480531170

494
L3
景
KEI, KE
scene, view, bright
12 strokes
KŌKEIsight, spectacle
KEIKIliveliness, business
KESHIKIscenery
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 66
‘sun’, and 110 (‘capital’) as phonetic with
associated sense ‘light’ (Katō, Yamada) or
‘demarcate’ (Ogawa, Tōdō). The latter sense
derives from the clear boundary or line of
demarcation between light and the shadow
cast by an object; in Tōdō’s word-family ‘firm/
clearly demarcate’, together with 680
‘boundary’. KJ1970:83; YK1976:150; OT1968:470;
TA1965:394-6.
Mnemonic: SUNNY CAPITAL IS A BRIGHT
SCENE
495
L3
芸
GEI
art, skill, plant
7 strokes
GEIJUTSUart
SHUGEIhandicraft
GEISHAgeisha
OBI ; seal (); traditional . Late, post-
Shuowen graph (originally ‘kneel on the
ground and plant something’) is regarded
as the original way of writing what was later
changed in shape (distorted) to (same
meaning). Later, 53 ‘plant, grass’ was added
to , to give ‘plant vegetation’ (Qiu says ‘sow
and plant’); the seal equivalent of this graph is
given in Shuowen. Finally, 83 (‘say’, ‘cloud’)
was added as a phonetic; this is felt to derive
from CO (‘remove weeds’). The modern
form is felt to be an abbreviated version of
, taking the top and bottom elements only.
(It is not believed to originate from a one-step
process of combining ‘plant’ with as phonetic,
which was the process that generated the
homomorphic yet totally separate earlier graph
, listed in Shuowen and meaning ‘[type of]
fragrant plant’.) ‘Art/skill’ are extended meanings.
MS1995:v1:270-72, 12-14; KJ1970:353-4;
MR2007:265; YK1976:151; QX2000:329-30;
DJ2009:v1:54.
Mnemonic: THEY SAY THAT PLANTING IS A
SKILLED ART
496
欠
KETSU, kaku/keru
lack, gap, omit
L3
4 strokes
KESSEKISHAabsentee
KETTENa fault
kakemea break, rupture
OBI ; seal . OBI form is pictograph of person
kneeling and yawning. Mizukami and Katō follow
Shuowen explanation of seal form as steam
or vapor rising, but Qiu treats as just a miscopying
of the earlier pictograph. The graph is
conventionally treated in Japan as traditional
form of , but is separate graph made of
1141 ‘pot’, and (CO, meaning disputed; ‘pull
bowstring’, etc.) as phonetic with associated
sense ‘open’, giving originally ‘pot opened up’,
i.e. ‘damaged/broken pot’. Despite separate origins,
缼 and have been used interchange-
ably from early on, at least in Japan. Reflecting
this, is listed as traditional form of even in
the Jōyō kanji Lists for 1981 and 2010. ‘Lack’ is
an extended sense derived from generalisation
of original meaning ‘chipped/damaged pot’ for
. Since ‘lack’ is a meaning found for both
and in modern Chinese too, this suggests
possible word-family link or cross-contamination
in these two graphs not just in Japanese
but in Chinese usage also. Note: the graph 缼
also exists, but is stated by Yamada to be erroneous.
Not listed in Kangxi zidian, and probably
evolved as a cross-formation from and .
MS1995:v1:696-7; QX2000:96,109; KJ1970:367;
YK1976:152-3; SS1984:248; GY2008:1063;
OT1968:239. Suggest taking graph as 41
‘person(s)’ and ‘roof/house’.
Mnemonic: HOUSE LACKS PEOPLE
The 200 Fourth Grade Characters 169