the firewood is burning. Original graph meaning is ‘collect and store much firewood’; other meanings such as ‘person’ are loan usages. MS1995:v2:1052-3; KJ1970:492; YK1976:238-9. We suggest using 耂 (nicknamed ‘old man radical’), noting ‘ground’ 土 64 (see also 考 130) with 日 as 日 66 ‘day/sun’.
Mnemonic: MOST PERSONS WILL BE BURIED IN THE GROUND ONE DAY
315
L4
主
SHU, nushi, omo
master, owner, main
5 strokes
主人 SHUJIN master, husband
地主 JInushi landowner
主に omo ni mainly
OBI ; bronze . The OBI form depicts a lamp with a wick burning, whereas the bronze form has just the wick. The graph originally meant ‘lamp’. In ancient times the head of the house was in charge of the lamp, thus by extension other meanings were acquired such as ‘master, main’. MS1995:v1:16-17; KJ1970:506; YK1976:243-4. We suggest using 王 5 ‘king’, not forgetting the extra stroke on top.
Mnemonic: A KING WITH A LITTLE BIT EXTRA IS A REAL MASTER
316
L3
守
SHU, SU, (ma)moru
protect, keep
6 strokes
保守 HOSHU conservatism
留守番 RUSUBAN caretaker
子守 komori nursemaid
Bronze ; seal . Has 宀 30 ‘roof, dwelling’, and 寸 920 (now meaning ‘measure’ but originally ‘hand’) or in some cases 又 2003, also meaning ‘hand’ and by extension ‘control’ or ‘work’, and regarded by Katō and Yamada as phonetic also. Original meaning ‘work/take control in the house’, and by extension ‘control’ in general, ‘protect’, etc. MS1995:v1:360-62; KJ1970:503; YK1976:244.
Mnemonic: HANDY MEASURES TO PROTECT ROOF
317
L3
取
SHU, toru
take
8 strokes
取得 SHUTOKU acquisition
取り出す toridasu take out
取引 torihiki transactions
OBI ; bronze . Has 耳 31 ‘ear’, and又 2003 as semantic meaning ‘hand’. The graph stands for ‘take, catch’, and typically this seems to be regarded as based on the technique of capturing a wild animal by holding its ears to avoid being bitten. There is an alternative view, though, i.e. that it was a human ear: Qiu notes that in ancient times ‘when game was taken in hunting or an enemy was killed in battle, the left ear was generally taken as a proof of prowess’. Note there is a CO 刵 comprising ‘ear’ 耳 and 刂 198 ‘cut’. Regarding animal ears see also 牛 108 ‘cow’ and its example compounds. MS1995:v1:198-9; QX2000:187; KJ1970:501; YK1976:244.
Mnemonic: HAND TAKES CONTROL OF EAR
318
L3
酒
SHU, sake, saka-
alcohol, sake
10 strokes
飲酒 INSHU drinking
酒場 sakaba tavern
酒飲み sakenomi heavy drinker
OBI ; bronze In the OBI form, one element is 氵 42 ‘water’/‘liquid’ (often omitted in bronze), the other is 酉 , an NJK originally a pictograph of a lidded jar for fermenting or just storing wine (now means ‘Cock’ [tenth in the traditional Twelve Branches, used for counting years, etc.]). MS1995:v2:1344-46; KJ1970:503; YK1976:245. Distinguish from 西 169 meaning ‘west’.
Mnemonic: DROPLETS OF ALCOHOL FROM A SAKE JAR
319
L3
受
JU, ukeru
receive
8 strokes
受験者 JUKENSHA examinee
受取 uketori receipt
受付 uketsuke reception
OBI ; bronze . Has two hands, each positioned across from each other with 舟 1450 ‘boat’ in between. The latter element serves as phonetic with associated meaning ‘hand across from one side to the other’; originally the one graph was used for both ‘receive’ and ‘give’, but later (seal script) the separate graph 授 729 ‘give’ was devised so the ambiguity could be avoided. MS1995:v1:198-9; KJ1970:507; YK1976:246-7. We suggest taking 冖 as a baton, with 爫 and 又 as ‘hands’ (see 1739, 2003).
Mnemonic: HAND RECEIVES BATON FROM ANOTHER’S HAND
320
L3
州
SHŪ, su
province, sandbank
6 strokes
本州 HONSHŪ Honshū
砂州 SAsu sandbank
九州 KYŪSHŪ Kyūshū
OBI ; bronze . Depicts an islet or sandbank in a river (Ma says a piece of land big enough to live on); in the seal script, the one islet or similar is changed to three, resulting in the standard script form of today. The meaning was later made more general and extended to large areas of land such as a state or province. MS1995:v1:424-5; MR2007:449; KJ1970:511. We suggest using ‘river’ 川 50.
Mnemonic: PROVINCE WITH RIVER AND SANDBANK
321
L3
拾
SHŪ, JŪ, hirou
pick up, gather, ten
9 strokes
収拾 SHŪSHŪ control
拾い物 hiroimono bargain, windfall
拾壱 JŪICHI eleven (formal)
Late graph (Shuowen) . All agree on left element being 扌 34 ‘hand’, but not on 合 134 ‘join’, which is taken as phonetic with associated
