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28
L5
四
SHI, yo-, yon
four
5 strokes
SHIGATSU April
yokka fourth day
yonKAI four times
OBI and many bronze examples represent ‘four’
using four horizontal strokes . Some bronze
forms appear to represent an open mouth
with teeth, etc., possibly with the meaning of
‘breathe’ . ‘Four’ is almost certainly a loan use.
KJ1970:42; QX2000:174; KJ1985:122. As a mnemonic,
we suggest taking the present shape as
a clenched fist.
Mnemonic: FOUR FINGERS IN CLENCHED FIST
29
L3
糸
SHI, ito
thread
6 strokes
SEISHI silk making
keito woollen yarn
itomaki thread-reel
OBI forms show single thread (probably silk);
seal . is a common determinative, as in
e.g. 95 (‘picture’); distinguish from 855
(‘threads joined together’). The related element
‘fine thread(s), end of fine thread’ has ‘small,
young’ as extended meanings. SS1984:364;
MS1995:v2:1002-04,v1:446-8.
Mnemonic: SKEIN OF TWISTED THREAD
30
L4
字
JI
letter, symbol
6 strokes
JIbiki dictionary
akaJI ‘in the red’, deficit
SŪJI digit, number
Earliest forms such as show that this graph
is made up of ‘roof’ (in turn indicating
‘building’ or ‘home’) and 27 ‘child’, originally
with meanings such as ‘raise, bring up’. It later
acquired the meaning of ‘[Chinese] character,
written sign’ from ca. 100AD in Shuowen jiezi.
SS1984:379-80; GY2008:331.
Mnemonic: A CHILD AT HOME LEARNING LETTERS
31
L5
耳
JI, mimi
ear
6 strokes
JIKA otology
miminari tinnitus
mimikazari earring
OBI is based on a pictograph of an ear.
MR2007:457-8; SS1984:380; QX2000:178.
Mnemonic: POINTED EAR
32
L5
七
SHICHI, nanaseven
2 strokes
SHICHIGATSU July
nanoka* seventh day
nanae seven-fold
Derives from OBI and bronze graph similar to
modern ‘ten’ 35 for a cut bone, the curve
coming later. In early Chinese ‘cut’ and ‘seven’
had a similar pronunciation, and so the graph
was borrowed to represent ‘seven’. SS1984:387;
TS2010:3; AS2007:419,312.
Mnemonic: BADLY WRITTEN TEN: ONLY
WORTH SEVEN
54 The 80 First Grade Characters