’. (This is QX2000:53. As a mnemonic, suggest taking
similar in principle to 20 ‘look’, in which the as a simplified 44, showing plant(s), with
majority of OBI forms show an exaggerated the ‘bending person’ element (see 41).
eye on top of a person, thereby focussing on
what the eye does, i.e. ‘see’.) This is an interpre- Mnemonic: BEND TO GO THROUGH UNDER-
tation quite widely held (Shirakawa, Karlgren,
Ogawa). Katō, however, sees the top element GROWTH – YOU PRECEDE ME!

早52 SŌ, hayai Etymology uncertain. Early form . Possibly
adopted in Chinese at an early stage as a
L4 early, fast phonetic loan in the sense of ‘early’. Yamada
6 strokes takes it as ‘sun bursting out’ (see 66 ‘sun’),
with 35 ‘ten’ seen as a phonetic with an as-
SŌKYŪ immediately sociated sense of ‘open, burst out’. Sunrise came
hayakuchi rapid speech to mean ‘early’, then ‘fast’. QX2000:96,272,392;
hayajini early death SS1984:539; OT1968:460.

Mnemonic: SUN SHOWS TEN BUT IT’S STILL

EARLY

草53 SŌ, kusa Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). (short form
of ‘grass, plants’), and 52 (‘fast, early’) as
L3 grass, plant phonetic to give meaning ‘acorn’ (Qiu, Katō),
9 strokes but borrowed early on for ‘grass, plants’. The
borrowed usage soon prevailed. QX2000:266;
ZASSŌ weed KJ1970:427; TA1965:216-8.
SŌSHO cursive script
kusaCHI grassland Mnemonic: GRASS GROWS FAST

足54 SOKU, ashi, tariru OBI . Pictograph of kneecap down to foot.
At this stage and 43 were often writ-
L5 leg, foot, suffice ten the same. ‘Suffice’ is loan use. SS1984:543;
7 strokes BK1957:313; MS1995:v2:1260-62,v1:702-03.

FUSOKU insufficiency Mnemonic: ROUND KNEE AND FOOT SUFFICE
ashikubi ankle TO SHOW LEG
ashioto footsteps

The 80 First Grade Characters 59

村55 SON, mura which was used phonetically in the sense of
‘village’ in place of another graph for ’village’,
L5 village
7 strokes , which may be taken provisionally as ( )
‘settlement, village’ (see 376), and 1806
SONCHŌ village head ‘accumulate, stay’ as semantic and phonetic.
NŌSON farming village OT1968:490-91; KJ1985:311. Use 920 ‘meas-
murabito villager(s) ure’ and 73 ‘tree’ for mnemonic.

Etymology unclear. Seems a late graph, not Mnemonic: MEASURE TREES TO BUILD A
in Shuowen dictionary of ca.100AD. Ogawa
treats it as variant of CO graph ‘lacquer tree’ VILLAGE

大56 DAI, TAI, kii, - Based on a pictograph of a mature person or
one with arms and legs outstretched , used
L5 big in an extended sense to mean ‘big’. SS1984:570;
3 strokes QX2000:4; KJ1970:724-5.

TAIKAI assembly Mnemonic: PERSON SPREADS ARMS AND
DAIGAKU university LEGS TO LOOK BIG
ōgoe loud voice

男57 DAN, NAN, otoko working in the fields. Other analyses are pos-
sible: Yamada and Katō, for example, take
L5 man, male as phonetic, with an associated sense ‘endure’,
7 strokes while Tōdō includes the whole graph in his
word-family meaning ‘bring in’, on the basis that
DANSHI boy traditionally China was a matriarchal society
CHŌNAN eldest son in which women brought men into the family
otokogi gallantry through marriage. SS1984:584-5; GY2008:435;
YK1976:352-3; TA1965:800-04; KJ1985:415.
OBI ; made up of 63 ‘field’ and 78
‘strength’ . The latter may at one stage have Mnemonic: MAN PROVIDES STRENGTH IN
represented a plow, but most early forms show
an arm and field , associated with males FIELD

竹58 CHIKU, take Often seen as bamboo segments, which is a
good mnemonic but incorrect. OBI shows it
L 3 bamboo to be based on a pictograph of a bamboo plant,
6 strokes which Mizukami and Katō identify as a low,
striped variety. Later used for bamboo in gen-
BAKUCHIKU firecracker eral. In compound graphs, . MS1995:v2:986-7;
takeuma stilts MR2007:307; KJ1970:694.
takeyabu bamboo grove
Mnemonic: TWO BAMBOO SEGMENTS

60 The 80 First Grade Characters

中59 CHŪ, naka generally interpreted as a banner with streamers.
The graph’s basic meaning is ‘middle, inside’, and
L5 middle, inside, China/ by extension ‘hit the center’. Schuessler, however,
Sino- feels this extended meaning is from a word of
4 strokes similar but different pronunciation from that for
‘middle’ in early Chinese (1st – 2nd century AD).
CHŪRITSU neutrality SS1984:593; KJ1970:699-700; AS2007:621, 44;
CHŪGOKU China BK1957:264-5.
mannaka very middle
Mnemonic: CHINESE LANCE PIERCES MIDDLE
OBI forms show two categories: a) , similar
to the modern equivalent, and b) a shape OF TARGET
similar to a) but with streamer-like attachments,

虫60 CHŪ, mushi occurred, as the antecedent of was already
being used to represent the current meaning
L3 insect, worm ‘insect’ (in the broad sense) – as in modern
6 strokes Japanese – in Qin and Han times. QX2000:177;
AS2007:287. As a mnemonic suggest a rearing
KISEICHŪ parasite hooded snake.
GAICHŪ harmful insect
mushiba decayed tooth Mnemonic: HOODED SNAKE REARS TO

The OBI form is based on a pictograph of a CATCH AN INSECT
snake. According to Qiu, later a semantic shift

町61 CHŌ, machi fields’, and this is retained in modern Chinese.
In Japan, ‘path between fields’ was still the
L4 town, block associated meaning in the early 10th century,
7 strokes but by that period it had also come to mean
a settlement of dwellings beside a road, and
CHŌMIN townspeople on that basis we have the modern Japanese
machiYAKUba town office meaning of ‘town, city’. SS1984:600; KJ1970:915;
shitamachi downtown YK1976:365.

Of late provenance (Shuowen); 63 is ‘field’, Mnemonic: TOWN AT T-JUNCTION NEXT TO
and 367 (originally ‘nail’, now ‘block [area]’)
is phonetic, with an associated meaning ‘tread’. FIELD
The original meaning was ‘path between

天62 TEN, ama-, ame form. On occasion the head is also enlarged. It
may be that originally the meaning was ‘head’
L5 heaven or ‘crown of the head’, then later by extension
4 strokes what is above the head, i.e. the sky, or – with
a philosophical or religious connotation –
TENSHI angel ‘Heaven’, or ‘heavenly deity’ (Ch. Tian). Karlgren,
TENNŌ emperor however, interprets the old forms as being from
amakudari heavenly descent the outset the drawing of ‘an anthropomorphic
deity’. SS1984:627-8; KJ1970:724; AS2007:495;
The OBI and bronze forms , depict the BK1957:104.
front profile of a person standing with limbs
apart, similar to 56 ‘big’ but with a head – Mnemonic: BIG MAN GETS HEAD FLATTENED
the latter sometimes round, sometimes just a
horizontal line (or two) and close to the modern IN HEAVENLY DESCENT

The 80 First Grade Characters 61

田63 DEN, ta Generally seen as based on pictographs for
a field or fields divided by paths, very similar
L 4 rice-field, paddy to the modern form. Shirakawa believes the
5 strokes original sense was ‘hunt’, and the meaning ‘field’
was a later loan use, but historical sound values
DEN’EN rural area in Schuessler leave this open to question.
taue rice planting KJ1970:915; BK1957:104; AS2007:496,184.
inaka* countryside
Mnemonic: A FIELD DIVIDED INTO FOUR

QUARTERS

土64 DO, TO, tsuchi honor the earth god, or represent the earth god
himself (Shirakawa). Another is a plant coming
L 5 earth, ground out of the soil (Katō, re bronze forms only). Yet
3 strokes another (Karlgren) sees the graph as ‘a drawing
of the phallic-shaped sacred pole of the altar of
DOYŌbi Saturday the soil’. OT1968:208; GY2008:22; SS1984:639;
TOCHI land KJ1970:956; BK1957:36-7.
tsuchikusai unsophisticated
Mnemonic: A PLANT BREAKS THROUGH THE
OBI . Interpretations quite diverse. One
(Ogawa, Gu) is that early (OBI and bronze) GROUND
forms show a clod/mound of earth raised to

二65 NI, futa- Two horizontal lines of equal length are found
in OBI; later, sometimes with a shorter top
L5 two stroke, as in the modern form. KJ1970:39;
2 strokes SS1984:668.

NIGATSU February Mnemonic: TWO LINES MEANS TWO, EVEN IF
NIJŪ twenty ONE IS SHORT
NININ/futari* two people

日66 NICHI, JITSU, hi, -ka Based on pictograph of the sun , spot/line
probably added to distinguish it as real object
L5 sun, day and not a mere abstract shape. MR2007:352;
4 strokes SS1984:669; KJ1970:952-3.

NICHIYŌbi Sunday Mnemonic: IN LINE WITH THE SUN, A NEW
HONJITSU today DAY’S BEGUN
futsuka* second day

入67 NYŪ, hairu, ireru/ru The OBI form and bronze forms depict the
entrance to a dwelling . Many see the mod-
L5 enter, put in ern stylized form as a person bending (see 41)
2 strokes to enter, which is incorrect but a useful mne-
monic. SS1984:669-70; KJ1970:515; YK1976:401.
YUNYŪ import
iriguchi entrance Mnemonic: BEND TO ENTER THROUGH
iremono container
INVERTED V-SHAPED OPENING

62 The 80 First Grade Characters

年68 NEN, toshi specific, seeing a man dancing while carrying
grain on the occasion of the rite asking for a
L5 year good harvest. Qiu, however, takes one element
6 strokes in the OBI forms as depicting grain, but the
other element as 49 ‘thousand’ as a phonetic
RAINEN next year indicator, this later being replaced by / 41
GONENSEI fifth grader ‘person’ instead. SS1984:673; QX2000:20;
toshiyori elderly person KJ1970:749. A mnemonically difficult character,
but suggest taking top element as ‘person’ /
Interpretations of the OBI forms such as are 41 and lower element as variant of 1575 ‘well’.
varied. The graphs may well depict a man
carrying a load of grain plants on his back, Mnemonic: PERSON VISITS MISSHAPEN WELL
indicating the annual harvest and by extension
the annual cycle in general. Shirakawa is more EVERY YEAR

白69 HAKU, shiroi, shira- line at the top in some forms, even curled in
some. Katō points out that the thumb indi-
L5 white cated a hundred in ancient China, with similar
5 strokes pronunciation (see 71). Whatever the original
meaning of , ‘white’ may represent a phonetic
HAKUSHO White Paper loan use, though it is difficult to rule this out
omoshiroi interesting as a possible extended sense. SS1984:687-8;
shiraga* greyed hair KJ1970:960-1; BK1957:206-7; AS2007:153-4. We
suggest taking the character as punning on
OBI forms such as , , are interpreted ‘stroke’ and ‘sun’ 66 for a mnemonic.
variously. Shirakawa sees it as a bleached skull,
Schuessler a (pale) acorn, and Katō a pale Mnemonic: SUNSTROKE LEAVES YOU WHITE!?
thumbnail. Karlgren takes it as a phallus, but
this seems to overlook the extended vertical

八70 HACHI, ya- All early forms, such as , depict splitting/
dividing, the graph for this then being
L5 eight borrowed phonetically to represent the word
2 strokes for ‘eight’. It still features as an element to indi-
cate splitting and by extension ‘disperse, away,
HACHIGATSU August out’. TA1965:647-9; SS1984:694; OT1968:94.
yaoya* greengrocer
yōka* eighth day Mnemonic: EIGHT IS EASILY DIVIDED

百71 HYAKU on top of a graph for 69 ‘white’. The word
for ‘hundred’ in early Chinese was close in
L5 hundred pronunciation to that for ‘white’, the graph
6 strokes for which represents a thumb (Katō) or
acorn (Schuessler). SS1984:723-4; TS2010:8;
HYAKUBAI hundred-fold AS2007:153-4; KJ1985:425.
HYAKUSHŌ farmer
HYAKKATEN dept store Mnemonic: ONE WHITE THUMBNAIL IS

Most OBI and bronze forms such as com- WORTH A HUNDRED ACORNS
prise a horizontal stroke to indicate one unit

The 80 First Grade Characters 63

文72 BUN, MON, fumi and Karlgren as person with tattoos, while
Ogawa and Katō take them as a figure wear-
L4 writing, text ing garment with neck. ‘Pattern, writing, text’
4 strokes may be seen as extended senses if Karlgren
and Shirakawa are followed. SS1984:759;
BUNGAKU literature BK1957:130-1; OT1968:445; KJ1970:218-20.
MO(N)JI character
koibumi love-letter Mnemonic: A CROSS IS THE LOWEST FORM

OBI and bronze forms , . Etymology OF WRITING: TRY TO TOP IT
disputed. These forms are taken by Shirakawa

木73 BOKU, MOKU, ki, ko Based on a pictograph of a tree .
MR2007:333; SS1984:804; QX2000:54;
L5 tree, wood KJ1970:955.
4 strokes
Mnemonic: TREE WITH SWEEPING BRANCHES
MOKUYŌbi Thursday – LOOKS LIKE GOOD WOOD
kime grain, texture
kodachi* grove

本74 HON, moto come to be used as a measure for books”, but
this may be explained as an extended meaning
L5 root, book, true, main, ‘stem’, in that traditionally in China and Japan
this, cylinder-counter books were in cylindrical rolls, i.e., a stem-like
5 strokes shape. In China, the cylindrical roll for books
started to change to a folded-page format
NIHON/NIPPON Japan from about the 9th century AD. Note also that
HONya bookshop in English there is a close link between trees
HONSHA this/head office and books: ‘book’, ‘bark’, ‘beech’, and ‘birch’,
the bark once having been used for writing
Based on pictograph of tree with roots , the on. SS1984:807; QX2000:183; JN1988:116;
latter indicated later by the simple addition of KJ1970:866; TT1962:153.
a stroke near the base, to show root or stem
below ground level. Norman observes – with Mnemonic: TREE WITH ONE MAIN ROOT
reference to Chinese – that it “is not entirely
clear how a word originally meaning ‘root’ could BELOW GROUND

名75 MEI, MYŌ, na (Mizukami, Yamada). Shirakawa, however, takes
the earliest forms (bronze) as depicting meat
L5 name, fame over a ritual vessel, used in the ancient naming
6 strokes ceremony for an infant when it reached three
months. If we follow Shirakawa, most OBI and
YŪMEI famous bronze occurrences of represent not ‘mouth’
MYŌJI surname but specifically ‘prayer receptacle’, but this is
namae name very much a minority view. MS1995:v1:214-5;
YK1976:467; SS1984:816-7.
Various interpretations. Early form . May well
be a combination of / 22 ‘mouth, say’, and Mnemonic: MOUTH CALLS FAMOUS NAME

46 ‘crescent moon’ – used here as substitute UNDER A CRESCENT MOON
for another graph meaning ‘shout, call out’

64 The 80 First Grade Characters

目76 MOKU, me, ma OBI shows it as based on pictograph of an
eye, generating a range of extended meanings.
L5 eye, look, mesh, Use for ordinal suffix is loan usage. SS1984:824;
ordinal suffix QX2000:178; KJ1970:873.
5 strokes
Mnemonic: SQUARE-EYED AND VERTICAL –
hitome glance WATCHING TOO MUCH TV?
hitotsume first
CHŪMOKU attention

立77 RITSU, tatsu/teru OBI and bronze forms such as depict a per-
son standing, ground beneath them to empha-
L5 stand, rise, leave size the act of standing rather than the figure.
5 strokes Later forms such as show little change.
SS1984:875; QX2000:19; OT1968:744. ‘Leave’ is
JIRITSU independence an extended meaning based on rising.
tachiba standpoint
medatsu stand out Mnemonic: STAND TO TAKE YOUR LEAVE

力78 RYOKU, RIKI, chikara depicting a plow, and by association
agricultural work and therefore physical
L4 strength, effort strength. (See also 57 ‘male’.) On the other
2 strokes hand, if it were indeed a plow, it could be
argued that one might expect rather a mean-
NŌRYOKU ability ing such as ‘cutting’ or ‘planting’ or ‘prepar-
JINRIKISHA rickshaw ing’. KJ1970:907; YK1976:492; BK1957:244;
chikaramochi strongman OT1968:123; SS1984:888-9. We suggest taking
the modern form as a shoulder and upper arm.
Early forms such as OBI seem to be generally
interpreted as showing an arm and hand. Less Mnemonic: STRONG UPPER ARM AND SHOULDER
convincingly, Shirakawa prefers to interpret as

林79 RIN, hayashi the outset and 40 ‘woods’ have been
used with essentially the same meaning, i.e.
L4 forest ‘forest’. Schuessler considers the Chinese word
8 strokes written probably evolved as an intensive
derivative from that written as . MR2007:341;
RINGAKU forestry SS1984:889; QX2000:54; AS2007:358-9;
Kobayashi a surname QX2000:198.
MITSURIN dense forest
Mnemonic: TWO TALL TREES IN THE FOREST
Early forms show a simple doubling of ‘tree’
73. Unlike in Japanese, in Chinese from

六80 ROKU, mu- suggests a temporary, tent-like structure), the
graph then probably having been borrowed for
L5 six the meaning ‘six’ through the phonetic loan prin-
4 strokes ciple. Qiu prefers a more abstract interpretation,
taking it just as a geometric symbol. SS1984:919;
ROKUGATSU June KJ1970:43-4; OT1968:96; QX2000:32. We suggest
muika* sixth day taking the whole form as a pictorial mnemonic.
ROKKAKU hexagon
Mnemonic: LADEN TABLE FOR SIX LOSES ITS
OBI and bronze forms seem to indicate
a simple building of some sort (Shirakawa LEGS
The 80 First Grade Characters 65

THE 160 SECOND GRADE CHARACTERS

引81 IN, hiku OBI ; bronze ; listed in the Shuowen as .
Very similar to modern version. Karlgren takes
L4 pull, draw as depicting a bow together with the bow-
4 strokes string. Katō and Yamada take the long vertical
stroke as a phonetic element with associated
INRYOKU gravity sense ‘pull, extend’. SS1984:30; BK1957:106;
JIbiki dictionary KJ1970:164; YK1976:59.
torihiki dealings
Mnemonic: FANCY BOW WITH STRING

WAITING TO BE PULLED

羽82 U, ha, -wa, hane Traditional . OBI form shows to be based
on pictograph of bird’s wings or feathers.
L3 wing, feather, MR2007:279; MS1995:v2:1046-7; YK1976:62-3.
bird-counter
6 strokes Mnemonic: FEATHERED WINGS

UMŌ plumage
haori haori coat
ICHIwa one bird

雲83 UN, kumo represent a homophonous word in early
Chinese meaning ‘say’ (also an NJK with that
L3 cloud meaning), as well as for another word meaning
12 strokes ‘revolve’. Then, to clearly indicate ‘cloud’, 3
‘rain, weather element’ was added at the seal
SEIUN nebula stage, giving . MR2007:453-4; SS1984:41;
ukigumo drifting cloud KJ1970:72; YK1976:63-4; AS2007:597;
kumoyuki turn of events KJ1985:653; MS1995:v2:1418-20.

Based on pictograph of a cloud ( ). The Mnemonic: RAIN FROM HEAVENLY CLOUDS
graph was borrowed for its sound value to

園84 EN, sono original meaning of ‘long robe’, ‘ample cloth-
ing’, with associated sense of encircling, hence
L3 park, garden encircled area. Tōdō includes these in a word-
13 strokes family meaning ‘round/surround’. KJ1970:110;
TA1965:611-21. As a mnemonic, we suggest
KŌEN park taking as 64 ‘soil’, 22 ‘opening’ and
DŌBUTSUEN zoo as ‘funny clothing’ 444.
hanazono flower garden
Mnemonic: AT OPENING OF ENCLOSED PARK,
Late graph (Shuowen) . Has determina-
tive ‘surround’, and as a phonetic, with FUNNY CLOTHES GET SOILED
associated meaning ‘fence’. is a CO with an

66

遠85 EN, tōi agree the basic sense of is ‘long’, thus ‘long
movement’. Shirakawa, by contrast, sees it as
L4 distant ritualistic sending off of a deceased person on
13 strokes their last distant journey. Tōdō differs, taking
linguistic form of the full graph as a member
ENSOKU excursion of a word family with the basic meaning of
ENSHI longsighted ‘make room, give latitude’. KJ1970:109-10;
tōmawari detour OT1968:1010; SS1984:59; TA1960:624-31. As
with 84, we suggest as 64 ‘soil’, 22
The determinative derives from 131 ‘opening’ and as ‘funny clothing’ 444.
‘road, go’ and 143 ‘stop’ (originally, picto-
graph of foot, hence also ‘go’). Right element is Mnemonic: GO TO DISTANT OPENING TO SEE
CO 84 with semantic role as well as phonetic.
Beyond that, views diverge, depending on FUNNY SOILED CLOTHES
meaning given to . Katō and Ogawa broadly

何86 KA, nan(i) and ‘carry on the back’ as an extended mean-
ing, while Katō takes ‘carry on the back’ as
L5 what? how many? the primary associated sense. This sense has
7 strokes now been taken over by 259 ‘load’, leav-
ing with just a loan sense. MR2007:381-2;
nanKAI how often? SS1984:72; YK1976:79; KJ1970:122. Suggest
nanSAI how old? taking it as a combination of 41 ‘person’ and
nanimono who?
‘655 ‘able, should’.
Ma and Shirakawa see the OBI form as a
person carrying a halberd over their shoul- Mnemonic: WHAT!? HOW MANY LOADS CAN
der. Yamada takes 655 (‘able, should’) as
phonetic, with associated sense ‘hunchback’, A PERSON CARRY!?

科87 KA of ladle , giving rise to meaning ‘measure’
> ‘sift’ > ‘category’ > ‘section’. Used already in
L3 course, section the sense of ‘class, degree’ in classical Chinese
9 strokes texts such as Analects of Confucius. also
probably served phonetic role in coining this
KAGAKU science character, as Late Han sound values of and
GAKKA school subject
EIGOKA English Dept were similar. ‘Course’ is associated meaning.
SS1984:75; OT1968:448; AS2007:333, 273.
Combines , based on pictograph of grain
plant , and 1766, based on pictograph Mnemonic: A COURSE ON MEASURES FOR

GRAIN PLANTS

夏88 KA, GE, natsu postulates that the dance was held in summer,
and this graph came to mean ‘summer’ by asso-
L4 summer ciation. The determinative in is traditionally
10 strokes
(no.35) ‘walk slowly/drag foot’, even though
SHOKA early summer now conventionally written just like (no.34)
manatsu midsummer ‘(descending) foot’. See Appendix. SS1984:75;
GESHI summer solstice KJ1970:118-9; OT1968:229-30. Suggest taking

Traditional . Early forms (bronze) such as , as ‘crossed legs’, and the upper part as head.
are complex graphs widely seen as showing
Mnemonic: MASKED HEAD AND CROSSED
someone dancing, probably with mask. Ogawa
LEGS SHOW SUMMER MADNESS

The 160 Second Grade Characters 67

家89 KA, KE, ie, -ya ancient times. Shirakawa, however, in support
of the dog analysis, observes that dog sacrifice
L4 house, specialist was common at that period. Katō believes
10 strokes to be a pig, here as a phonetic with associated
sense ‘leisure’, i.e. building for relaxing. Over
NŌKA farmhouse time the character has become associated with
BUKE warrior family ‘profession’, with particular families/houses
SHŌSETSUKA novelist being associated with particular work through
the hereditary system in China. MR2007:367-8;
Some OBI forms, as , are seen as pig under KJ1970:124-5; BK1957:28; SS1984:76.
roof, but other OBI and bronze such as are
seen as dog under roof. In support of the pig Mnemonic: SPECIALIST’S HOUSE LOOKS LIKE
analysis, Ma suggests the structures to house
people and pigs were not all that different in A PIG-STY!

歌90 KA, uta, utau role which is regarded by Katō and Yamada as
also denoting longer articulation, while Tōdō
L4 song, sing includes it in a word-family meaning ‘bend’
14 strokes (specifically here, manipulate or move the vocal
chords). One can perhaps think of the early
KASHU singer Chinese equivalent of KA-KA as like the English
TANKA short verse ‘(Tra)-la-la’. KJ1970:122; YK1976:84; TA1965:578-
utagoe singing voice 82. As a mnemonic, suggest again taking ‘can,
able’ 655 and doubling it.
Of quite late provenance. Shuowen has the
simpler form (NJK, ‘elder brother’), to which Mnemonic: GAPING MOUTH SINGS THE
at a later date the right-hand element 496
‘yawn, mouth open wide’ was added. In this CAN-CAN
more complex character, serves a phonetic

画91 GA, KAKU Katō treats instead as phonetic with associated
sense ‘draw’. Katō takes bronze stage meaning
L4 picture, stroke as ‘(draw) field boundary lines’; Karlgren regards
8 strokes the lower part in bronze as representing a map;
Shirakawa, by contrast, sees them in bronze as a
EIGA movie writing brush over a shield, the shield being an
GAMEN screen object to be embellished. is a later abbrevi-
KEIKAKU plan ated shape. MS1995:v2:880-81; KJ1970:327;
SS1984:83; BK1957:224-5; OT1968:24;
OBI ; bronze forms , ; seal ; traditional GY2008:579.
. Numerous interpretations. Upper part of
Mnemonic: FIELD IN PICTURE PARTITIONED
OBI form is taken by both Gu and Katō as a
hand holding a writing brush, but Gu takes low- BY STROKES
er part as pictographic for what is drawn, while

回92 KAI, mawaru/su A symbol of rotational motion . Appar-
ently on the basis of the bronze forms e.g. ,
L4 turn, rotate Shirakawa sees it as depicting a current swirling
6 strokes round. SS1984:86-7; QX2000:174.

KAITEN revolution Mnemonic: CO-AXIAL ROTATION
KAISŪ frequency
iimawashi turn of phrase

68 The 160 Second Grade Characters

会93 KAI, E, au element of this graph (top strokes) is also taken
to have that meaning. Alternatively, regarding
L5 meet the lower element, Karlgren suggests a stand,
6 strokes while Shirakawa takes it to be a rice steamer.

KAISHA company was abbreviated to on the basis of cursive
ESHAKU greeting forms. MR2007:323-4; TA1965:643-5; YK1976:87;
KOKKAI the Diet AS2007:287-8; BK1957:95-6; SS1984:86;
FC1974:v1:1082-3. Suggest remembering its
Traditional . Early forms (OBI and bronze) present form as person(s) 41, 65 ‘two’, and
show and . Upper and middle parts are nose , and imagine you’re in New Zealand for
typically seen as showing lid over vessel or a Maori greeting that entails rubbing noses.
pot – probably cooking pot. Putting a lid on
a pot suggests a subsequent extended sense Mnemonic: TWO PERSONS’ NOSES MEET
of ‘join, ‘come/put together’, and the phonetic

海94 KAI, umi ‘black, dark’. Ma notes that one of the mean-
ings of is ‘dark’, and Katō also points to early
L4 sea use of in the sense of ‘dark grey’, and links
9 strokes this to the ocean. Schuessler notes that in early
China (the Zhou dynasty) the words for ‘ocean/
KAIGUN navy sea’ and ‘dark’ were close in pronunciation.
NIHONKAI Japan Sea MR2007:220; KJ1970:149; AS2007:270, 288;
umibe seaside OT1968:548.

Bronze . Has ‘water’ 42, and 225 (‘eve- Mnemonic: EVERY DROP OF WATER ENDS UP
ry’) as phonetic with associated sense widely
taken as ‘dark’ (or similar). In Tōdō’s word-family IN THE SEA

絵95 KAI, E meaning ‘join, come together’ (see 93
‘meet’), and is combined here with 29
L3 picture ‘thread’ to represent initially a meaning such as
12 strokes ‘embroidered pattern’, but later more broadly
to include drawings or pictures in general.
KAIGA picture, painting SS1984:92; KJ1970:321; YK1976:90-91.
kuchiE frontispiece
EHON picture-book Mnemonic: THREADS MEET IN EMBROIDERED

Traditional . A graph of relatively late origin PICTURE
(Shuowen) . Right-hand element is phonetic,

外96 GAI, GE, soto, hoka, ing left-hand element . Ma and Katō see it
as 46 ‘moon’, i.e. night. The Shuowen notes
L5 hazusu/reru that divination was normally done at dawn,
outside, other, undo, thus suggesting doing something outside
miss norms, hence an extended meaning of ‘outside’.
5 strokes Schuessler accepts 46 as ‘moon’ but treats
it only as phonetic. Shirakawa, though, takes
GAIJIN foreigner
GEKA surgery as ‘meat, flesh’ (see 209), noting animal
sotogawa outside sacrifices were made during the divination pro-
cess. MR2007:359-60; KJ1970:91; AS2007:506;
Bronze ; seal . Interpretations vary, but SS1984:98-9.
it is widely agreed that signifies divination,
as practiced in ancient China. The shape Mnemonic: CRESCENT MOON WITH A CRACK
represents cracks in the surface of turtle shells ON THE OUTSIDE?!
etc (see too 1598). Opinions differ regard-
The 160 Second Grade Characters 69

角97 KAKU, tsuno, kado OBI . Based on pictograph of horn of ox,
sheep, or similar animal; ‘corner, angle’ may
L3 horn, angle, corner be extended senses from protruding horn.
7 strokes MR2007:306; MS1995:v2:1182-3; YK1976:194-5.

KAKUDO angle Mnemonic: ANGULAR HORN IS QUITE
tsunobue bugle, horn SQUARE WITH BROKEN TIP
machikado street corner

楽98 GAKU, RAKU, ta- it as a handbell with wooden handle, rung
to please the deities. Tōdō is of the view the
L4 noshii/mu graph originally meant ‘make a loud noise’,
pleasure, music later borrowed for ‘music’. The element 69
13 strokes (‘white’) was added at bronze stage, possibly
as a phonetic, but could be semantic (or both),
KIRAKU comfort as it might originally have depicted an acorn.
GAKKI instrument Schuessler notes relationship with ‘joy’ has
tanoshimi pleasure been much debated. YK1976:488; KJ1970:196;
MS1995:v1:684-6; OT1968:513; MR2007:338-9;
Traditional . Interpretations vary. OBI form SS1984:111; TA1965:273-5; AS2007:596-7. Use
; bronze . OBI form is seen as i) an oak/
73 ‘wood, tree’
horse chestnut tree (Yamada, Katō), spe-
cifically with silkworm cocoons (Mizukami) Mnemonic: TASSELED DRUM ON WOODEN
or threads (Ogawa) in it; or ii) as a musical
instrument (Ma, Shirakawa) – Shirakawa sees STAND MAKES PLEASING MUSIC

活99 KATSU sense ‘move freely’. Tōdō includes it in two
word-families: one means ‘give freedom/room’,
L3 activity, life the other signifies ‘water moves strongly’. ‘Live/
9 strokes life’ is an extended sense from ‘move strongly/
vigorously’. KJ1970:329-30; YK1976:198-9;
SEIKATSU life TA1965:624-9, 638-9.
KAKKI liveliness
KATSUDŌ activity Mnemonic: WET TONGUE IS A SIGN OF AN

A late graph (Shuowen). Has ‘water’ 42 and ACTIVE LIFE
755 (‘tongue’) as phonetic, with associated

間100 KAN, KEN, aida, ma component is felt by Katō and Ogawa to be a
phonetic, though the Late Han sound values
L5 space, gap for and seem to be markedly different. Per-
12 strokes haps for this reason Qiu prefers a semantic role
for and believes the graph ‘shows a gate with
JIKAN hour, time an opening through which moonlight can be
NINGEN human being seen’. KJ1970:217-8; OT1968:1058; AS2007:303,
machigai mistake 595; QX2000:192.

Bronze and seal (Shuowen) forms show Mnemonic: SUN SHINES THROUGH GAP IN
18 ‘moon’ through 231 ‘gate’, as does the
SALOON DOORS
traditional form, though in modern times
has been replaced by 66 ‘day/sun’. The ‘moon’

70 The 160 Second Grade Characters

丸101 GAN, maru, marui phonetic with associated meaning ‘roll over and
over’ (Katō) or ‘round’ (Yamada). Tōdō includes
L3 round, circle, ball, the underlying word in a word-family mean-
ship-mark ing ‘round; surround’, and takes as semantic
3 strokes (see ‘cliff’ 47, being based on pictograph for the
same) as well as phonetic, to give ‘person roll-
GAN’YAKU pill ing themselves into ball shape at foot of cliff, to
marumi roundness hide’. KJ1970:336-7; YK1976:107-8; TA1965:611-
NIPPON-maru ‘HMS’ Nippon 19. We suggest 13 ‘nine’, plus extra stroke to
‘round off’.
A late graph (Shuowen); seal script form is .
Interpretations differ. There is general agree- Mnemonic: NINE IS ROUNDED OFF WITH AN
ment that the enclosed element in seal script is
EXTRA STROKE
41 ‘person’. (in mirrored form) is taken as

岩102 GAN, iwa A late graph (post-Shuowen). Has 26 ‘moun-
tain’ and 47 ‘stone, rock’. Tōdō includes it
L3 rock, crag in a word-family meaning ‘angular and hard’.
8 strokes YK1976:108; TA1965:866-8.

GANSEKI rock Mnemonic: STONY MOUNTAIN IS ALL ROCK
iwaya cave
KASEIGAN igneous rock

顔103 GAN, kao Katō sees here as phonetic with associated
sense ‘forehead’, and itself originally mean-
L4 face ing ‘forehead’. Shirakawa sees as depicting
18 strokes tattooing of forehead as marking adulthood.
‘Face’ shows minor semantic shift. KJ1970:222;
GANMEN face SS1984:137-8,269.
kaoiro complexion
kaotsuki countenance Mnemonic: ONLY THREE HAIRS LEFT

Bronze consists of a head ( ) exaggerated, STANDING ON HEAD: GLUM FACE
and (NJK; male name; etymology disputed).

汽104 KI Relatively late origin (Shuowen). ‘Water’ 42,
and ‘vapor, steam’ (see 12) which also serves
L1 steam, vapor as phonetic. KJ1970:230; GY2008:498.
7 strokes
Mnemonic: STEAM COMPRISES WATERY
KISHA steam train VAPORS
KISEN steamship
KITEKI steam whistle

記105 KI Relatively late (Shuowen). Has 118 ‘words’
and 866 (‘self’, originally ‘twisted thread’)
L3 chronicle with associated sense taken as i] ‘record’, thus
10 strokes ‘record words’ (Katō, Yamada), or ii] ‘something
twisted is straightened’, thus ‘put confused mat-
KISHA reporter ters in order’ (Tōdō). TA1965:127-8; KJ1970:233-
KIJI article
NIKKI diary 4; YK1976:113-4.

Mnemonic: A WORDY CHRONICLE WITH A

TWIST IN IT

The 160 Second Grade Characters 71

帰106 KI, kaeru the top left element of as phonetic, with
associated meaning ‘follow’, while Ogawa con-
L4 return siders the lower left-hand element 143 ‘stop’
10 strokes serves in this role, with the same meaning. For
Shirakawa, alternatively, the top left element
KIKA naturalization of the traditional form at the OBI stage shows
KISEI homecoming pieces of raw meat used as part of a ceremony
kaerimichi way back to mark the return of soldiers to camp. Present
form has a much simplified left-hand element
OBI ; seal ; traditional . Interpretations (similar to ‘cut/sword’ determinative 198 ) to
vary. The right side element occurs in OBI represent combined upper and lower left-hand
texts as a pictograph for ‘broom held in hand’, elements. MR2007:377,464; KJ1970:254-5;
and then also to represent the word for ‘wife’ YK1976:113; OT1968:540; SS1984:144.
(otherwise written unambiguously as 800).
The meaning ‘return’ seems related to the Mnemonic: RETURN WITH WIFE CARRYING
ancient custom of a groom going to the home
of his new bride to collect her, and for them to BROOM AND SWORD
return to his own home. Katō and Yamada take

弓107 KYŪ, yumi Based on pictograph of a bow. Some OBI and
bronze forms include the bowstring , others
L1 bow, archery, arc do not; bowstring is omitted in seal script
3 strokes (Shuowen) onwards. Other meanings
such as ‘arc’ by extension. MR2007:483;
KYŪDŌ archery MS1995:v1:466-7.
KYŪJŌ arch
yumitori archer Mnemonic: STRINGLESS BOW

牛108 GYŪ, ushi Based on pictograph of the head of a cow or
bull. At the OBI stage , the horns are promi-
L4 cow, bull nent. Opinion is divided as to whether the cross
4 strokes line indicates ears or crown of the head. Katō
favors a perspective from behind the head.
GYŪNIKU beef MR2007:229-30; QX2000:181; KJ1985:396.
GYŪJIru* control someone
ushigai cowherd Mnemonic: COW WITH EARS AND BROKEN
HORN

魚109 GYO, uo, sakana Based on the pictograph of a whole fish, e.g.
bronze form . MR2007:454; QX2000:45. As a
L5 fish mnemonic we suggest taking the four strokes
11 strokes of the tail as the ‘fire’ determinative 8.

KINGYO goldfish Mnemonic: FISH WITH SQUARE BODY AND
uotsuri angling FIERY TAIL
sakanaya fishmonger

72 The 160 Second Grade Characters

京110 KYŌ, KEI evated above the general populace. Shirakawa,
by contrast, interprets both OBI and bronze
L4 capital forms as showing a watchtower over an arched
8 strokes gate. Either way, the graph can be taken as a
structure controlled by those in positions of
TŌKYŌ Tokyo power, leading to extended meanings such as
JŌKYŌ going to capital ‘great’ and ‘capital (city)’ KJ1970:345; OT1968:38;
KEIHIN Tokyo-Yokohama SS1984:190-91. Suggest take graph as tōrō
(stone garden lantern).
Typical OBI ; bronze . OBI forms seem to
show some sort of building seemingly on top Mnemonic: FANCY LANTERN SYMBOLISES
of a hill or artificially raised mound of earth.
Katō and Ogawa favour this interpretation. In THE CAPITAL
ancient China nobles often lived in houses el-

強111 KYŌ, GŌ, shiiru, values. Latter graph is made up of ’bow’ 107
and two ‘field’ graphs 63 with three straight
L4 tsuyoi/meru/maru dividing lines (note that as independent graph
strength, compel this component here had the sense of ‘bound-
11 strokes ary’). The meaning of , first found in OBI texts,
is tentatively taken as ‘strong bow’ by Tōdō,
BENKYŌ study who sees ‘unmoving’ – and thereby ‘strong’ –
GŌTŌ burglar/burglary as extended senses of ‘boundary’. As for ,
tsuyomi strong point it is thought that the bow, being of standard
length, may have had the additional role of be-
Seal . According to Qiu, (a variant of ; ing a convenient tool for making land measure-
standard in PRC usage) originally refers to type ments. QX2000:358; AS2007:427; MR2007:484;
of ‘insect’ 60, but came to be used as substi- TA1965:394-5. Suggest taking as a nose.
tute for another graph of more complex shape,
i.e. . In part, this was because pronunciation Mnemonic: STRONG BOW AIMED AT
for the two words concerned in early Chinese
represented by / and was identical, if INSECT’S NOSE
we accept Schuessler’s reconstruction of sound

教112 KYŌ, oshieru holding a stick, meaning ‘strike, beat, compel’
(distinguish from ‘descending foot’; see
L4 teach Appendix). That is, this was a school where
11 strokes children were taught by coercive methods;
Shirakawa says it was children of nobility who
KYŌKAI church were taught by elders. By extension, the graph
KYŌSHITSU classroom came to be used for ‘teach’. Modern form has
oshiego pupil equivalent to , known as the ‘old man’ deter-
minative. SS1984:195; KJ1970:173; OT1968:439.
On the basis of the OBI and bronze
forms, the components of this graph are con- Mnemonic: OLD MAN, STICK IN HAND,
sidered to be roof crossbeams (represent-
ing a building), 27 ‘child’, and / a hand TEACHES CHILD TO COUNT BEAMS

近113 KIN, chikai Seal . Has 85 ‘walk along road, go’, and
1233 (‘ax’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘a
L4 near little’. ‘Near’ is an extended sense based on ‘walk
7 strokes a short distance’. MR2007:503; KJ1970:285;
OT1968:993; TA1960:695-8.
KINJO neighborhood
SAIKIN recently Mnemonic: GO TO AN AX NEARBY
chikamichi shortcut

The 160 Second Grade Characters 73

兄114 KEI, KYŌ, ani with big head (taking as standing for ‘head’).
In another view, 22 ‘mouth; speak’, and
L4 elder brother as phonetic with associated sense ‘big’, giving
5 strokes ‘loud/big voice’, and by extension ‘big’ > ‘big/
elder brother’ (both views noted in Mizukami).
FUKEI guardians Alternatively some scholars take as ‘person who
KYŌDAI brothers utters incantations/prayers’ (Ma, Shirakawa).
niisan* elder brother KJ1970:348-9; MR2007:397; SS1984:226;
MS1995:v1:90-91.
OBI forms , ; seal . Lower element,
which in OBI has ‘person’ or ‘kneeling per- Mnemonic: ELDER BROTHER IS JUST MOUTH
son’ (see 41), changes to another determinative
(no.10) for ‘person’, viz. (see also 41) in seal AND LEGS
form. Analyses vary. In one view, shows child

形115 KEI, GYŌ, kata(chi) consisting of meaning ‘writing brush hairs’,
and 开 as phonetic with associated sense ‘imi-
L3 shape, form tate, model after’, giving ‘model, copy’ (Katō).
7 strokes Another analysis treats as ‘pattern’, and 开/
as semantic and phonetic meaning ‘square
KEISHIKITEKI formal frame’, giving ‘mold (to make copies)’ (Tōdō).
NINGYŌ doll Shirakawa also sees 开/ as representing
katami keepsake a frame or mold. TA1965:501-3; SS1984:227;
KJ1970:359; KJ1985:214.
Seal forms , . Relatively late origin
(Shuowen). Interpretations vary. Has ‘color, Mnemonic: THREE STROKES NEXT TO A GRID
brush pattern’ (etc.) (determinative no. 59),
and left-hand element identical with or close FORM IS A DISTINCTIVE SHAPE
in shape to 1575 ‘well’. In one view, taken as

計116 KEI, hakaru around 100AD we find being used for ‘ten’.
Ogawa takes ‘words’ together with the number
L4 measure ‘ten’ as combining to give meanings such as
9 strokes ‘count, calculate, plan’. Qiu prefers to regard
it simply as an abstract geometric symbol.
GŌKEI sum total Shirakawa is alone in looking to interpret the
KEISAN calculation right-hand element of this graph as originally
SOKUDOKEI speedometer having links to the ancient Chinese practice
of divination ( , see 96), speculating it was
Of quite late origin (Shuowen) . Varied in- misinterpreted as . OT1968:920; QX2000:18,
terpretations. The modern form comprises the 31, 32; SS1984:230.
determinative 118 ‘words/say’ and 35 ‘ten’.
In OBI and bronze texts, a symbol close in shape Mnemonic: COUNTING IN TENS MAKES IT
to represented the word for ‘seven’, not ‘ten’,
but by the time of the Shuowen dictionary of EASY TO MEASURE

元117 GEN, GAN, moto OBI and bronze forms depict side view of a
person with exaggeratedly large head , to
L4 origin, source convey meanings such as ‘head’ and ‘begin-
4 strokes ning’. The modern form uses for ‘person’ (see
41). MR2007:209; SS1984:267-8; QX2000:182;
GENKI health, vigor YK1976:146. Use 65 ‘two’.
GANRAI originally
motodōri as before Mnemonic: TWO BENT PERSONS OF SAME

74 The 160 Second Grade Characters ORIGIN

言118 GEN, GON, koto, iu ‘words, speak’ as a loan usage. Others differ,
typically taking it as 22 ‘mouth’ with a pho-
L5 word, say, speak netic element (interpretations of which vary),
7 strokes but Shirakawa takes it as a tattooing needle
for oath-taking with receptacle for the written
HATSUGEN statement oath. BK1957:80; MR2007:256; KJ1970:386-7;
MUGON silence YK1976:162; SS1984:268-9.
kotoba word
Mnemonic: MOUTH SPEAKS THREE AND A
Typical OBI form . Interpretations vary. Some
commentators (Karlgren, Ma) take this to be BIT WORDS
based on a pictograph of a flute, and treat

原119 GEN, hara an extended meaning of ‘source/origin’. The
graph acquired the meaning of ‘plain, open
L3 plain, origin country’, but this is a borrowed sense originally
10 strokes represented by a much more complex graph.
QX2000:193, 329; SS1984:269; KJ1970:631-2. As
GENSHI atom a mnemonic, we suggest taking it as 47 ‘cliff’,
GENBUN original text
kusahara grassy plain 69 ‘white’ and 38 ‘little’.

There is agreement that the bronze forms Mnemonic: ORIGINALLY CLIFF WITH A LITTLE
depict a spring gushing out from the foot
of a cliff, and is thus the early version for the WHITE SPRING, NOW A PLAIN
word later represented by 864. This led to

戸120 KO, to Based on OBI and bronze pictographs of a
single-leaf door . In similar fashion, the
L3 door double-leaf door or gate is represented in mod-
4 strokes ern script as 231. MR2007:457; QX2000:180;
SS1984:273. Take top horizontal line as a ceiling.
KOGAI outdoors
KOSHU head of house Mnemonic: SINGLE-LEAF DOOR UNDER A
toguchi doorway
CEILING

古121 KO, furui takes the lower element not as ‘mouth, say’
22 but ‘receptacle’, and takes the graph
L5 old
5 strokes as showing shield placed over receptacle for
prayers or spells. Analysis along the lines of ‘ten
FUKKO restoration mouths’ (though a useful mnemonic) in the
furugi old clothes sense of ‘relate past’ or similar fails to take into
KŌKOGAKU archeology account the OBI and bronze forms for 35
‘ten’. KJ1970:330-31; TA1965:385-9; SS1984:273-
OBI ; typical bronze forms , . Views vary. 4. Take as 35 ‘ten’, and 22 ‘say’.
Katō and Tōdō take as showing old skull, ‘old’
then being an extended meaning; Katō notes Mnemonic: AN OLD ORAL TALE TOLD TEN
that in ancient China skulls were revered as
representing spirits of the dead. Shirakawa TIMES OVER

The 160 Second Grade Characters 75

午122 GO traditional classificatory system employed from
the Shang Dynasty to denote hours of the day,
L5 noon compass points, and so on. The ‘hour of the
4 strokes Horse’ (actually two hours) was the seventh of
the Twelve Branches, and corresponded rough-
GOGO p.m., afternoon ly to 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., hence the extended
GOZEN a.m., morning meaning of ‘noon’. Distinguish from 108 ‘cow’.
SHŌGO noon QX2000:335; SS1984:282; AS2007:519.

Based on pictograph of a pestle: OBI ; bronze Mnemonic: COW BROKE TIP OFF HORN AT
; Shuowen . Associated with the horse in
NOON
the context of the Twelve Earthly Branches, a

後123 GO, KŌ, ushiro, ato, backwards’. ‘Behind, after’ and ‘be behind,
put afterwards’, etc. are all in the same word-
L5 nochi, okureru family (Schuessler). Katō takes the lower
behind, after, delay right-hand element in as (‘descending
9 strokes foot’ [determinative no.34]) meaning ‘go’, but
Tōdō takes it as ‘walk slowly, drag foot’, which
IGO after is the sense normally attributed to (deter-
KŌHAN second half minative 35); see Appendix. TA1965:304-5;
atoaji aftertaste OT1968:229; KJ1970:404; AS2007:280. Take
as crosslegged, 131 ‘go’.
Bronze ; seal . Analyses vary. Taken in one
view (Katō) as meaning ‘go back/backwards’, Mnemonic: GO CROSSLEGGED ON
with 29 (‘fine threads, small’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘go’, giving ‘go back/ THREADING ROAD AND FALL BEHIND

語124 GO, kataru phonetic with associated sense taken as ‘defend
verbally’ (to questions), or ‘exchange’ (Ogawa,
L5 tell, speak, talk Tōdō). In latter case, ‘tell, speak’ is a generalized
14 strokes sense. KJ1970:395; SS1984:284; OT1968:930;
TA1965:427. Take as 21 ‘five’ and 22
GOCHŌ tone of voice ‘mouth’.
monogatari saga
NIHONGO Japanese lang. Mnemonic: FIVE MOUTHS SPEAK MANY

Bronze ; Shuowen form . Has 118 WORDS
‘words, language’, and (NJK, ‘I/we’) as

工125 KŌ, KU kind of tool also. Based on a bronze form with
thicker bottom stroke, Gu takes as tool for
L4 work compacting soil. Ogawa believes a chisel is rep-
3 strokes resented, but this is less convincing. Others see
it as an adze-cum-square. By the bronze stage
KŌJŌ factory it had acquired its modern form. MR2007:308;
JINKŌ man-made KJ1970:405-6; SS1984:285; OT1968:309;
DAIKU carpenter GY2008:23.

Ma considers the OBI form to show an ax- Mnemonic: WORK WITH CARPENTER’S
head and Katō similarly takes it as an ax, but
questionable. Shirakawa interprets as some SET-SQUARE

76 The 160 Second Grade Characters

公126 KŌ, ōyake (Mizukami, Shirakawa, Yamada, Katō). A minor-
ity view takes the lower element in OBI as a re-
L3 public, fair, lord ceptacle, treating the whole graph as originally
4 strokes meaning ‘(lidded) jar’, and takes other mean-
ings as loan uses (Ma). At seal stage, the lower
KŌKYŌ public element was changed to ; Katō says changed
KŌHEI fairness in error, but was originally (OBI) a closed
KISHŪKŌ Lord Kishu circle shape (‘enclose and make one’s own’;
later 887 ‘I, me’). MS1995:v1:100-02,188-90;
OBI , ; seal . Views vary. One takes SS1984:285-6; YK1976:173; KJ1970:396-7;
‘eight’ in its original sense ‘divide’, ‘open up’, and MR2007:228. We suggest taking as a nose,
lower element ( ) as ‘enclose, surround’. Over- and 70 in its modern meaning ‘eight’.
all meaning is then taken as either ‘open up a
physical area’ (Shirakawa takes as walled area Mnemonic: EIGHT LORDS SHOW NOSE IN
for ceremonies at Court), or ‘open up something
enclosed /kept by individuals)’, giving ‘open PUBLIC
up’, and by extension ‘public; fair (distribution)’

広127 KŌ, hiroi/geru/garu early equivalents of the determinative as
‘a kind of structure’, and as one simpler than
L3 wide, spacious that represented by the ‘roof’ determinative
5 strokes
30. Tōdō takes the phonetic component
KŌDAI vast as having an associated sense ‘spread out’;
Hiroshima place-name Shirakawa and Katō are in general agreement.
KŌKOKU advertisement MR2007:408; QX2000:180; TA1965:414-5;
SS1984:287; KJ1970:324. We suggest taking the
Bronze ; traditional . One of various graphs modern form’s as a nose.
of the most numerous category, the semantic-
phonetic compound type (see Introduction). Mnemonic: SPACIOUS BUILDING TO NOSE
Based on OBI and bronze forms, Qiu assesses
AROUND IN

交128 KŌ, majiru, kawasu The OBI and bronze forms show a person with
legs crossed ; leading to extended meanings
L3 mix, exchange such as ‘exchange’. MR2007:429; SS1984:288;
6 strokes KJ1970:173; OT1968:37. We suggest taking the
modern form as 80 ‘six’ over a cross.
KŌTSŪ traffic
GAIKŌ diplomacy Mnemonic: MIX SIX CROSSES – FAIR
KŌKAN exchange
EXCHANGE

光129 KŌ, hikari, hikaru interpreted as conveying the meaning ‘light’
(as opposed to darkness). At the seal stage, the
L4 light, shine lower element was changed to ‘person’ (see
6 strokes 41). MR2007:425; SS1984:289; KJ1970:325-6.
Take modern form as ‘person’ and as ‘odd’
NIKKŌ sunlight flames 8.
KŌNEN light year
KŌGAKU optics Mnemonic: LIGHT SHINES FROM ODD
FLAMES OVER PERSON’S FLAT HEAD
OBI ; bronze ; and seal forms show
flames over a kneeling person’s head;

The 160 Second Grade Characters 77

考130 KŌ, kangaeru associated sense ‘bent over’ (or Ogawa says
‘old’), giving a word for ‘old person’ different in
L4 consider early Chinese pronunciation from that written
6 strokes as . was subsequently borrowed for its
sound value to write another word meaning
KŌAN idea ‘examine, consider’. MR2007:393; OT1968:805;
SANKŌ reference KJ1970:891-2; MS 1995:V2:1048-51. We suggest
kangaegoto a concern taking (which is actually nicknamed the ‘old
man’ determinative) as ‘entering the ground’
OBI ; seal . OBI forms are very close to or (see ‘ground’ 64), and the lower element as a
the same as those for 638 ‘aged, old’; they (physically) crooked old man.
depict an old person with bent back and long
hair, leaning on a stick. At the bronze stage, the Mnemonic: CROOKED OLD MAN CONSIDERS
lower element was changed in some cases from
the stick shape to 丂 (CO ‘floating weed’), as in BURIAL IN THE GROUND
the seal form. This serves here as phonetic with

行131 KŌ, GYŌ, iku, yuku, OBI forms such as show this to be based
on pictograph of crossroads. It has a range of
L5 okonau extended meanings such as ‘go, travel’, ‘act’,
go, conduct, line ‘be in line’. In broad terms this same semantic
6 strokes range can be seen in Chinese from early texts
(OBI) onwards. SS1984:291; KJ1970:157-8;
JIKKŌ carrying out QX2000:180, 208; AS2007:540. As determina-
GYŌRETSU procession tive, abbreviated to , meaning ‘move/road’.
yukue* whereabouts
Mnemonic: GO TO THE CROSSROADS IN A LINE

高132 KŌ, taka, takai forms for 110 ‘capital’. Ma interprets the bot-
tom element as representing a hollowed-out
L5 tall, high, sum room in the hill or mound, while Katō takes it as
10 strokes an entrance, and Shirakawa alternatively takes
it instead as a receptacle for prayers or incanta-
KŌGEN plateau tions. MR2007:325-6; KJ1970:164; SS1984:304-5;
SAIKŌ highest TA1965:262. As with 110, we suggest associat-
takane high price ing graph with a tōrō (stone garden lantern).

OBI and bronze forms such as and show Mnemonic: TALL LANTERN-LIKE WATCHTOWER
a structure – possibly a watchtower – on top
of a hill or mound, quite similar in shape to OBI ON A HIGH HILL

黄133 KŌ, Ō, ki are seen as showing a person standing wearing
what is taken to be a jeweled belt. The color
L 4 yellow of the flaming arrow or belt by extension was
11 strokes used for the word for ‘yellow’. MR2007:499-500;
OT1968:1162; KJ1970:962; SS1984:306. Mne-
KŌYŌ yellow leaves monically challenging, but we suggest using
ŌGON gold
53 ‘grass’ and taking as 63 ‘field’ as partial
kiiro(i) yellow prompts.

Traditional . Some OBI and other early forms Mnemonic: ARROW BURNS YELLOW WITH
such as and seem to depict a flaming
arrow with what is probably a counterweight, GRASS FROM FIELD
while others of a different shape, such as ,

78 The 160 Second Grade Characters

合134 GŌ, KATSU, au/waseru Alternatively, taken as 22 ‘mouth; speak’, and
as phonetic with associated sense ‘reply’,
L 4 meet, join, fit
6 strokes giving ‘reply (to questions)’. ‘Meet, put together,
join’ are extended senses if the first view above
GŌRI rationality is followed, or loan uses in relation to the
KASSEN battle second. MR2007:323; OT1968:166; SS1984:317;
hanashiai discussion MS1995:v1:212-3.

OBI ; bronze . In one view, seen as pic- Mnemonic: COVER FITS OVER A RECEPTACLE
tograph of a receptacle with lid (Ogawa).

谷135 KOKU, tani upper strokes are treated as meaning ‘open
up’ (reduplication of 70 ‘divide up, open up’),
L 3 valley, gorge combining with 22 ’mouth, cavity’ as se-
7 strokes mantic and phonetic to give ‘wide open mouth’
(Katō); in this view, ‘mountain valley’ seems
YŪKOKU deep ravine to be taken as an extended sense. Mizukami
tanisoko valley bottom agrees broadly, but notes ‘cave from which
Hasegawa a surname spring water emerges’ as alternative mean-
ing. MR2007:450; SS1984:320-21; OT1968:946;
OBI ; bronze ; seal . Views differ. In one KJ1985:573.
view, upper strokes in OBI and bronze are seen
as water flowing, and as a (mountain) spring Mnemonic: DOUBLY WIDE OPEN VALLEY
(Gu). Another view sees mountain slopes and
valley depression (Shirakawa). Yet again, the MOUTH

国136 KOKU, kuni already from the Shang Dynasty. In bronze,
or probably added to emphasize bounda-
L 5 country, region ries. is considered to represent a word in
8 strokes the same Chinese word-family as 828 ‘area,
limits’ (Schuessler). There is an alternative
GAIKOKU overseas interpretation of (see 828), but still includes
KOKKA state the meaning ‘defined area’ as in the above
kuniguni nations view. MR2007:477; SS1984:321; KJ1970:28;
YK1976:188-9; MS1995:v1:258-9,536-7;
OBI ; bronze ; seal ; traditional OBI AS2007:268. We suggest taking the enclosed
form has 545 ‘halberd, arms’, and lower left part of the modern form as 15 ‘jewel’.

here indicating ‘boundary’ to make up , Mnemonic: A COUNTRY IS AN ENCLOSED
in one view meaning ‘defend defined area with
arms’ (Shirakawa treats the area more specifi- JEWEL
cally as fortified town). Used in the sense ‘state’

黒137 KOKU, kuroi there is broad agreement that the depiction
in the original bronze forms involves flames
L 4 black (now in its short form 8) and smoke rising
11 strokes and causing an accumulation of soot, hence
the extended meaning ‘black’. KJ1970:961;
KOKUBAN blackboard OT1968:1165; SS1984:322. We suggest taking
KOKKAI Black Sea
kuroMAKU manipulator 238 as the graph for ‘village’, comprising
63 ‘field’ and 64 ‘ground’.
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . Interpreta-
tions differ somewhat (the top part of the Mnemonic: GROUND IN BURNT FIELD IS
graph is taken as representing, for instance, BLACK
a primitive window or chimney or grille), but
The 160 Second Grade Characters 79

今138 KON, KIN, ima The OBI forms such as are taken by Katō and
Ogawa to depict a roof covering some sort of
L5 now object; Shirakawa interprets as a lid and stop-
4 strokes per over a container. Either way, the meaning
‘now’ represents a loan usage. KJ1970:175-6;
KONSHŪ this week OT1968:42; SS1984:325.
KONDO this time
imagoro around now Mnemonic: NOW IS THE TIME TO COVER THAT

OBJECT

才139 SAI of wood secured in the ground, with a hori-
zontal length or bundle to form a cross shape;
L3 talent, age, -year Shirakawa then hypothesizes that this served
3 strokes as a marker of sacred places. Katō follows
the hypothesis of a noted Chinese scholar,
TENSAI genius who believes it depicts a river blocked up,
GOSAI five years old with disastrous consequences. It is unclear
SAINŌ talent as to how it gained its present meanings, but
probably through loan usage. MR2007:341-2;
Etymology uncertain. Early forms , . There OT1968:399; SS1984:334; KJ1970:420-21.
are numerous proposals for this graph, which
appears from OBI onwards. Among them, Ma Mnemonic: PROPPING UP THE CROSS
notes the view that it depicts a plant appear-
ing above the surface for the first time. Ogawa SHOWS TALENT
and Shirakawa, by contrast, see it as a length

細140 SAI, hosoi, komakai Late graph (Shuowen). Seal form has 29
‘thread’ as semantic, and 囟 (CO originally a
L3 slender, fine pictograph of skull or fontanelle) as phonetic,
11 strokes with associated sense ‘thin, slender’. The change
from 囟 to in standard script is due either
SAIKU craftsmanship to script regularization or mistaken analysis.
hosonagai slender KJ1970:469; YK1976:198; SS1984:338. We sug-
komagoma in detail gest taking as 63 ‘field’.

Mnemonic: SLENDER PATH THREADS

THROUGH FIELD

作141 SAKU, SA, tsukuru a hand appended; later this was dropped, and
the ‘person’ determinative 41 was added.
L4 make, make up ‘To make’ evolved as an extended meaning.
7 strokes As the phonetic in , also has associated
sense of ‘modified, not genuine’ (cf English
SEISAKU production ‘made up’). MS1995:v1:18-20, 54; KJ1970:435-6;
SAKUHIN a work OT1968:25,53. We suggest taking as a saw.
DŌSA action
Mnemonic: PERSON USES SAW TO MAKE
Originally the graph was just , with OBI forms
such as showing what is seen as timber THINGS
being cut with an ax. Some bronze forms have

80 The 160 Second Grade Characters

算142 SAN Relatively late origin (Shuowen) . The top
element is 58 ‘bamboo’, which Katō takes as
L3 reckon, count referring to bamboo tallies used for counting
14 strokes in ancient times, together with 284 (‘equip-
ment, means’) as phonetic with associated
KEISAN calculation sense ‘count’, giving ‘to count’. KJ1970:443;
YOSAN budget SS1984:353; OT1968:755, 98.
SANSŪ arithmetic
Mnemonic: USE BOTH HANDS TO COUNT ON

A BAMBOO ABACUS

止143 SHI, tomeru/maru OBI forms such as and , already stylized,
are taken as a person’s foot; ‘stop, remain’ is an
L4 stop extended sense (Qiu), but the graph can also
4 strokes indicate action with the feet, i.e., ‘go, move’ (see
e.g. 636 ‘istory’), apparently due to confu-
CHŪSHI suspension sion with several other early graphs similar in
tomeYAKU peacemaker shape and pronunciation. MS1995:v1:702-03;
tomedo* an end QX2000:329; BK1957:253-4; OT1968:536, 25.

Mnemonic: FOOTPRINT STOPS OVER LINE

市144 SHI, ichi giving an extended meaning of ‘stop/stay [at
a place] and exchange items of equal value’,
L4 city, market reflecting an ancient barter system for goods.
5 strokes Ogawa is in general agreement. Shirakawa, less
convincingly, takes the bronze form as a picto-
SUItaSHI Suita City graph depicting a large sign to show where
SHIJŌ market a market was being held. MS1995:v1:436-7;
uoichi fishmarket OT1968:313; SS1984:362-3; KJ1985:194. We
suggest taking lower part as ‘cloth’ 1232 and
On the basis of the bronze form , Mizukami
interprets the graph as consisting of , mean- as a top hat.
ing ‘flat’ or ‘balanced’ (according to Katō, CO
丂 originally referred to waterweed spreading Mnemonic: GO TO MARKET TO BUY CLOTH
flat over the surface, see 130), and 143 ‘stop’,
AND TOP HAT

矢145 SHI, ya OBI ; bronze . Based on a pictograph of an
arrow. See also 133 (‘yellow’) and 886
L1 arrow (‘reach’). MS1995:v2:928-9; KJ1970:460-61;
5 strokes SS1984:363. We suggest taking the graph as
56 ‘big’ with single top stroke as a broken tip.
ISSHI retaliation
yajirushi arrow sign Mnemonic: BIG ARROW WITH BROKEN TIP
yasaki ni just on the point of

姉146 SHI, ane Etymology disputed. Generally recognised from
bronze stage onwards . Has 37 ‘woman’,
L4 elder sister and a phonetic interpreted in various ways,
8 strokes such as 144 (‘market’), with associated sense
‘young plant sprouting’ (Katō), or as (CO; ‘veg-
SHIMAI sisters etation growing vigorously’) with associated
neesan* elder sister sense ‘unequal’ (Mizukami, Tōdō) or ‘projecting’
aneue elder sister (formal)

The 160 Second Grade Characters 81

(Ogawa). The Kangxi zidian dictionary lists both TA1965:770-76; OT1968:255; ZY2009:v1:203-4.
and , with the same meaning, but treats
Mnemonic: WOMAN GOING TO MARKET IS
the latter as auxiliary to , which stands as the AN ELDER SISTER
main entry. MS1995:v1:320-21; KJ1970:14-15;

思147 SHI, omou element as CO 囟 ‘skull’, with 164 ‘mind,
heart’; Ogawa is in agreement. Shirakawa
L4 think takes the top element to represent ‘brain’.
9 strokes MS1995:v1:502-3; OT 1968:364; SS1984:368.
We suggest taking top element as 63 ‘field’
SHISŌ ideology though it is incorrect as the etymology.
SHIKŌ thought
omoide recollection Mnemonic: I THINK MY HEART WILL ALWAYS

A graph of relatively late occurrence, initial BE IN MY FIELD
forms and . Mizukami interprets the top

紙148 SHI, kami AD105, but in earlier times scraps of different
fabrics and the like were used. Before paper
L4 paper appeared, texts in China were written on vari-
10 strokes ous materials, the closest to paper being silk.
This accounts for the use of 29, the ‘thread’
HYŌSHI book cover determinative. 522 (which originally repre-
WASHI Japanese paper sented a ladle) serves as phonetic for ‘smooth’.
tegami letter SS1984:370; OT1968:769; KJ1985:474.

A late graph (Shuowen) . Traditionally the Mnemonic: APPLY LADLE TO THREADS TO
invention of paper has been attributed to Cai
Lun, who did invent a type of coarse paper in MAKE PAPER

寺149 JI, tera bronze inscriptions as loan for the homopho-
nous in its various meanings’ (Schuessler
L3 temple has these two graphs as near-homophones,
6 strokes not complete homophones in Late Han times).
Originally meaning ‘control with hand’, in Han
RYŌANJI Ryoan Temple times acquired the sense of ‘place to control/
JIIN Buddhist temple administer’, and also – after transmission of
yamadera mountain temple Buddhism to China c.1st century A.D. – the more
specialized sense of ‘Buddhist temple’. By cleri-
Mizukami takes bronze forms to combine cal script stage upper element had changed
to . MS1995:v1:392-3,18-19; KJ1970:480;
‘hand’ 920 orig. ‘hand’, with 143 ‘stop’, OT1968:285; BK1957:253-4; AS2007:613;
SK1984:230. Take as 64 ‘ground’ and 920
latter acting as phonetic with associated sense ‘hand’.

‘control’; Katō broadly agrees. Ogawa identifies Mnemonic: HAND OFFERS GROUND TO

same two elements as ‘keep in the hand’. In- TEMPLE

stead of , Tōdō takes top element as (NJK;

‘move, go’, see 151). Note some OBI and bronze

forms of and are very similar ( might

originally have depicted foot, like ); Karlgren

asserts ‘is mostly used in the bone and the

82 The 160 Second Grade Characters

自150 JI, SHI, mizukara Based on pictograph of nose . Extended
meaning ‘self’ reflects custom of Chinese
L4 self people visually referring to themselves by
6 strokes pointing to the nose, whereas Western people
typically point at the chest. MR2007:287-8;
JIBUN oneself MS1995:v2:1086-88; KJ1970:482-3. Use 76
SHIZEN Nature ‘eye’.
JISHIN self-confidence
Mnemonic: NOSE JUST A STROKE AWAY

FROM THE EYE, SYMBOLISING SELF

時151 JI, toki ‘move’, and 66 ‘sun, day’, to give a sense
‘movement of the sun’, and then – by extension
L5 time, hour – ‘season, time’. Ogawa interprets instead as
10 strokes
and 149 (in later forms) as phonetic with
JIDAI era, period associated meaning ‘go’. Came to be used for
NIJI two o’clock ‘hour’ when the Twelve Branches were adopted
tokidoki sometimes to refer to the way a 24-hour day was divided
up into twelve segments each of two hours.
As Mizukami and Ma note, OBI forms such as MS1995:v1:618-20; MR2007:352; SS1984:382;
have ‘move, go’ (NJK graph taken either AS2007:463, 613; OT1968:468. Suggest 149
‘temple’ as a mnemonic.
as foot moving away from boundary line or as
vegetation sprouting up out of ground; see too Mnemonic: TELL TIME BY SUN ON TEMPLE
149), here as semantic and phonetic meaning

室152 SHITSU, muro as an arrow arriving at its target (or at least
somewhere), to give the sense of ‘arrive, reach’
L4 room, house (modern : see 886 ‘reach’), with an over-
9 strokes all extended meaning ‘place to shelter’, and
thus ‘room’. MS1995: v1:370-01; SS1984:387;
SHITSUNAI indoors OT1968:277.
KYŌSHITSU classroom
Muromachi place/period name Mnemonic: ARROW REACHES ROOF OF

OBI forms such as depict ‘roof/building’ ROOM
30, under which there is a graph interpreted

社153 SHA, yashiro ‘altar’ added in its short form . Some bronze
forms also have 73 ‘tree’ as an additional
L5 shrine, company component, and this is taken as reflecting the
7 strokes frequent custom of planting trees on these sa-
cred sites. Mizukami defines the original mean-
SHAKAI society ing of this graph as ‘a place to revere where the
KAISHA company, firm earth deity is, who has the wondrous power to
SHAKŌSEI sociability emit various things from within the earth’, and
hence ‘shrine’. MS1995:v2:938-40; SS1984:391;
At the OBI stage, written simply with a graph OT1968:718.
to represent a mound of earth or the
Mnemonic: GROUND IS A SHRINE
earth deity (modern 64 ‘ground’). Eventu-
ally in bronze inscriptions written with the
determinative 723 ‘show’ in original sense

The 160 Second Grade Characters 83

弱154 JAKU, yowai/meru depicting two ceremonial bows, i.e. ones not
for use in warfare and therefore not robust, giv-
L4 weak ing the sense of ‘weak’. Ogawa takes the early
10 strokes graph as representing a bow being bent on a
frame so it could flex, then embellished, and by
JAKUTEN weak point extension ‘weak’. SS1984:398; OT1968:340. We
yowami weakness suggest taking as double ‘ice determinative’
yowamushi weakling
401.
Late occurrence (Shuowen). The early form (seal
script) is made up of two bows each with Mnemonic: ICED-UP BOWS ARE WEAK,
the three-stroke ‘embellishment’ 115, and
this leads Shirakawa to interpret the graph as DOUBLY SO

首155 SHU, kubi (Karlgren). Some scholars (e.g. Mizukami,
Shirakawa, Qiu) tend to see some bronze
L4 head, neck, chief forms as showing hair attached to a person’s
9 strokes head or eye. ‘Chief’ is an extended meaning.
MS1995:v2:1462-4; SS1984:401; QX2000:178;
SHURYŌ leader MR2007:401; BK1957:283-4. We suggest taking
kubiwa necklace modern form as 150 ‘self/nose’ with brow
kubikiri decapitation and horns.

OBI , ; bronze . OBI forms clearly depict Mnemonic: A NOSE, BROW AND HORNS
the head of an animal, some with horns
SIGNIFY A HEAD

秋156 SHŪ, aki and Ogawa list a complex graph made up of
87 ‘grain plant’ on the left and ‘turtle’ over
L4 autumn 8 ‘fire’ on the right, taking the right-hand part
9 strokes as a phonetic for ‘burn’ or ‘gather’, though Qiu
considers this to be a corrupt variant. Mizukami
BANSHŪ late autumn and Katō also list several simpler OBI forms that
SHŪBUN autumn equinox appear to depict a bundle of grain plants ,
akizora autumn sky and this can be more readily seen as referring
to harvesting cereals, and by extension the
Much variation in elements of OBI forms such as season, autumn. MS1995:v2:962-4; QX2000:234;
, , and also varied interpretations. Complex MR2007:424; SS1984:407; OT1968:730-1.

OBI forms seem to show fire under some sort Mnemonic: RICE PLANTS (OR INSECTS!) CAN
of creature, which Qiu interprets as a hornless
dragon, but Ma takes as a cricket: quite possibly GET BURNED IN AUTUMN
this element served as a phonetic. Shirakawa

週157 SHŪ A late graph (post-Shuowen). Has 85 ‘walk,
go’, and 532 ‘around’ as phonetic with associ-
L5 week ated sense ‘go round’. The extended usage for
11 strokes ‘week’ based on going round one cycle, in this
case a seven-day period, evolved through West-
SHŪKAN week ern influence, as traditionally in China and Japan
SENSHŪ last week a ten-day cycle had been the norm (see 1472).
NISHŪme second week KJ1970:1514-5; YK1976:253; SS1984:409;
DJ2009:v3:1069.

Mnemonic: ANOTHER WEEK GOES ROUND

84 The 160 Second Grade Characters

春158 SHUN, haru of ‘forest’. seems to serve as phonetic, but
Schuessler sees a semantic role too: he notes
L4 spring(-time) the original meaning as ‘begin to grow’ (of
9 strokes plants in spring). As for the modern form of
158, Qiu sees top part (top five strokes) of
SEISHUN youth as a fused version of the ‘plant’ determinative
BAISHUN prostitution
harugi spring clothes 53 with . MS1995:v1:616-7; KJ1970:118;
MR2007:224; AS2007:197; QX2000:20. Sug-
OBI forms such as have ‘(a type of ) tree’ and gest taking modern form as 25 ‘three’, 41
66 ‘sun, day’, often with a third element ‘person’ and 66 ‘sun’.

1806 (modern meaning ‘camp’). Some scholars Mnemonic: THREE PEOPLE OUT IN THE
(Mizukami, Katō) take the tree to be specifically
a mulberry, though Ma points to OBI forms SUN – MUST BE SPRING
supporting his view of a more general sense

書159 SHO, kaku least a small number of OBI texts were written
first with a brush and then incised. The bronze
L5 write, text forms such as above depict a hand holding a
10 strokes writing brush ( ; see 400) over 314 (‘per-
son’) as phonetic – the latter later reduced to
SHOKI secretary
KYŌKASHO text book – with associated sense such as ‘imitate’ or
hagaki postcard ‘write’, giving ‘copy text, write’. MS1995:v1:632-3;
KJ1970:491; OT1968:813.
Bronze . The graph seems to occur very
rarely in OBI, the graphs of which were typically Mnemonic: BRUSH IN HAND WRITES TEXT IN
carved directly into the bone or shell surface
with a knife, though it should be noted that at LINES

少160 SHŌ,sukunai,sukoshi homophone written , while Ogawa takes it
as representing ‘one’, i.e. still a small number or
L5 few, a little ‘few’. Qiu, by contrast, feels the word for ‘small’
4 strokes was represented by both the three-dash and
four-dash versions, and that the : distinc-
SHŌNEN a youth tion was a later development, the four-dash
SHŌSŪ minority version having evolved into the modern
TASHŌ more or less form; Katō is of the same view. MR2007:226;
OT1968:292; QX2000:175; KJ1970:606;
OBI forms for this graph comprise four short AS2007:535,454.
vertical strokes , apparently contrasting with
three for 38 ‘small’. There are varying views Mnemonic: THREE WITH ONE IS STILL JUST
on the significance of the fourth stroke. Ma, for
instance, takes it as simply a means to visually A FEW
distinguish the underlying word from the near-

場161 JŌ, ba Possibly a relatively late graph (Shuowen) ,
though Mizukami lists forms which he believes
L4 place to be OBI equivalents, depicting divided-up
12 strokes and leveled land . The later forms are taken as

KAIJŌ meeting place 64 ‘earth, ground’, and (CO, original sense
NYŪJŌ admission ‘sun rises up’) as phonetic with associated sense
hiroba open space taken as i] ‘remove obstructions from ground’,
giving ‘ground made level by removing things’

The 160 Second Grade Characters 85

(Katō), or ii] ‘above, high, opened up, big’, giving SS1984:459; OT1968:220. Suggest take modern
‘sunny ground developed higher up’ (noted in form as 64‘ground’, with 66‘sun’and as rays.
Mizukami). Shirakawa and Ogawa see as origi-
nally a place to conduct ritual. Sense general- Mnemonic: PLACE WHERE SUN-RAYS SHINE
ised to ‘place’. MS1995:v1:274-6; KJ1970:879-80; DOWN ON THE GROUND

色162 SHOKU, SHIKI, iro over another bent person, to denote sexual
intercourse. The lower element also has a pho-
L4 color, sex netic role. Extended meanings include ‘sexual
6 strokes desire’, ‘beautiful woman’, ‘beautiful complex-
ion/color’. MS1995:v2:1104-05; SS1984:462;
KŌSHOKU amorousness KJ1970:556-7; OT1968:840.
SHIKISO pigment
GIN’iro silver color Mnemonic: COLORFUL TALE ABOUT BODIES

A relatively late graph. The form in the BENT IN SEX ACT
Shuowen is taken as showing a man bending

食163 SHOKU, taberu, kuu Based on pictograph: OBI forms, e.g. , depict
food piled up in vessel, with a top element
L5 food, eat taken as a lid (Qiu), or as phonetic with associ-
9 strokes ated sense ‘bite’, giving ‘eat’ (Mizukami). As a
determinative in compound graphs, can be
SHOKUJI meal
tabemono food . MR2007:322; QX2000:183; OT1968:1114:
kuimono food, victim MS1995:v2:1454-5.

心164 SHIN, kokoro Mnemonic: FOOD IN A VESSEL WITH LID ON
TOP
L4 heart, mind
4 strokes Based on a pictograph: the bronze forms depict
a heart , as do the OBI forms listed by
CHŪSHIN core Ma. MR2007:433; SS1984:467; KJ1970:560. As
SHINZŌ heart a determinative, in compound graphs often in
magokoro sincerity short form .

Mnemonic: HEART HAS FOUR PARTS

新165 SHIN, atarashii, Among these, iii] seems to be probably the most
commonly occurrent as an OBI and bronze
L5 arata, nii- compound graph, with the original meaning
new of ‘cut a tree (for firewood)’. With regard to how
13 strokes this graph acquired the sense of ‘new’, Mizu-
kami and Tōdō consider this may be based on
SHINNEN New Year the sense of ‘newness’ associated with freshly
SHINPIN new article cut wood. MR2007:504; MS1995:v1:596-8;
Niigata place name KJ1970:575-6; TA1965:778-80. We suggest tak-
ing the modern form as 1233 ‘ax’, 73 ‘tree,
The OBI forms , are typically interpreted wood’, and 77 ‘stand’.
as including i] depictions of an ax 1233
and a needle 1535, or ii] an ax and a tree Mnemonic: AX STANDING BY TREE READY TO
73, or iii] an ax and a needle with a tree (the
shape here is seen as abbreviation of [as CUT NEW WOOD
phonetic with associated sense ‘cut’ or ‘new’]).

86 The 160 Second Grade Characters

親166 SHIN, oya, shitashii (by marking with a needle or arrow)’, cut down
and used as part of the process of revering rela-
L4 parents, intimate tives who were deceased – hence the extended
16 strokes meaning of ‘parents, relatives’. Mizukami, how-
ever, takes the original meaning of as a tree
RYŌSHIN parents used for firewood, or a luxuriant rapidly-grow-
SHINRUI relatives ing tree; in the graph , he takes it as phonetic
oyakata boss, foreman with associated sense ‘close, near’, giving overall
meaning ‘seeing those nearby’, i.e., parents,
Generally identified from bronze script stage relatives. SS1984:472, 478; MS1995:v1:668-9,
onwards as and interpreted as consisting of 1178-9.

20 ‘see’ with (see 165). The latter element Mnemonic: A PARENT SHOULD LOOK OUT
is made up of 1535 ‘needle’ with 73 ‘tree’,
and is interpreted in several ways: Shirakawa FOR NEEDLES, EVEN FROM TREES
sees it as ‘a tree selected for religious purposes

図167 ZU, TO, hakaru Early form ; traditional form . Taken as a
sketch showing land within boundaries (Mi-
L4 plan, diagram zukawa, Katō), similar to some interpretations
7 strokes of 91 ‘draw’. Shirakawa takes it as grana-
ries on agricultural land. MS1995:v1:260-61;
CHIZU map KJ1970:909; SS1984:483.
ZUGA a drawing
TOSHOKAN library Mnemonic: DIAGRAM ON PAPER SHEET

SHOWS SPOT X WITH TWO POINTERS

数168 SŪ, kazu, kazoeru (Katō), or ‘be linked’ (Mizukami). Shirakawa,
though, takes the graph as originally depict-
L3 number, count ing a woman with a chignon, which is then
13 strokes dishevelled by someone’s hands ( ) to denote
‘blame, reproach’ (now a minor meaning in
SŪGAKU mathematics Chinese). MS1995:v1:582-3,336-7; KJ1970:499;
SŪJITSU several days SS1984:490-91. We suggest taking the modern
kazukazu numerous form as 220 ‘rice’, 37 ‘woman’, and ‘use of
hands’ 112.
Seal ; traditional . Has ( normally
‘beat, strike’ 112, but here ‘do something with Mnemonic: WOMAN COUNTS NUMBER OF
the hands’), and (CO; ‘sorceress’) as pho-
netic with associated sense ‘count out loud’ RICE GRAINS BY HAND

西169 SEI, SAI, nishi OBI and other early forms seem to
depict a basket (Mizukami, Shirakawa), or ‘wine
L5 west press’ (Katō), while Ma and Schuessler say ‘nest’.
6 strokes From the outset, it appears to have been a
loan for ‘west’. MS1995:v2:1174-5; SS1984:493;
SEIYŌ the West MR2007:457; AS2007:522; KJ1985:550-1. Taking
KANSAI Kansai region the modern form as a wine jar may be helpful.
nishibi afternoon sun
Mnemonic: TIME FOR A JAR – THE SUN IS IN

THE WEST

The 160 Second Grade Characters 87

声170 SEI, SHŌ, koe of a qing, with , another form of ‘hand holding
something to strike with’) and 31 ‘ear’ to give
L4 voice overall meaning ‘listen to instrument’, and by ex-
7 strokes tension ‘sound, voice’. In the OBI form, Shirakawa
takes 22 ‘mouth’ as a receptacle for written
SEIEN vocal support incantations). MS1995:v2:1060-61; MR2007:459;
DAIONJŌ loud voice SS1984:493-4. We suggest taking modern form
nakigoe sobbing voice as 521 ‘samurai’, with lower element as variant
of ‘door’ 120.
Traditional . OBI is taken as ‘qing – an-
cient Chinese musical instrument with suspend- Mnemonic: VOICE OF SAMURAI AT DOOR
ed stones and striker’ ( is based on pictograph

星171 SEI, SHŌ, hoshi presumed ‘sources of light’ represent stars
pictographically. Mizukami treats (1502,
L3 star ‘clear/bright/crystal’) as the original form of ,
9 strokes while Ma treats the two as separate graphs.
44 (‘birth, life’) here is phonetic with associated
KASEI Mars sense ‘clear’. Tōdō has and in same word-
MYŌJŌ Venus family ‘clear’. MS1995:v1:626-8; MR2007:357-8;
nagareboshi shooting star TA1965:488-91.

Some of the OBI forms such as , have up Mnemonic: STARS ARE BORN FROM THE SUN
to five circular or roughly square shapes similar
to 66 ‘sun’ (with or without ), and these

晴172 SEI, hareru A very late graph; not listed in Shuowen
(Schuessler gives Yupian ‘Jade Chapters’ – a
L3 clear, bright Chinese dictionary compiled ca. 543AD – as an
12 strokes early reference). Made up of semantic element

SEITEN clear sky 66 ‘sun/bright’, with 45 (‘blue/green’) as
harebare bright phonetic with associated sense ‘clear, fresh’.
haregi best clothes OT1968:471; AS2007:431-2, 539.

Mnemonic: BRIGHT SUN AGAINST BLUE

MEANS CLEAR WEATHER

切173 SETSU, SAI, kiru Relatively late (Shuowen). Has 198 ‘sword,
knife’, and 32 (‘seven’, originally ‘cut’) as
L4 cut phonetic with associated sense ‘cut bone,
4 strokes cut’. In Late Han times, and were near-
homophones. KJ1970:47-8; TA1965:778-9;
SHINSETSU kindness AS2007:419,312.
ISSAI all
harakiri harakiri Mnemonic: SEVEN SWORD CUTS

88 The 160 Second Grade Characters

雪174 SETSU, yuki element in the other OBI form shows clouds, or
rain. The snow patterns/snowflakes were later
L3 snow (seal script) mistakenly interpreted as ‘broom’,
11 strokes and wrongly interpreted as ‘precipitation to
be swept away’; lower element is not phonetic
KŌSETSU snowfall here. MS1995:v2:1418-9; KJ1970:617; BK1957:90;
ōyuki heavy snow SS1984:512-3; AS2007: 547,289. However, while
JOSETSUSHA snow plow incorrect, we suggest taking the modern form as
sweeping snow away (by broom).
OBI forms , . The simpler OBI form is taken
either as patterns in the surface of snow made Mnemonic: ‘RAIN’ THAT A BROOM CAN
by wind in a blizzard (Mizukami, Katō), or
snowflakes (Karlgren, Shirakawa); additional SWEEP AWAY IS ACTUALLY SNOW

船1L735 SEN, fune, funa- thus ‘boat’ (early Chinese pronunciation of
is close to ) (Schuessler). Katō too feels the
L3 boat, ship right-hand element is phonetic with associ-
11 strokes ated sense ‘hollowing out’. MS1995:v1:1100-01;
KJ1970:501; AS2007:195; SS1984:520. We
SENCHŌ captain suggest taking the right hand element as
kogibune rowing boat 70 ‘eight’ and 22, ‘mouth, opening’ as ‘(port)
funaBIN seamail hole’.

Bronze forms such as show 1450 ‘boat’ Mnemonic: A BOAT WITH EIGHT PORTHOLES
with right-hand element as phonetic, prob-
ably as a substitute for NJK ‘to gouge, bore IS A SHIP
through’, giving ‘hollowed-out timber’ and

線176 SEN A relatively late graph , noted in Shuowen
as an old form of ‘thread’. Modern form has
L4 line
15 strokes 29 ‘thread’, and 926 (‘spring/source’) as
phonetic with associated sense of ‘thin/fine
DASSEN derailment thread’. KJ1970:626-7; YK1976:320; SS1984:525;
KŌSEN light ray DJ2009:v3:1069.
CHOKUSEN straight line
Mnemonic: TRACE THREAD-LIKE LINE TO

SOURCE

前177 ZEN, mae forward’ spatially, then by extension in terms
of time. Katō and Tōdō both note the graph
L5 before, front as early way of writing ‘cut’ (NJK); when
9 strokes came to be used mainly for ‘before’, 198
‘knife’ was added as bottom element to repre-
ZENSHA the former sent ‘cut’. Shirakawa interprets it in a ceremonial
KŪZEN unprecedented sense, with ‘before’ etc. as extended mean-
maebarai prepayment ings. MR2007:238-9; SS1984:530; KJ1970:636;
TA1965:571. We suggest taking (a variant of
Early forms , . Traditional . Views vary,
but widely agreed OBI forms onwards have 209 ‘meat’) of the modern form as ‘meat’, and
143 ‘foot, footprint’. Beneath there is an element the top element as ‘horns’.
typically taken as 1450 ‘boat’, here perhaps
representing primitive boat-shaped sandals (re- Mnemonic: BEFORE CUTTING MEAT, CUT THE
ferred to by Ma), overall giving meaning of ‘go
HORNS

The 160 Second Grade Characters 89

組178 SO, kumi, kumu on pictograph– possibly meat – piled up in a
vessel as an offering), with/without ‘hand’, with
L3 group, assemble associated sense i] ‘accumulate’ (Ogawa), or ii]
11 strokes ‘mix, accumulate’ (Mizukami), giving ‘cord made
of threads put together. ‘Group’ and ‘assemble’
SOSHIKI organization are extended meanings. MS1995:v2:1012-3;
kumiai union TA1965:364-7; OT1968:775,18.
kumitate assembly
Mnemonic: THE GROUP ASSEMBLES PILES OF
Bronze forms such as often include
2003 ‘hand’ (later omitted in seal script). Has THREADS

29 ‘thread’ and phonetic 1135 (based

走179 SŌ, hashiru as phonetic with associated sense ‘move
limbs rapidly’, and so ‘run’ (Qiu says ‘jog, trot’,
L4 run Tōdō says ‘walk hurriedly’). Modern Japanese
7 strokes preserves the meaning ‘run’ from early Chinese,
but in modern Chinese (Mandarin) means
KYŌSŌ race ‘walk/go’. MS1995:v2:1254-6; KJ1970:643-4;
SŌKŌ travelling QX2000:196; TA1965:298-9. Suggest taking
hashirigaki scrawl upper element as 64 ‘ground’, and lower ele-
ment as ‘foot’ (see 143).
Lower part of bronze form has 143 (here
‘foot’); upper element (NJK, ‘calamity’ [loan Mnemonic: FOOT RUNNING ALONG GROUND
use, pictograph of person with head inclined])

多180 TA, ōi Shuowen (along with Katō) analyzes it as 46
‘moon/evening’ duplicated, but this would ap-
L5 many pear to be based on the later, very similar seal
6 strokes script shapes: the graphs for ‘meat’ and ‘evening’
are more contrastive in OBI. MS1995:v1:292-3;
TASŪ majority MR2007:360; SS1984:559-60; KJ1985:142. We
TAMENTEKI many-sided suggest taking ‘evening / moon’ for an easier
ōsugi too much/many mnemonic.

OBI form is , depicting one piece of meat Mnemonic: MANY MOONS, MANY EVENINGS
/ 209 over another and giving the mean-

ings ‘meat piled up, plentiful meat; plentiful’.

太181 TAI, TA, futoi, futoru A very late graph (Yupian). Noted in the Kangxi
zidian as identical with both 56 and 1665,
L4 fat, big meaning ‘big’. Tōdō includes it in a word family
4 strokes meaning ‘loose; latitude’. Katō sees the extra
stroke as denoting especially big even among
TAISHI prince other big things. DJ2009:v1:195; TA1965:525-7;
TAIYŌ sun Katō 1985:144.
futoJI bold type
Mnemonic: FAT IS A BIT MORE THAN JUST BIG

90 The 160 Second Grade Characters

体182 TAI, TEI, karada parts neatly set out’ (noted in Mizukami). The
simpler form originally represented a sepa-
L4 body rate word of different pronunciation meaning
7 strokes ‘coarse’, but it appears was adopted later
(Ming Dynasty) in popular usage as an abbrevi-
TAIKAKU physique ated writing for ‘body’, probably regarded as
FŪTEI posture
karadatsuki figure / 41 ‘person’ combined with 74 ‘basis’.
Noted in Kangxi zidian as erroneous in this lat-
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . Has 877 ter sense, was adopted as official form in the
‘bone’, and 811 (‘abundant’) as phonetic modern period in Japan. QX2000:299, 306-7;
with associated sense i] ‘separate, divide’, giving ZY2009:v1:21:v4:1567-8; MS1995:v2:1476-7.
‘divide up sacrificial animal carcasse (still with
bones attached)’ (Katō), or ii] ‘neatly set out’, giv- Mnemonic: THE BODY IS THE BASIS OF A
ing ‘sacrificial animal carcass with dismembered
PERSON

台183 DAI, TAI In another view, upper element is taken as
‘watchtower’ over meaning ‘stay’, giving
L4 stand, platform ‘place to stay and watch out’, i.e. ‘watchtower’
5 strokes (Mizukami). Later abbreviated shape coin-
cides with a separate graph (originally ‘I, me’
DODAI foundation [ 22 ‘mouth, speak’, and ‘enclose and make
TAIFŪ typhoon one’s own’ as phonetic meaning ‘oneself’]).
DAIdokoro kitchen OT1968:163; MS1995:v2:1092-3,v1:204-5

Seal ; traditional . Analyses differ. In one Mnemonic: A NOSE IS A SORT OF PLATFORM
view, 壴 ‘big drum’ over 886 (‘arrive’) with the
sense ‘foot, base’ gives ‘drum stand’ (Ogawa). FOR A MOUTH

地184 CHI, JI a meandering way’ (Mizukami); Katō and
Tōdō are in broad agreement. Note: was
L4 ground, land originally pictograph of a slithering snake
6 strokes or – in one view – female genitalia (noted in
Mizukami); later borrowed for sound value for
CHIHŌ region several grammatical function words such as
CHIKA underground ‘be’, ‘also’. MS1995:v1:264-5,24-5; KJ1970:692;
JImoto locality TA1965:455-57.

Seal . Late graph (Shuowen). Has 64 Mnemonic: LAND WITH WRIGGLING SNAKES
‘ground’, and (NJK; see Note below) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘extend in ON THE GROUND

池185 CHI, ike associated sense taken as i] ‘extend’, giving
original meaning ‘water channel’ (Tōdō), or ii]
L4 pond, lake ‘bank, dyke’, giving original meaning ‘water
6 strokes surrounded by dykes’, and hence ‘marshland’
(Katō). ‘Pond’ is an extended sense. TA1965:528-
YŌSUICHI reservoir 32; KJ1970:692.
DENCHI battery
furuike old pond Mnemonic: POND WITH WRIGGLING

Seal . a late graph (Shuowen). Has ‘water’ WATER-SNAKES
42, and (see 184 Note) as phonetic with

The 160 Second Grade Characters 91

知186 CHI, shiru extension ‘know’. Alternatively, Shirakawa takes
‘arrow’ as being linked to taking an oath to the
L4 know deities, and interprets 22 in his more usual
8 strokes way as ‘receptacle’; ‘knowing’ is then taken as
emerging from the process of oath-taking.
CHISHIKI knowledge
CHITEKI intellectual is a separate graph (NJK) also meaning
shiriai acquaintance ‘know’; lower element is originally not 66
‘sun, day’, but NJK ‘speak’. MS1995:v2:930-31;
Seal . A late graph. Has 22 ‘mouth; speak’, TA1965:465-7; SS1984:587.
and 145 (‘arrow’) as phonetic with associat-
ed sense ‘hit the mark’, giving ‘describe spot-on/ Mnemonic: IF YOU GOT AN ARROW IN THE
exactly (like a flying arrow to its target)’, and by
MOUTH, YOU’D KNOW ABOUT IT!

茶187 CHA, SA phonetic with associated sense ‘bitter’ – denot-
ed a certain bitter plant, and that the modified
L4 tea, annoy shape was apparently devised to refer clearly
9 strokes to another type of plant with bitter leaves, i.e.
tea. The occasional use of 187 as ‘make fun of’
CHAWAN teabowl or ‘irritate’ may relate to the bitter connotations.
CHACHA interruption QX2000: 326. Though the lower element in the
SADŌ tea ceremony modern form is not quite 820, ‘ample’, it may
be helpful.
Very late graph (probably Tang Dynasty). Qiu
notes that originally – a graph comprising Mnemonic: ALMOST AMPLE TEA PLANTS

53 ‘plant, grass’, and 820 (‘ample’) as

昼188 CHŪ, hiru ‘daytime’ in contrast to darkness of night (Katō).
In another view, the same upper element is
L4 noon, daytime equated with (traditional form of 91
9 strokes ‘picture, stroke’), but like Katō also as phonetic,
in this case with associated sense ‘shine with
CHŪSHOKU lunch red light’, giving ‘sun shines making Heaven
CHŪKŌSEI diurnal and Earth bright’ (Mizukami). is based on
hiruma daytime cursive equivalents of . MS1995:v1:620-22;
SS1984:595; KJ1970:491-2. We suggest taking
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . The bronze the modern form as 895 ‘measure’, with 66
form has 66 ‘sun, day’, and an upper element ‘sun’ and a single line as the horizon.
comprised of a rare graph which has 400
‘writing brush’ over (‘mix; cut’) as phonetic Mnemonic: MEASURE NOON SUN OVER
with associated sense ‘sun, red, bright’, giving
‘sun makes bright’; meaning extended to HORIZON

長189 CHŌ, nagai OBI forms , show a person with long hair,
in some cases with a walking stick; Shirakawa
L5 long, senior notes that only old people were allowed long
8 strokes hair. Tōdō puts the graph in a word-family
meaning ‘long’. MS1995:v2:1382-4; SS1984:601;
SEICHŌ growth TA1965:348-9. (See also 638.)
KAICHŌ chairperson
nagaiki long life Mnemonic: SENIOR CITIZEN RUNS WITH

FUNNY LEGS, LONG HAIR STREAMING

92 The 160 Second Grade Characters

鳥190 CHŌ, tori Based on pictograph of a bird , . Note
that there is another ‘bird’ graph , occurrent in
L4 bird Japanese as an element in compound graphs
11 strokes (e.g. 324). MS1995:v2:1494-5; MR2007:296;
KJ1970:11-12.
HAKUCHŌ swan
YACHŌ wild bird Mnemonic: IF IT’S GOT WINGS AND FEATHERS,
torii shrine gate IT MUST BE A BIRD

朝191 CHŌ, asa 952) (Shirakawa); Gu treats the change from
as erroneous. The seal form in Shuowen
L4 morning, court
12 strokes may involve corruption in shape in relation to
bronze equivalents. At the clerical script stage,
CHŌSHOKU breakfast
asahi morning sun became usual here instead of the right-hand
CHŌTEI imperial court side in seal with 1450 ‘boat’; Qiu regards this
as a shape abbreviation of , and this led to
OBI ; seal . OBI form has 66 ‘sun’, block script . Analyses of this graph differ;
’plant/plant shoot’ or / 53 ‘plants’ and above account is tentative. MS1995:v1:640-41;
18 ‘moon’, giving ‘sun emerging from vegeta- SS1984:603; QX2000:109-10; AS2007:607;
tion with moon still out’, i.e. ‘morning’. Bronze GY2008:1382; SK1984:391.
occurrences commonly had earlier changed
to 50 ‘river’, maybe to represent near-hom- Mnemonic: SUN RISES THROUGH PLANTS,
ophone meaning ‘morning tide, tide’ (later MOON STILL OUT – IT’S MORNING

直192 CHOKU, JIKI, taken as semantic element for ‘straight’.) Oc-
casionally in the bronze forms, then routinely
L3 naoru/su, sugu, tadachi in the seal script, a curved line was added (final
direct, upright, fix stroke in the modern form) with the sense
8 strokes ‘bend’; the graph is then taken to convey
‘straighten the gaze’ (Mizukami, Yamada,
CHOKUSETSU direct Katō), and by extension ‘straighten’ generally.
SHŌJIKI honesty MR2007:480-81; MS1995:v2:914-5; KJ1975:687-
8; YK1976:369-70. We suggest taking as a
naoshiya repairman cross.

The OBI form is generally taken as 76 Mnemonic: CROSS EYED – NEED TO FIX IT
‘eye’, and (replaced in seal script by ) DIRECTLY
as phonetic with associated sense ‘straight’
(Mizukami suggests alternatively could be emerging’, ‘person leaping up’, and ‘suspension
ring at top of bell’]), but with the same associ-
通193 TSŪ, tōru/su, kayou ated sense ‘go through, penetrate’, giving ‘road
carries on through’. This treatment finds support
L4 pass, commute, way in Tōdō, who has , , and all in the same
10 strokes word-family ‘penetrate’. MS1995:v1:1294-5;
KJ1970:671; TA1965:286-90. We suggest taking
TSŪKŌ passage
TSŪKIN commuting as a bent figure, and in its present mean-
ōdōri main road ing of ‘use’.

OBI ; bronze ; seal: . Has 85 ‘walk Mnemonic: BENT FIGURE USES PASSAGE-WAY
along road, go’, and a right-hand element as TO COMMUTE
phonetic which varies ( [235 ‘use’] in OBI,

in seal [CO; taken variously as ‘flower buds

The 160 Second Grade Characters 93

弟194 TEI, DAI, DE, otōto be thought of as the lower part of a weapon.
Mizukami lists associated meanings as ‘low;
L3 younger brother order’, and ‘younger brother’ by extension; Katō
7 strokes is essentially in agreement. The graph is in a
word-family Tōdō takes as meaning ‘straight
SHITEI sons, children and short, low’. MS1995:v1:468-70; KJ1970:716;
DESHI follower, pupil TA1965:749-53.
KYŌDAI brothers
Mnemonic: YOUNGER BROTHER GETS
OBI forms depict a weapon handle wrapped
with leather . There was a set, ordered BOUND TO A STAKE, BUT LOOSELY
process for wrapping the handle, which can

店195 TEN, mise, tana as i] ‘arrange, display’, giving ‘place to set out
(and sell) things’ (Katō), or ii] ‘fixed/established
L5 store, premises in the one place’, hence ‘building where things
8 strokes are established (together) in one place’ (Tōdō);
in either case, ‘premises, shop’. KJ1970728-9;
TEN’IN store staff TA1965:836-8. Suggest taking in one of its
yomise night stall modern meanings, ‘occupy’.
tanadate eviction
Mnemonic: A STORE OCCUPIES THAT BUILD-
A very late graph (Yupian). Has 127 ‘roof,
building’, and 1598 (‘perform divination; oc- ING WITH THE BIG ROOF
cupy’) as phonetic with associated sense taken

点196 TEN Seal . Late graph (Shuowen); traditional: .
Has 137 ‘black’, and 1598 (‘divine, occupy’)
L3 point, mark as phonetic with associated sense ‘small’, thus
9 strokes ‘small black specks’; then broadly ‘point/mark’.
KJ1970:726; SS1984:629; TA1965:836-8. Take
TENSEN dotted line as divination, and 8 fire.
TOKUTEN points
JŪTEN emphasis Mnemonic: FIRE USED IN DIVINATION LEAVES

BLACK MARKS

電197 DEN Bronze ; seal . Has 3 ‘rain/weather ele-
ment’, and 338 (orig. forked lightning), with
L5 electricity associated sense ‘stretch’ > ‘stretched weather
13 strokes element’ > ‘lightning’. Both and are in
Tōdō’s word-family ‘extend’. MS1995:v2:1418-9,
DENWA telephone 872-3; TA1965:754-6. Use 63 ‘field’.
DENKYŪ light bulb
DENRYŪ electric current Mnemonic: LIGHTNING STRIKES FIELD IN

ELECTRIC RAINSTORM

刀198 TŌ, katana Pictograph of knife/sword , in compounds
usually . QX2000:180; MS1995:v1:122-3.
L1 sword, knife
2 strokes Mnemonic: TWO-EDGED SWORD

DAITŌ long sword
GUNTŌ military sword
kogatana pocketknife

94 The 160 Second Grade Characters

冬199 TŌ, fuyu Views vary. OBI ; seal . Mizukami sees
persimmons on tree after leaf fall, or food
L4 winter stored hanging. Katō sees seal as 401‘ice’, and
5 strokes
as phonetic with associated sense ‘freeze’
TŌMIN hibernation > ‘ice’. Shirakawa takes OBI form as tied rope
TŌKI winter season ends, to denote ‘end’ > ‘end season’, i.e. ‘winter’.
fuyugare winter decay MS1995:v1:116-7; KJ1970:120; SS1984:641. Take

as ‘cross-legged’.

Mnemonic: CROSSED LEGS SLIPPING ON

WINTER ICE

当200 TŌ, ataru/teru price’ (Mizukami, Katō). (In Late Han times,
pronunciation of and was fairly close.)
L3 apply, hit mark, Originally referred to offering a field as a
appropriate, this pledge. Tōdō has this graph in a word-family
6 strokes meaning ‘push one thing against another, make
to correspond’. MS1995:v2:884-5; KJ1970:669-
SŌTŌ appropriate 70; AS2007:206, 181; TA1965:351-2.
TŌNIN person concerned We suggest taking upper element of modern
teate allowance, treatment form as ‘little’ 38 and as ‘hand’.

Bronze ; seal ; traditional . Has 63 Mnemonic: THIS LITTLE HAND APPROPRI-
‘field’, and 1491 (‘furthermore’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘value, price, equivalent ATELY HITS THE MARK

東201 TŌ, higashi, azuma cally through the center, which explains the
word-family sense ‘penetrate’, noted by Mizu-
L5 east kami and Tōdō. Used as a loan graph for ‘east’.
8 strokes See also ‘bundle’ 561 and ‘knead’ 438.
MS1995:v1:654; KJ1970:1956-7; MR2007:340;
TŌYŌ Orient TA1965:286-7. We suggest taking the modern
higashigawa east side form as ‘sun’ 66 rising behind a ‘tree’ 73.
azumaya arbor, bower
Mnemonic: SUN RISING BEHIND TREE
OBI forms show a bottomless bag with both
ends tied ; the bag has a pole going verti- INDICATES EAST

答202 TŌ, kotaeru A late graph (post-Shuowen). 134 ‘meet, join’
was used by itself in OBI and bronze texts for a)
L4 answer ‘respond’ and also for b) ‘fit together, join’, but
12 strokes later / 58 (‘bamboo’) was added so as to
denote the sense ‘respond, answer’ to disam-
KAITŌ solution biguate. KJ1970:668-9; AS2007:202, 625, 274;
TŌAN exam paper MS1995:v1:212-3; SS1984:649.
kuchigotae retort
Mnemonic: BAMBOO IS A FITTING ANSWER

The 160 Second Grade Characters 95

頭203 TŌ, ZU, atama, kashira As seen in the bronze form , this has 103
‘head’, and 379 ‘(upright vessel’, now ‘bean’)
L4 head, top, start as phonetic with associated meaning ‘stand
16 strokes upright’ and probably also ‘vessel’. Like 155
(‘head’), also has extended senses of ‘begin-
TŌKOTSU skull ning; first in rank’. Note: The bronze form here
ZUTSŪ headache is in the decorative elongated ‘bird script’.
atamaKIN down payment MS1995:v2:1446-7; KJ1970:734; TA1965:281-3;
QX2000:275; KJ1985:573,663.

Mnemonic: BEAN HEAD!

同204 DŌ, onaji Mizukami also notes alternative view of as
semantic for ‘board’, with as ‘hole’, to mean
L4 same ‘penetrate’ and then ‘same’ (the latter because
6 strokes a round hole is the same seen or measured
from any angle); Tōdō also takes as originally
DŌYŌ similar ‘penetrate’. MS1995:v1:214-5; KJ1970:736-7;
DŌJI simultaneous TA1965:286-9. We suggest taking the enclosure
DŌI agreement of the modern form as a croquet hoop, with
as opening, with a single stroke.
Early forms , . Interpretations differ. Mizu-
kami sees 22 ‘mouth’ as possibly semantic for Mnemonic: SIMILAR HOOPS HAVE THE SAME
‘words’, with (= 1450) as phonetic with as-
sociated sense ‘collect’ – a view shared by Katō. SINGLE OPENING

道205 DŌ, TŌ, michi this changed at the seal stage to , as in
85, with phonetic 155 (‘head’) with associ-
L5 way, road ated sense of ‘straight road’. Tōdō puts into
12 strokes word-family meaning ‘extend in narrow line’.
MS1995:v2:1302-3; KJ1970:670-71; TA1965:190-
TETSUDŌ railway 93. We suggest taking the meaning of ‘head’
SHINTŌ Shinto for .
michibata roadside
Mnemonic: THE HEAD LEADS THE WAY
The various bronze shapes, e.g. have
131 ‘crossroads, roads, go’ (or the abbreviated ALONG THE ROAD
form ), here also with 2003 ‘hand’ but

読206 DOKU, TOKU, yomu phonetic. Consists of 118 ‘words’, and right-
hand phonetic with associated sense ‘recite’.
L5 read Right-hand element of traditional form is
14 strokes slightly different in shape from traditional form
of 211 ‘sell’ (q.v.). KJ1970:46; YK1976:397;
DOKUSHA reader KZ2001:2629/3671. We suggest taking the right
TOKUHON reading-book hand of the modern form as 211 ‘sell’.
yomikata a reading (kanji)
Mnemonic: SELL WORDS TO READ or
A late graph (Shuowen) . Traditional form is
, with right-hand (NJK, ‘exchange/display READING OUT SALES SPIEL

goods’), changed in the modern form to , as

96 The 160 Second Grade Characters

内207 NAI, DAI, uchi OBI . Components are ‘roof’ or ‘dwelling’ with
‘entrance’. By extension, ‘enter’, ‘inside’ (though
L3 inside Ma takes ‘enter’ as the primary meaning).
4 strokes KJ1970:515-6; SS1984:666; MR2007:324. In
modern form we suggest taking as ‘person’
NAIBU inner part 41, and the ‘hoop’ as a frame.
KANAI wife
uchiKI shyness Mnemonic: PERSON TOO BIG TO GET FULLY

INSIDE FRAME

南208 NAN, minami phonetic with associated sense ‘warm’ (Katō,
Ogawa, Yamada), perhaps to indicate facing
L5 south south (Katō), or as pictograph of a musical
9 strokes instrument (Shirakawa; Yamada also notes
as alternative possibility). ‘South’ is loan use.
TŌNAN southeast KJ1970:959-60; OT1968:139; YK1976:398-9;
NANKYOKU South Pole SS1984:666-7; KJ1985:86-7.
minamigawa south side
Mnemonic: TENT WITH CROSS AND TIED
Found in OBI texts onwards , but etymol-
ogy disputed. Hypotheses include taking as ENTRANCE FACING SOUTH
based on pictograph for ‘(decorated?) tent’, and

肉209 NIKU script (both Japanese and Chinese) changes
to as a determinative relating to the body
L4 meat, flesh and certain other contexts, as in e.g. 968
6 strokes ‘lungs’, and so in shape is now indistinguishable
from 18 ‘moon’ as a determinative in more
BANIKU horsemeat complex forms, e.g. 269 ‘period’. This simply
NIKUya butcher reflects the historical situation, as both and
NIKUGAN naked eye
‘moon’ were indistinguishable in shape
OBI form is based on pictograph of a piece already in seal script when they occurred as
of meat. Bronze forms onwards show several elements in compound graphs. MR2007:301-2;
internal lines, not just one; these represent the KJ1970:479; MS1995:v2:1068-9.
graining or sinews in the meat. Note: as one ele-
ment in a more complex graph, in the modern Mnemonic: A GRAINY FILLET OF MEAT

馬210 BA, uma, ma OBI forms such as show the graph is
clearly based on a pictograph of a horse.
L3 horse MS1995:v2:1466-7; MR2007:414.
10 strokes
Mnemonic: FLOWING MANE, FOUR LEGS
BAJUTSU horsemanship AND A TAIL – MUST BE A HORSE
umanori horse-riding
mago pack-horse driver

The 160 Second Grade Characters 97

売211 BAI, uru/reru A late graph (Shuowen) . Traditional form is
. 521 (‘samurai’) is in error for – or possibly
L4 sell
7 strokes an abbreviation of – 36 ‘put out, display’,
combining with a second element 212 ‘buy’,
BAIBAI dealing serving here as semantic and phonetic mean-
BAITEN stall ing ‘exchange’; overall meaning is ‘put things
urimono item for sale out to exchange for money’. 10 represents a
shell as currency. YK1976:411; KJ1970:760-61.

Mnemonic: SAMURAI WITH CROOKED LEGS

SELLING OVER THE COUNTER

買212 BAI, kau ‘shell currency’, with 570 ‘net’ as semantic
and phonetic meaning ‘take, acquire’, giving
L5 buy ‘buy for money’. Katō, alternatively, takes as se-
12 strokes mantic , with as phonetic with associated
sense ‘exchange’, giving ‘exchange for (shell)
BAISHŪ purchase currency’. MR2007:349; SS1984:686; KJ1970:760;
kaimono shopping OT1968:956.
kaite buyer
Mnemonic: A NETFUL OF SHELLS CAN BE
A more ancient graph than ( ) 211 (‘sell’).
Exists from OBI stage . Ogawa takes as 10 USED TO BUY

麦213 BAKU, mugi word-family meaning ‘descend’, and he notes
that for the ancient Chinese this grain was
L3 barley, wheat believed to be given by the deities. Shirakawa
7 strokes takes it to refer to a ceremonial dance for the
grain. Schuessler gives the thought-provoking
BAKUGA malt view of Pulleyblank, who suggests (see 237)
mugiCHA barley tea is the original graph for the cereal, and that the
komugi wheat separate graph , meaning ‘wheat’ (with
‘foot’) was originally intended for ‘come’. Katō
OBI . Traditional form: . Views diverge. sees as phonetic, but this seems less likely.
Taken by Karlgren and Ma as based on a picto- BK1957:245-6; MR2007:330; TA1965:169-71;
graph of a wheat or barley plant. Ma sees the SS1984:692; AS2007:374, 342-3; KJ1970:287-8.
lowest part as the root; Ogawa and Tōdō in-
terpret lowest part as ‘descending foot’ (see Mnemonic: SITTING CROSS-LEGGED
Appendix), to give ‘wheat/barley given down
from Heaven’. This graph is a member of Tōdō’s WATCHING WHEAT PLANT GROW

半214 HAN, nakaba Bronze ; traditional ᦪ. The upper part is
70 ‘divide’ (both a semantic and phonetic
L5 half, middle
5 strokes indicator), and the lower part is a stylized rep-
resentation of an ox head showing horns and
HANBUN half ears. The original sense of ‘butcher an ox carcass
HANTŌ peninsula into two halves’ took on the broader mean-
HANtoshi half-year ing of ‘half’. MS1995:v1:166-7; KJ1970:784;
YK1976:416.

Mnemonic: SPLIT OX HEAD DOWN THE

MIDDLE INTO HALVES

98 The 160 Second Grade Characters

番215 BAN by Shirakawa), which – based on the seal
form – interprets as ‘claws of a beast’ and
L3 number, guard, turn
(in sequence) as ‘paw underpad’, includes the underlying
12 strokes word for this graph in a word-family meaning
‘spread out’, with particular sense ‘scatter seed’.
JUNBAN order, turn The meanings ‘turn; number; guard’ represent
BANNIN watchman loan usage. MS1995:v2:882-3; KJ1970:780;
ICHIBAN number one YK1976:420; TA1965:654-6; SS1984:706. We sug-
gest taking the upper element as ‘rice plant’
Bronze ; generally taken as 63 ‘field’, with 220 with an extra leaf.
as both phonetic and semantic element,
Mnemonic: GUARD NUMBERS OF EX-
meaning ‘hand holding/scattering seed’. Tōdō,
while noting the Shuowen analysis (favored TRA-LEAVED RICE-PLANTS IN FIELD

父216 FU, chichi OBI . Commentators agree this depicts a hand
holding a stone ax. Use in the sense ‘father/
L5 father male relative of father’s generation’ represents
4 strokes a loan usage. MS1995:v2:820-22; KJ1970:824-5;
YK1976:431-2; MR2007:267; AS2007:243.
FUBO parents
otōsama* Father Mnemonic: FATHER IS CROSS ABOUT TWO
chichioya father
LITTLE THINGS

風217 FŪ, FU, kaze bringing danger, so already at the OBI stage this
‘bird graph’ was adopted as a loan for strong
L5 wind, style winds, and winds in general. In seal script, ‘bird’
9 strokes was replaced by ‘insect, reptile’ 60, another
harmful entity, as in the modern graph. The
FŪSEN balloon phonetic element may be onomatopoeic for
kamikaze divine wind the sound of a typhoon (Mizukami), or have an
WAFŪ Japanese-style associated meaning ‘big’ (Yamada), or ‘shake’
(Tōdō). MS1995:v2:1452-3,1496-7; YK1976:435-
Some variation in OBI forms (e.g. , ), but 6; TA1965:825-9.
generally taken to show a phoenix or other
large bird (modern ), often with a pho- Mnemonic: STYLISH INSECT GETS BLOWN BY
netic element corresponding to modern
1993. Fierce winds, including typhoons, were THE WIND
perceived in ancient times as a harmful bird

分218 BUN, FUN, BU, Has 198 ‘knife/cut’, and 70 ‘divide’, the
latter as both semantic and phonetic, meaning
L5 wakaru/keru/katsu ‘cut in two’; a member of Tōdō’s word-family
divide, minute, ‘cut in two’. MS1995:v1:124-5; KJ1970:256;
understand TA1965:726-9.
4 strokes
Mnemonic: UNDERSTAND THAT ONE CAN
BUNSHI molecule
IPPUN one minute DIVIDE BY CUTTING IN TWO
wakari understanding

The 160 Second Grade Characters 99