480531170

922
L1
聖
SEISHObible
SEIJIN saint
SHINSEIsanctity
SEI, hijiri
saint, sage, sacred
13 strokes
OBI ; bronze ; traditional . Has 31
‘ear’, and 22 ‘mouth, opening’, with – in
the traditional form – (originally person
standing tall on the ground) as phonetic with
associated sense ‘pass through’ or ‘hear’, giving
‘ear cavity is open and able to hear voices of
the deities not audible to ordinary people’; by
extension, ‘a sage’, ‘wise’. In the modern graph
, has been regularized in shape to 5
‘king’. YK1976:304; MS1995:v2:1058-9,v1:262-3;
KJ1970:599-600. Suggest taking as ‘hole’.
Mnemonic: SAINTLY KING’S EAR-HOLE IS
SACRED
923
L1
誠
SEI, makoto
sincerity
13 strokes
SEIIsincerity
SEIJITSU honesty
makoto nitruly
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 118
‘words, speak’, and 545 (‘become, make, consist’)
as phonetic with associated sense taken
as i] ‘lie on top of one another in layers, pile up’,
924
宣
SEN
promulgate, state
L1
9 strokes
SENDENpropaganda
SENKOKUverdict
SENKYŌSHImissionary
OBI ; seal . Has 30 ‘roof, building’, and
(a graphic symbol originally used to denote
‘go round, revolve’; Yamada says ‘whirlpool’)
as phonetic with associated sense ‘surround;
round’, to give ‘house/building with surround-
and then presumed to mean ‘words and heart
coincide’ (Katō, Yamada), or ii] ‘bring together’,
giving ‘words come together’, taken as ‘words
and conduct coincide’ (Tōdō), or iii] ‘strictly observe’,
giving ‘strictly observe what one says and
not diverge from it’ (Ogawa ). These interpretations
appear to be based on a short entry for
in Shuowen. YK1976:304-5; KJ1970:211-12;
OT1968:929; TA1965:470-74.
Mnemonic: WORDS BECOME SINCERE
ing fence/wall’. In ancient China, it was normal
for houses to have an encircling wall, and so
the emphasis on encircling wall in this graph
is considered to denote a building to confine
people within, i.e. a prison. ‘State, mention’
is a loan usage. YK1976:315-6; OT1968:277;
MS1995:v1:370-71,30-31; KJ1970:401;
QX2000:238. Suggest taking lower part as ‘two’
65 and ‘days’ 66.
Mnemonic: STATE THAT ROOF WILL BE
FINISHED IN TWO DAYS
925
L3
専
SEN, moppa(ra)
exclusive, sole
9 strokes
SENMONspecialty
SEN’YŌexclusive use
SENSEIdespotism
OBI ; seal ; traditional . Has 叀 ‘spool,
bobbin, top for spinning’ (CO; originally a
pictograph), and 2003 ‘hand’ (changed to
920 ‘hand; measure’ in seal form), and usually
taken as a child holding a spool-shaped toy
in the hand (Mizukami, Yamada, Katō). This
interpretation lends itself to ‘keep (something)
for oneself, monopolise’ as an extended meaning.
Ogawa takes it in a slightly different sense,
meaning ‘wind thread on a spool’. YK1976:316;
MS1995:v1:396-7; KJ1970:629; OT1968:286. We
suggest taking the upper part as ‘ten’ 35,
‘fields’ 63, with 920 as ‘measure’.
Mnemonic: EXCLUSIVE SOLE POSSESSION OF
TEN FIELDS
The 181 Sixth Grade Characters 285