The snow patterns/snowflakes were later (seal script) mistakenly interpreted as 彗 ‘broom’, and wrongly interpreted as ‘precipitation to be swept away’; lower element is not phonetic here. MS1995:v2:1418-9; KJ1970:617; BK1957:90; SS1984:512-3; AS2007: 547,289. However, while incorrect, we suggest taking the modern form as sweeping snow away (by broom).
Mnemonic: ‘RAIN’ THAT A BROOM CAN SWEEP AWAY IS ACTUALLY SNOW
175
L3
船
SEN, fune, funa-
boat, ship
11 strokes
船長 SENCHŌ captain
こぎ船 kogibune rowing boat
船便 funaBIN seamail
Bronze forms such as show 舟 1450 ‘boat’ with right-hand element as phonetic, probably as a substitute for NJK 穿 ‘to gouge, bore through’, giving ‘hollowed-out timber’ and thus ‘boat’ (early Chinese pronunciation of 穿 is close to 船) (Schuessler). Katō too feels the right-hand element is phonetic with associated sense ‘hollowing out’. MS1995:v1:1100-01; KJ1970:501; AS2007:195; SS1984:520. We suggest taking the right hand element as 八 70 ‘eight’ and 口 22, ‘mouth, opening’ as ‘(port) hole’.
Mnemonic: A BOAT WITH EIGHT PORTHOLES IS A SHIP
176
L4
線
SEN
line
15 strokes
脱線 DASSEN derailment
光線 KŌSEN light ray
直線 CHOKUSEN straight line
A relatively late graph , noted in Shuowen as an old form of 綫 ‘thread’. Modern form has 糸 29 ‘thread’, and 泉 926 (‘spring/source’) as phonetic with associated sense of ‘thin/fine thread’. KJ1970:626-7; YK1976:320; SS1984:525; DJ2009:v3:1069.
Mnemonic: TRACE THREAD-LIKE LINE TO SOURCE
177
L5
前
ZEN, mae
before, front
9 strokes
前者 ZENSHA the former
空前 KŪZEN unprecedented
前払い maebarai prepayment
Early forms , . Traditional . Views vary, but widely agreed OBI forms onwards have 止 143 ‘foot, footprint’. Beneath there is an element typically taken as 舟 1450 ‘boat’, here perhaps representing primitive boat-shaped sandals (referred to by Ma), overall giving meaning of ‘go forward’ spatially, then by extension in terms of time. Katō and Tōdō both note the graph as early way of writing 剪 ‘cut’ (NJK); when 前 came to be used mainly for ‘before’, 刀 198 ‘knife’ was added as bottom element to represent ‘cut’. Shirakawa interprets it in a ceremonial sense, with ‘before’ etc. as extended meanings. MR2007:238-9; SS1984:530; KJ1970:636; TA1965:571. We suggest taking 月 (a variant of 肉 209 ‘meat’) of the modern form as ‘meat’, and the top element as ‘horns’.
Mnemonic: BEFORE CUTTING MEAT, CUT THE HORNS
178
L3
組
SO, kumi, kumu
group, assemble
11 strokes
組織 SOSHIKI organization
組合 kumiai union
組み立て kumitate assembly
Bronze forms such as often include 又 2003 ‘hand’ (later omitted in seal script). Has 糸 29 ‘thread’ and phonetic 且 1135 (based on pictograph– possibly meat – piled up in a vessel as an offering), with/without ‘hand’, with associated sense i] ‘accumulate’ (Ogawa), or ii] ‘mix, accumulate’ (Mizukami), giving ‘cord made of threads put together. ‘Group’ and ‘assemble’ are extended meanings. MS1995:v2:1012-3; TA1965:364-7; OT1968:775,18.
Mnemonic: THE GROUP ASSEMBLES PILES OF THREADS
179
L4
走
SŌ, hashiru
run
7 strokes
競走 KYŌSŌ race
走行 SŌKŌ travelling
走り書き hashirigaki scrawl
Lower part of bronze form has 止 143 (here ‘foot’); upper element 夭 (NJK, ‘calamity’ [loan use, pictograph of person with head inclined]) as phonetic with associated sense ‘move limbs rapidly’, and so ‘run’ (Qiu says ‘jog, trot’, Tōdō says ‘walk hurriedly’). Modern Japanese preserves the meaning ‘run’ from early Chinese, but in modern Chinese (Mandarin) 走 means ‘walk/go’. MS1995:v2:1254-6; KJ1970:643-4; QX2000:196; TA1965:298-9. Suggest taking upper element as 土 64 ‘ground’, and lower element as ‘foot’ (see 143).
Mnemonic: FOOT RUNNING ALONG GROUND
180
L5
多
TA, ōi
many
6 strokes
多数 TASŪ majority
多面的 TAMENTEKI many-sided
多過ぎ ōsugi too much/many
OBI form is , depicting one piece of meat 肉/月 209 over another and giving the meanings ‘meat piled up, plentiful meat; plentiful’. Shuowen (along with Katō) analyzes it as 夕 46 ‘moon/evening’ duplicated, but this would appear to be based on the later, very similar seal script shapes: the graphs for ‘meat’ and ‘evening’ are more contrastive in OBI. MS1995:v1:292-3; MR2007:360; SS1984:559-60; KJ1985:142. We suggest taking ‘evening / moon’ 夕 for an easier mnemonic.
Mnemonic: MANY MOONS, MANY EVENINGS
181
L4
太
TAI, TA, futoi, futoru
fat, big
4 strokes
太子 TAISHI prince
太陽 TAIYŌ sun
太字 futoJI bold type
A very late graph (Yupian). Noted in the Kangxi zidian as identical with both 大 56 and 泰 1665, meaning ‘big’. Tōdō includes it in a word family meaning ‘loose; latitude’. Katō sees the extra stroke as denoting especially big even among other big things. DJ2009:v1:195; TA1965:525-7; Katō 1985:144.
