480531170

224
L5
北
HOKU, kita
north, flee
5 strokes
TŌHOKUnortheast
HAIBOKUdefeat
kitakazenorth wind
OBI is based on pictograph of two people
back-to-back in profile. ‘Turn back on, retreat’ is
taken as primary meaning by Ma and Mizu-
kami. ‘North’ is loan usage (Schuessler notes
the two words were homophones in early
Chinese), while (less likely) Mizukami treats
as extended sense on basis that houses in
ancient China were built facing south, so the
backs of occupants faced north. MR2007:389;
MS1995:v1:156-7; AS2007:246; KJ1970:960.
Mnemonic: PEOPLE FLEE, TURNING THEIR
BACKS ON THE NORTH
225
L5
毎
MAI, -goto
each, every
6 strokes
MAINICHIevery day
MAIDOeach time
higotodaily
Traditional ; OBI . OBI views divided, taking
the graph as depicting either a mother with
hairpin (Ma, Ogawa), or plant, with 222
(‘mother’) as phonetic, with associated sense
‘abundant’ (Katō, Yamada, Tōdō); the latter
seems the more persuasive. The meaning of
‘each, every’ is borrowed usage. MR2007:220;
OT1968:548; KJ1970:756; YK1976:461;
TA1965:166-8. Suggest taking elements as
‘person’ / 41 and ‘mother’ .
Mnemonic: EACH AND EVERY PERSON HAS A
MOTHER
226
L4
妹
MAI, imōto
younger sister
8 strokes
SHIMAIsisters
imōtoBUNsworn sister
REIMAIyour younger sister
Semantic-phonetic compound found in OBI
texts onwards . Has 37 ‘woman’, and
617 (‘immature’) as phonetic with associated
sense ‘continuation’ (Katō, Yamada) or ‘small’
(Ogawa, Tōdō). KJ1970:868-9; YK1976:461;
OT1968:256; TA1965:732-6.
Mnemonic: YOUNGER SISTER IS AN IMMA-
TURE WOMAN
227
L5
万
MAN, BAN, yorozu
ten thousand, myriad
3 strokes
GOMANfifty thousand
BANJIall things
yorozuyageneral dealer
Formerly . OBI form is based on pictograph
of a scorpion. Already in OBI was used
as a loan to indicate a number (‘ten thousand/
large number’), and so, according to Qiu,
another graph was then devised for ‘scorpion’,
comprising and 60 ‘insect’. Traditionally
(at least from the time of the early 11th century
Guangyun dictionary) was seen as being a
popular or vulgar equivalent for , but according
to Katō, this is a loan use of , originally a
separate graph (pictograph of type of aquatic
plant), for ‘ten thousand’. MS1995:v2:1124-6;
MR2007:512; QX2000:177; KJ1970:299-300,812;
KZ2009:v1:2. We suggest taking as a ‘headless’
version of 223 in one of its meanings,
‘person’.
Mnemonic: TEN THOUSAND HEADLESS
PERSONS
The 160 Second Grade Characters 101