bowl, plate
5 strokes
灰皿 haizara ashtray
大皿 ōzara large dish
皿洗い saraarai dishwashing
OBI forms , show deeply curved bowl on raised base. Later forms , show slightly more elaborate versions, probably being wrought in metal. MS1995:v2:900-02; QX2000: 179; MR2007:316; OT1968:690.
Mnemonic: DISH WITH VERTICAL STRIPES
301
L4
仕
SHI, JI, tsukaeru
serve, work, do
5 strokes
仕事 SHIgoto work
仕方 SHIkata way, means
仕組み SHIkumi arrangement
Bronze form onwards has 亻 41 ‘person’, and 士 521 (‘male’/‘samurai’) as phonetic with associated sense either ‘work, serve’ (Katō, Yamada), or ‘stand’ (Tōdō, Mizukami). Work in ancient China was often done by slaves, but later by servants, and so ‘serve’. Meanings given by Schuessler include ‘take office, serve, retainer, knight’. KJ1970:452; YK1976:214; TA1965:104-06; MS1995:v1:44-5 AS2007:465.
Mnemonic: SAMURAI IS PERSON WHO WORKS AND SERVES
302
L4
死
SHI, shinu
die, death
6 strokes
死体 SHITAI corpse
死去 SHIKYO death
若死に wakajini early death
OBI ; seal . OBI left-hand shows skeletal remains (possibly occipital bone); right-hand (person) is phonetic with associated sense i] ‘flesh rots and drops to ground’, giving ‘corpse turns to bleached bones free of flesh’ (Katō), or ii] ‘divided up into small pieces’, giving ‘die and bones come apart’ (Tōdō). In ancient China a person was only seen as dead when the corpse became a clean skeleton after exposure to weather (Mizukami). By block script, left-hand changed to 歹, and right-hand to 匕. Modern form comprises , known as ‘meatless bones’ (cf ‘meaty bone’ 骨 877), with ‘fallen person’ 匕 (see 258). KJ1970:466-7; SS1984:364; MS1995:v1:710-11; TA1965:762-4.
Mnemonic: PERSON FALLS DEAD, SOON TO BE BARE BONES
303
L4
使
SHI, tsukau
use, servant
8 strokes
使用 SHIYŌ use
大使 TAISHI ambassador
小使 kozukai servant, porter
OBI , seal . OBI forms, showing a hand holding a writing brush are difficult to differentiate from those for 吏 2074 ‘official’, 事 309 (‘thing’, ‘act’), and 史 523 ‘scribe, history’. In early Chinese, two of the four underlying words (those represented by 使 and 史) were homophones. At seal stage, the graph 使 emerged differentiated in shape from the other three, having 亻 41 ‘person’, and 吏 2074 as phonetic and semantic meaning ‘work’, giving ‘one who does (allocated) work’; sense then narrowed to ‘(an) official’. MS1995:v1:60-61, 26-8; BK1957:256; KJ1970:450; OT1968:59; AS2007:350, 465-6.
Mnemonic: OFFICIAL PERSON USES SERVANT
304
L4
始
SHI, hajimeru/maru
begin, first
8 strokes
始終 SHIJŪ throughout
始動機 SHIDŌKI starter motor
始めて hajimete for the first time
The bronze forms and have 女 together with elements corresponding to 台 (not 183) or 以 443 respectively as the phonetic, both having similar pronunciation in early Chinese. The phonetic has an associated sense of ‘first daughter’, leading to a more generalised meaning of just ‘first’. MS1995:v1:320-21; KJ1970:14; OT1968:255; YK1976:220. We suggest taking 台 as ‘nose’ ム and ‘mouth’ 口 22.
Mnemonic: A WOMAN’S FACE BEGINS WITH A NOSE AND MOUTH
305
L3
指
SHI, yubi, sasu
finger, point
9 strokes
指示 SHIJI indication
親指 oyayubi thumb
指図 sashiZU directions
A late graph (Shuowen) . Has 扌 34 ‘hand’, and 旨 1401 as phonetic. Though the modern meaning of 旨 is ‘good/tasty’, here it has an associated sense of ‘become divided up, separate’ – a reference to the fingers (Katō, Yamada) or ‘show, point to’ (Ogawa). KJ1970:466; YK1976:222; OT1968:412. We suggest taking 匕 (see 258) as a person sitting, and 日 as ‘sun’ 66.
Mnemonic: PERSON SITS POINTING WITH FINGER AT SUN
306
L3
歯
SHI, ha
tooth, teeth
12 strokes
歯根 SHIKON dental root
歯医者 haISHA dentist
歯車 haguruma toothed gear
Traditional 齒. OBI form depicts mouth, showing teeth. Bronze form has phonetic 止 143 (‘stop’) added as top component, as in the modern graph, with associated sense ‘be lined up’ (Katō, Yamada), or ‘stay, stop’ (Mizukami, Tōdō). (Tōdō says sense is teeth ‘stay in one place’ while chewing). MS1995:v2:1526-7; KJ1970:469-70; YK1976:224; TA1965:69-71; MR2007:249. We suggest taking 止 in its meaning ‘stop’, 米 as ‘rice’ 220, and the enclosure as a mouth.
Mnemonic: TEETH ENSURE RICE STOPS IN MOUTH
307
L1
