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

Appendix

Similarly Shaped Elements Easily Confused seal
1. The Two Determinatives ⼡ and ⼢

OBI bronze

Note: does not occur at any period as an independent graph, only as an element
within a compound graph. The OBI form above for (listed by Gu), of very low
frequency of occurrence, is best regarded as provisional. The above table is based on
information in MS1995:v1:284-5, GY2008:39, and KJ1970:58.

The issue of distinction between (determinative no. 34 in the traditional system
of 214) and (determinative no. 35 in the same system) can be confusing. This
is due partly, no doubt, to similarity in shape. There is also the difficulty of clearly
interpreting the original meanings. Such difficulties surrounding and are
perhaps the reason why the difference in shape between the two is not maintained
clearly in the authoritative Kangxi zidian (1716) compiled on Imperial command
(Peking Palace printed version [early 19th century]), though they are still treated as
separate determinatives. In the modern period, was printed for a while in a way
which helped distinguish it from (see, for example, the traditional form of
441 ‘love’), but that distinctiveness has been lost in the standard computerized fonts.

700

In this book the general trend in interpretation of these two elements has been
followed, and so the basic meaning of (determinative 34) is provisionally taken
to be ‘descend, come down’, or ‘descending foot’, while (determinative 35) is taken
as ‘drag the foot, walk slowly’.

2. ⽉ as a Component Shape
The characters ‘lung(s)’ 968, ‘(Imperial) We’ 1731, and ‘fine, cheerful’ 1005
all feature the element written in the same shape as ‘moon’ in modern usage, but
in these three cases only carries the meaning ‘moon’ in . In , the left-hand
element is the abbreviated form of in compound graphs (such as ), and in
the left-hand element is an abbreviation of ‘boat’ in compound graphs. Accord-
ing to Qiu, the merging and confusion of the shape of these elements in compound
graphs can be seen as early as the clerical script stage. In the earlier part of the mod-
ern period, distinctions used to be made in the traditional forms of Ming printed
font to reflect the earlier usage, but those distinctions were dispensed with through
the process of script simplification. The correct interpretation of in a particular
case is explained in the individual entries.

3. 壬 as a Component Shape
The characters 785 ‘duty’ and 1742 ‘court, government office’ both share
as a right-hand element in modern texts. In , the right-hand element (meaning
‘spindle’) retains its etymologically correct shape (middle horizontal stroke longer
than bottom horizontal). In , though, the right-hand was originally slightly differ-
ent in shape, i.e., (originally meaning ‘person standing on earthen mound’, lead-
ing to the extended sense ‘surpass others’), with the middle horizontal stroke shorter
than the horizontal stroke beneath it to represent ‘earth’. Just as in the case of
as a component shape (see the immediately preceding section), this subtle distinc-
tion in shape is no longer supported in standard fonts for Japanese: only the shape

is supported. Explanation regarding the distinction is included in individual en-
tries for relevant graphs.

4. ⼔ as a Component Shape
In Japanese usage, the character ‘change’ 258, for example, is written with as the
right-hand element, but the traditional form has . Originally, at the OBI stage as
an independent character was a pictograph of a person upside down, while
originally depicted a person’s withered/bent leg, or (by analogy based on the shape)
a ladle. In standard Japanese usage, though, the two shapes have been regularized
as . Explanation regarding the above distinction is included in individual entries
for relevant graphs.

Appendix 701

Bibliography

Note: This list is arranged in alphabetical order which follows the abbreviated for-
mat (author initials followed by year of publication) used in the author references
found in the main body of this book. The works in Japanese are all published in
Tokyo; works in Chinese are published in Beijing unless shown otherwise.

AS2007 Schuessler, A., ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese. University
of Hawai’i Press, 2007.
BK1957 Karlgren, B., Grammata Serica Recensa. Reprint, Museum of Far Eastern
Antiquities, Stockholm, 1972.
CS2000 Seeley, C., A History of Writing in Japan. Paperback edition, University
of Hawai’i Press, 2000.
DJ2003 DeFrancis, J. (ed.), ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary.
University of Hawai’i Press, 2003.
DJ2009 Xu Shen, Shuowen jiezi. Annotated parallel modern Chinese edition
[Wenbai duizhao Shuowen jiezi] by Ding Jianxin. 3 vols. + CD. Wanjuan
EB1974 chuban gongsi, 2009.
Encyclopedia Britannica (ed.), Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th edition, 29
FC1974 vols.
FC1977 Fushimi Chūkei, Shodō daijiten. 2 vols. Kadokawa shoten, 1974.
GY2008 Fushimi Chūkei, Shodō jiten. Kadokawa shoten, 1977.
HJ1999 Gu Yankui, Hanzi yuanliu zidian. Yuwen chubanshe, 2008.
Haig, J., The Compact Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary.
IJ2013 Charles E. Tuttle, Tokyo, 1999.
Ikeda, J. (ed.), A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese. 4th edition.
KH1988 Charles E. Tuttle, 2013, Tokyo.
Henshall, K.G., A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters. Charles E.
KJ1970 Tuttle, Tokyo, 1988.
KJ1985 Katō Jōken, Kanji no kigen. Kadokawa shoten, 1970.
Katō Jōken, Kanji no kigen. Kadokawa shoten, 1985.

702

KZ2001 Zhang Yushu et al., Kangxi zidian (1716). Electronic version (CD) of
Peking Palace 1826 printed edition. Personal Media Co., 2001, Tokyo.

MR1945 Mathews, R. Mathew’s Chinese-English Dictionary. Rev. ed. Harvard
University Press, 1945

MR2007 Ma Rusen, Yinxu jiaguxue. Shanghai daxue chubanshe, 2007, Shanghai.
MS1995 Mizukami Shizuo, Kōkotsu kinbun jiten. 2 vols. + Supplement (Bekkan).

Yūzankaku, 1995.
MT1960 Morohashi Tetsuji, Dai kanwa jiten. 13 vols. Taishūkan, 1960.
MT1993 Matsumaru Michio & Takashima Ken’ichi (ed.), Kōkotsu moji jishaku

sōran. Tōkyō daigaku tōyō bunka kenkyūjo, 1993.
OT1968 Ogawa Tamaki et al., Shinjigen. Kadokawa shoten, 1968.
QX2000 Qiu Xigui, Chinese Writing. English translation by G.L Mattos and J.

Norman of Wenzixue gaiyao. Early China Special Monograph Series No.
4. The Society for the Study of Early China and The Institute of East
Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 2000.
SH1991 Atarashii kokugo hyōki handobukku. Sanseido, 1991.
SK1984 Sano Kōichi, Mokkan jiten. Yūzankaku, 1984.
SK1996 Satō Kiyoji (ed.), Kanji hyakka daijiten. Meiji shoin, 1996.
SS1984 Shirakawa Shizuka, Jitō. Heibonsha, 1984.
TT1962 Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin, Written on Bamboo and Silk. University of Chicago
Press, 1962.
TA1965 Tōdō Akiyasu, Kanji gogen jiten. Gakutōsha, 1965.
WB1994 Boltz, W.G. The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing
System. American Oriental Series Volume 78. American Oriental Soci-
ety, 1994.
WD1974 Dobson, W.A.C.H., A Dictionary of the Chinese Particles. University of
Toronto Press, 1974.
WL2010 Tushuo xishuo hanzi daquanji bianweihui (ed.), Tushuo xishuo hanzi da-
quanji. Zhongguo huaqiao chubanshe, 2010.
WM1974 Wang Meng-Ou, Hanjian wenzi leibian. Taibei, 1974.
WT2003 Watanabe Toshirō (ed.), Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary.
5th ed. Kenkyusha, 2003.
YK1976 Yamada Katsumi, Kanji no gogen. Kadokawa, 1975.
ZY2009 Zhang Yushu et al., Kangxi zidian (1716). Modern print edition by Ping
Tao (chief ed.), Xiandai Kangxi zidian. 4 vols. Wanjuan chuban gongsi,
2009.
ZZ1671 Zhang Zilie, Zhengzitong (1671). Facsimile edition, 2 vols. Guoji wenhua
chubanshe, 1996.

Bibliography 703

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