場
|
12 strokes
ば
ジョウ
|
Ideogrammic compound:
土 (ground/soil/earth)
昜
(bright/glorious)
→ meant to represent the sun peaking over the
horizon 旦 (dawn/morning) with its rays shining
just past the horizon
➔
Therefore, 場
is an imagery of the place that is earth.
|
place
|
寺
|
6 strokes
てら
ジ
|
Ideogrammic compound: 寸(hand/hold/grasp) + 止 (foot/to
stop/to relieve) inferring a place of control
Actually, 止 is derived from 之 which
is the character the Japanese originally used for the possessive particle の .
This is why 止 implies possession or control
→ 止める (とめる)– transitive, to stop, to prevent, to
hold back
→ 止まる (とまる)– intransitive, to be stopped, to
be suspended
➔
Therefore, often when 寺 is used in
a kanji it represents the control of some kind.
→ 持つ (もつ)– transitive, to stop, to prevent, to
hold back
→ 時 (じ)– intransitive, to be stopped, to
be suspended
→ 侍 (さむらい)– samurai,
servant, retainer, “control of a person 人”
→ 待つ (まつ)– wait,
“control of movements 彳’
→ 恃み (たのみ)– reliance, dependence, favor, “control of the heart 心”
寺 (てら) = temple
|
temple
|
橋
|
16 strokes
はし
キョウ
|
Ideogrammic compound: 木 (tree/wood) + 喬 (tall/lofty/proud/stately)
喬 (tall/lofty/proud/stately)
→ 高 (tall) provides meaning while 夭 is for
pronunciation
➔ Therefore, 橋 ≅ 木 + 喬 ≅ tall wooden structure ≅ bridge
|
bridge
|
町
|
7 strokes
まち
チョウ
|
➔ 丁 (street) + 田 (field) → indicating an area where people have
settled down to live, aka a town
|
town
|
映
|
9 strokes
うつ(る)・うつ(す)
エイ
|
Phono-semantic compound: 日 (sun/day) suggests the meaning while 央
(center, middle) provides the sound.
➔
The sun 日 is
the center 央 of our universe, projecting light as far as it
can reach.
|
to reflect (light), to project
|
公
|
4 strokes
おおやけ
コウ
|
Ideogrammic compound:
ハ (simplified version of 八) is meant to represent
a split or divide → to deviate
厶 (private/secret)
➔
Therefore, 公 → to turn away from
privacy (aka be public)
|
public, official
|
園
|
13 strokes
その
エン
|
Phono-semantic compound: 囗 (enclosure) suggests the meaning while 袁 (long kimono) provides the sound.
|
garden, park, yard, farm
|
図
|
7 strokes
はか(る)
ズ・ト
|
Variations:
圖 → 图 → 図
The box 囗 encloses 嗇 which is made up of 來 (simplifies to来) and 㐭 (simplifies to 画)
→ 来 =
“come/future” (like how 来週 and 来年 mean next week and next year)
→ 画 = “picture/drawing”
➔
Therefore, 図 = an enclosed picture of the future = a plan
➔
Another
way of looking at it is that 囗 encloses 啚/嗇 which
is means stingy, thus it is a plan to be frugal
|
drawing, diagram, to plan
|
地
|
6 strokes
チ
ジ
|
➔ 土 (earth) +也 (used for emphasis) =
Earth/land/field/ground
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Earth, land
|
鉄
|
13 strokes
テツ
|
Phono-semantic compound: 金
(metal) suggests the meaning while 失 (to violate) provides the sound.
|
iron
|
駅
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14 strokes
エキ
|
駅 is a simplified
version of 驛 where...
• Phono-semantic
compound: 馬 (“horse”) suggests
the meaning while 睪 (spy on) provides the sound.
➔
Therefore, train station 駅
is just a modern version of 驛 which represents a relay station for posting
horses
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(train) station
|
育
|
8 strokes
そだ( てる) そだ(つ)
イク
|
育 is derived from the character 毓 (to raise/rear), which
is not used in Japanese.
毓
is a pictogram of a woman giving birth.
→ To the left is mother 母 while
→ The portion of the right 㐬 depicts
an upside down child 𠫓 (as opposed to 子) with
hair hanging downward 川.
➔
Therefore, this kanji is depicts a mother bearing her child. However, in the simplified version the hair 川 is replaced with ribs (肉,
⺼), which is simplified even more by 月.
|
to
grow up, to raise
|
道
|
12 strokes
みち
ドウ
|
道 = 辵 (walking) + 首 (head/side/direction) = walking in a specific direction, aka a road/way
辵 = 彳 (step) + 止 (step) =
walking/movement, which is simplified to 辶 (radical 162)
Also 辶 kind of looks like a man strolling on a road
首 (head/side/direction) is simplified from 𩠐 which is a pictogram of a man’s head
➔
Therefore, 道 = 辵 (walking) + 首 (head/side/direction) = walking in a specific direction, aka a road/way
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road, street, way
|
部
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11 strokes
ブ・へ
|
Phono-semantic compound: ⻏ (village/city) suggests the meaning while 咅 (spit up) provides the sound.
⻏ is a simplified 邑 (radical 163, “city”)
➔
However, some believe that this kanji is associated with 剖 (“divide”, contains radical 18 刂/刀)
therefore representing divisions of parts of a city.
|
part,
selection, division
|
屋
|
11 strokes
ヤ
オク
|
Ideogrammic compound:
戸 (door/counter for houses)
至
(arrive/reach/attain)
→ It’s supposed to look like an arrow in the
group, indication that you have reached your destination
Other variations of
this character
→ 房
combines 戸 (door/houses) with 方 (person/direction)
→ 室 combines (roof) with 至 (arrow)
➔
I
imagine this kanji ties two variations into one. You can think of it as...
→室, an arrow 至 pointing to a roof 宀
→屋, an arrow 至 pointing to a house 戸
→房, a person 方 waiting by the door
戸
|
roof, house, shop, dealer, seller
|
車
|
7 strokes
くるま
シャ
|
Pictograph: It is
meant to look like a two-wheeled chariot.
|
vehicle, wheel
|
右
|
5 strokes
みぎ
ウ
|
➔
The first portion 𠂇 for both 右 (right) and 左 (left) represents a hand. The right hand is
accompanied by a mouth 口 while the left hand 左 is paired with 工 (pictogram of
a bladed tool), which means work. So the right hand feasts while the left
hand does labor.
Now, it is no secret that the world is
biased to right-handed people, and rightfully so! Studies claim that about
90% of all people on Earth are right-handed.
As a lefty myself, the
deep-rooted distaste for lefties actually thoroughly amuses me. And Chinese
is not the only language that root negative words like “improper” and “illegal” to the word for
left.
Much of English was derived from Latin. It just so happens that the
Latin word “dextro,” meaning right, is
the root to English words like dexterous, dexterity, and ambidextrous, while
the Latin word for left “sinistro” is the root of words like sinister,
ambisinister, and sinistrocardia. The universal aversion to left-handedness
is sprinkled in most cultures history.
|
right
|
左
|
5 strokes
ひだり
サ
|
left
|
近
|
7 strokes
ちか(い)
キン
|
Phono-semantic compound: 辶
(walking) suggests the meaning while 斤 (catty/axe) provides the sound.
辵 = 彳 (step) + 止 (step) =
walking/movement, which is simplified to 辶 (radical 162)
Also 辶 kind of looks like a man strolling on a road
A catty 斤 is a traditional Chinese unit of mass, mostly
used for weighing food or other groceries. It is a very small unit,
equivalent to 600 grams or 1.3 pounds.
➔
At best, you could acknowledge one catty is small, and therefore this kanji
is a like saying a short walk away, aka nearby/close.
|
near, close
|
遠
|
13 strokes
とお(い)
エン
|
Phono-semantic compound: 辶
(walking) suggests the meaning while 袁 (long kimono) provides the sound.
辵 = 彳 (step) + 止 (step) =
walking/movement, which is simplified to 辶 (radical 162)
Also 辶 kind of looks like a man strolling on a road
➔ I suppose 袁 (long kimono) could be intended to represent a
greater length of 辶 (walking), aka far/distant
|
far,
distant
|
通
|
10 strokes
とお(る)
ツウ
|
辵 = 彳 (step) + 止 (step) =
walking/movement, which is simplified to 辶 (radical 162)
Also 辶 kind of looks like a man strolling on a road
甬
means “a path with walls on both sides”
➔
Therefore, a man walks 辶 along a path, passing in between the two walls 甬 enclosing
the path
|
to go along, to pass
|
飛
|
9 strokes
と(ぶ)
ヒ
|
Pictograph: It is
meant to look like birds flying upwards
➔
Also, the character appears to be composed of 升
(rise) and sideways 羽 (feather), which can easily be
associated with flying
|
to fly
|