480531170

215
L3
番
BAN
number, guard, turn
(in sequence)
12 strokes
JUNBANorder, turn
BANNINwatchman
ICHIBANnumber one
Bronze ; generally taken as 63 ‘field’, with
as both phonetic and semantic element,
meaning ‘hand holding/scattering seed’. Tōdō,
while noting the Shuowen analysis (favored
by Shirakawa), which – based on the seal
form – interprets as ‘claws of a beast’ and
as ‘paw underpad’, includes the underlying
word for this graph in a word-family meaning
‘spread out’, with particular sense ‘scatter seed’.
The meanings ‘turn; number; guard’ represent
loan usage. MS1995:v2:882-3; KJ1970:780;
YK1976:420; TA1965:654-6; SS1984:706. We suggest
taking the upper element as ‘rice plant’
220 with an extra leaf.
Mnemonic: GUARD NUMBERS OF EX-
TRA-LEAVED RICE-PLANTS IN FIELD
216
L5
父
FU, chichi
father
4 strokes
FUBOparents
otōsama*Father
chichioyafather
OBI . Commentators agree this depicts a hand
holding a stone ax. Use in the sense ‘father/
male relative of father’s generation’ represents
a loan usage. MS1995:v2:820-22; KJ1970:824-5;
YK1976:431-2; MR2007:267; AS2007:243.
Mnemonic: FATHER IS CROSS ABOUT TWO
LITTLE THINGS
217
L5
風
FŪ, FU, kaze
wind, style
9 strokes
FŪSENballoon
kamikazedivine wind
WAFŪJapanese-style
Some variation in OBI forms (e.g. , ), but
generally taken to show a phoenix or other
large bird (modern ), often with a phonetic
element corresponding to modern
1993. Fierce winds, including typhoons, were
perceived in ancient times as a harmful bird
bringing danger, so already at the OBI stage this
‘bird graph’ was adopted as a loan for strong
winds, and winds in general. In seal script, ‘bird’
was replaced by ‘insect, reptile’ 60, another
harmful entity, as in the modern graph. The
phonetic element may be onomatopoeic for
the sound of a typhoon (Mizukami), or have an
associated meaning ‘big’ (Yamada), or ‘shake’
(Tōdō). MS1995:v2:1452-3,1496-7; YK1976:435-
6; TA1965:825-9.
Mnemonic: STYLISH INSECT GETS BLOWN BY
THE WIND
218
L5
分
BUN, FUN, BU,
wakaru/keru/katsu
divide, minute,
understand
4 strokes
BUNSHImolecule
IPPUNone minute
wakariunderstanding
Has 198 ‘knife/cut’, and 70 ‘divide’, the
latter as both semantic and phonetic, meaning
‘cut in two’; a member of Tōdō’s word-family
‘cut in two’. MS1995:v1:124-5; KJ1970:256;
TA1965:726-9.
Mnemonic: UNDERSTAND THAT ONE CAN
DIVIDE BY CUTTING IN TWO
The 160 Second Grade Characters 99