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18
L5
月
4
GETSU, GATSU,
tsuki
moon, month
strokes
KONGETSU this month
GETSUYŌbi Monday
tsukimi moon viewing
Originally depicting crescent moon with pitted
surface , later undergoing a cumulative process
of stylization , . As a determinative, .
Note that the determinative for 209 ‘meat/
flesh’ is of the same shape in compound
graphs. SS1984:252; KJ1970:953.
Mnemonic: CRESCENT MOON IS PITTED AND
FACES DOWN
19
犬
KEN, inu
Based on pictograph of a dog rearing up .
dog
L4
Occurs also in the formas a left-hand determinative,
sometimes in characters for other
4 strokes
animals. References: QX2000:65-67; SS1984:254.
RYŌKEN hunting-dog
We suggest remembering it by taking it as
inugoya kennel
56 ‘big’ plus a spot.
koinu puppy
Mnemonic: DOG IS BIG WITH A SPOT
20
見
KEN, miru/seru/eru
look, see, show
L5
7 strokes
HAKKEN discovery
KENBUTSU sightseeing
mimono spectacle, sight
OBI forms such as , show the graph for
an exaggerated eye 76 on top of a variant
form for ‘person’ 41, originally bending but
sometimes just ‘legs’. SS1984:255; QX2000:194.
Take as a bending figure.
Mnemonic: PERSON WITH BIG EYE BENDS TO SEE
21
五
GO, itsufive
L5
4 strokes
GOGATSU May
GONIN five people
itsuka fifth day
Disputed etymology. OBI forms can simply have
five strokes on top of each other , but more
commonly (unrelated to stroke number). On
the basis of this latter, Shirakawa takes such
shapes as representing a lid constructed with
22 L5
口
KŌ, KU, kuchi
mouth, opening
3 strokes
JINKŌ population
KŌJITSU pretext
deguchi exit
According to Katō et al., widely regarded as
based on a pictograph for the mouth . How -
ever, according to Shirakawa, the early (OBI and
bronze) shapes which might appear to be the
pieces of wood which cross each other, the character
then being borrowed for its sound value to
represent another word meaning ‘five’. Alternatively,
Qiu seems to interpret the ancient form
of this character as no more than a geometric
symbol, but the relationship to five is unclear.
Also, some interpret it as a reel that replaces the
five fingers when winding yarn. This is one of
those graphs with a range of proposed etymologies.
SS1984:281-2; QX2000:32.
Mnemonic: IS A MISSHAPEN REEL BETTER
THAN FIVE FINGERS?
ancestral forms of this character (with a meaning
‘mouth’) are rare, and more common are instances
of another graph of identical shape which
instead represents a ritual vessel. It is difficult
to substantiate Shirakawa’s view, though some
support for caution in interpretation of the early
occurrences is found in Matsumaru. Extended
meanings include ‘hole’, ‘opening’ and ‘speak’.
MS1995:v1:204-5; SS1984:284-5; MM1993:30;
KJ1985:98.
Mnemonic: SQUARE OPEN MOUTH
52 The 80 First Grade Characters