Traditional 來; OBI . Treated by almost all scholars as based on pictograph of wheat / barley, which was then borrowed as a loan for the (near/) homophonous word for ‘come’. Frequently used already in OBI texts for ‘come’. But Pulleyblank suggests that 來 is the original graph for the cereal, and that the separate graph 麥, meaning ‘wheat’ (with 夂 ‘foot’, see Appendix) was originally intended for ‘come’ (see also 213). MS1995:v1:62-4; QX2000:287-8; MR2007:329; KJ1970:286-7; SS1984:1861; AS2007:374, 342-3. We suggest taking the modern components as 十 35 ‘ten’and 米 220 ‘rice’.
Mnemonic: WHEAT COMES TO BE TEN GRAINS OF RICE!?
238
L1
里
RI, sato
village, league
7 strokes
一里 ICHIRI 1 ri (= 2.44 miles)
里子 satogo foster child
里芋 satoimo taro
Bronze shows 田 63 ‘field’ and 土 64 ‘earth/ground’ to give meaning ‘ground/land in form of paths or ridges separating fields’ (Katō, Yamada); Yamada takes ‘village’ as loan usage. Tōdō, alternatively, includes in word-family meaning ‘line; draw a line’, and takes ‘village’ as extended usage on basis of arranging dwellings in grid pattern. KJ1970:902; YK1976:491; TA1965:100-02.
Mnemonic: GROUND MADE INTO FIELDS – INDICATES VILLAGE
239
L4
理
RI
reason, rational
11 strokes
理性 RISEI rationality
無理 MURI unreasonable
理由 RIYŪ reason
A late graph (Shuowen) . Has 玉 15 ‘jewel/jade’, and 里 238 (‘village’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘split (jade in accordance with the vein patterning)’. The meaning seems to have progressed from ‘make a jade vessel’ to a more general ‘organise (something)’. In Tōdō’s ‘(draw) a line’ word-family, here ‘draw a logical line’. KJ1970:902; YK1976:491-2; TA1965:100-02. We suggest taking the ‘dotless’ jade determinative as ‘king’ 5.
Mnemonic: THE KING HAS COME TO THE VILLAGE – MUST BE SOME REASON
240
L5
話
WA, hanashi, hanasu
speech, talk
13 strokes
会話 KAIWA conversation
話題 WADAI topic (of talk)
小話 kobanashi tale
A late graph (Shuowen) . The left hand element is 言 118 ‘words, speak’. Scholars differ in interpreting the right-hand element in seal script. Katō takes it as 舌 755 (‘tongue’) being phonetic with associated sense ‘good’ (i.e. good words), while Yamada takes 舌 not as ‘tongue’ but as standing for an NJK graph 刮 (‘scrape, shave off’) as phonetic, also with associated sense ‘good’. Tōdō takes the right-hand element as 舌 93, likewise as phonetic, and includes in word-family meaning ‘join together’. ‘Story’ and ‘to talk’ are treated as extended usage. KJ1970:322; YK1976:509; TA1965:643-6.
Mnemonic: TONGUE IS USED TO TALK WORDS IN SPEECH
THE 200 THIRD GRADE CHARACTERS
241
L4
悪
AKU, O, warui
bad, hate
11 strokes
悪意 AKUI malice
悪寒 OKAN chill
悪者 warumono a rogue
A late graph (Shuowen) . Has 心 164 ‘heart, mind, feelings’ and 亜 1007 (q.v.) as phonetic with associated sense ‘hunchback, ugly, twisted’, to give negative meanings such as ‘hate’ and ‘bad’. KJ1970:3-4; YK1976:49-50; OT1968:371.
Mnemonic: BAD HEART AND TWISTED FEELINGS LEAD TO HATE
242
L5
安
AN, yasui
relax, ease, cheap
6 strokes
不安 FUAN unease
安心 ANSHIN relief
安物 yasumono cheap item
Some early forms show just ‘woman under roof’ ; others show additional line , which – from its position – is generally taken as a napkin used for menstruation (especially from bronze on). Modern form has just 宀 30 ‘roof, dwelling’ and 女 37 ‘woman’. Katō and Mizukami take 宀 as also having a phonetic role with associated sense ‘cover over’. ‘Cheap’ is a meaning only in Japanese. MS1995:v1:360-61; KJ1970:5-6; YK1976:50-51.
Mnemonic: WOMAN AT EASE RELAXES IN CHEAP HOUSE
243
L4
暗
AN, kurai
dark, gloomy
13 strokes
明暗 MEIAN light and dark
暗殺 ANSATSU assassination
真暗 makkura pitch dark
A late graph (Shuowen) . Has 日 66 ‘sun’/‘day’, and 音 6 (‘sound’) used here as phonetic with associated sense ‘shade’/‘dark’. KJ1970: 7; YK1976:51; TA1965:815-24.
Mnemonic: THE SOUNDS OF A GLOOMY DAY
244
L4
医
I, iyasu
heal, medical
7 strokes
医者 ISHA doctor
外科医 GEKAI surgeon
医学 IGAKU medical science
Early form . Traditional 醫; late graph (Shuowen), consisting of 酉 ‘jar/brewing pot for wine’ (see 318), with 殹 (CO ‘attack’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘clear’ (not cloudy). In early times wine was used sometimes for medicinal purposes, hence extended meanings of ‘heal; healer, physician’. Note that originally 医 was a separate and independent graph
