480531170

784
L3
独
DOKU, hitori
alone, Germany
9 strokes
EIDOKUAnglo-German
DOKURITSUindependence
hitorigotosoliloquy
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen); traditional
Has () 19 ‘dog’, and NJK 766 (originally,
‘green caterpillar’) as phonetic with associated
785
L3
任
NIN, makaseru
duty, entrust
6 strokes
NINMEIappointment
NIN’Idiscretion, option
SEKININresponsibility
Seal . Has 41 ‘person’, and (‘spool, spindle’:
different from similarly-shaped element
sense here of ‘fight’, to give ‘dogs fight, coming
together as one’, and extended sense ‘(just) one,
alone’. In written style, is sometimes used
as an abbreviated way of writing ‘Germany’, as
in for example ‘Anglo-German’. In recent
times ‘caterpillar’ has been simplified in this
graph to 60 ‘insect’. KJ1970:741; YK1976:396-
7; OT1968:642.
Mnemonic: INSECT-RIDDEN GERMAN
SHEPHERD DOG IS LEFT ALONE
in 777, q.v.) as phonetic with associated sense
‘bag’, to give ‘carry a load on the back’. ‘Baggage’
is an extended sense, and ‘duty’ a further abstracted
sense. Yamada looks to identify several
OBI forms, but Mizukami does not include any.
YK1976:401-2; KJ1970:567; OT1968:51. We suggest
taking as an ‘odd’ variant of ‘king’ 5.
Mnemonic: ODD KING IS PERSON ENTRUST-
ED WITH DUTIES
786
燃
NEN, moeru/yasu Seal (; late graph (post-Shuowen). The
burn
original graph for this word for ‘burn’ was
L3
16 strokes
557, but when came to be used frequently
to represent other linguistic forms, a second
NENRYŌfuel
8 ‘fire, flames’ was added to clearly indicate
NENSHŌcombustion
the meaning ‘burn’. OT1968:628; KJ1970:633;
moetsukuignite
QX2000:226-7. Take elements as 19 ‘dog’,
209 ‘meat’, and double flames /.
Bronze ; seal . Etymology disputed. Katō
and Yamada take as consisting of one element
in the bronze forms depicting some sort of wild
animal, with a phonetic element with associated
meaning ‘black’, hence ‘black bear’ (see also
Mnemonic: DOG MEAT NEEDS TO BE BURNED
WITH EXTRA FLAMES
787
能
NŌ, atou
1252 ‘bear’). Ogawa, by contrast, regards
ability, can, Noh
it as totally pictographic in origin, showing a
L3
10 strokes
wild animal with a tail; Shirakawa also takes it
to be pictographic, in his view representing an
KANŌSEIpossibility
aquatic insect. ‘Can’ is a loan usage. In Japanese,
NŌRYOKUability
senses of this graph include ‘deed, act’
NŌMENNoh mask
‘talented person’ and ‘Noh (drama)’. YK1976:405;
KJ1970:35; OT1968:822; SS1984:675. Suggest
as nose, as ‘flesh’ 209, and as claws.
Mnemonic: ABLE BEAR WITH CLAWS AND
FLESHY NOSE CAN PERFORM NOH
248 The 185 Fifth Grade Characters