480531170

strange’. An alternative analysis takes as
phonetic with extended sense ‘indistinct’,
giving ‘indistinct beauty of woman’ (Katō).
OT1968:253; GY2008:529; KJ1970:847-8.
Mnemonic: FEW WOMEN ARE AS EXQUISITE,
YET AS STRANGE
2011
L2
眠
MIN, nemuru/i
sleep, sleepy
10 strokes
SUIMINsleep
FUMINSHŌ insomnia
inemuri doze, nap
Seal () ; is a late variant. consists
of 76 ‘eye’, with 2015 ‘dark’ as semantic
and phonetic, giving ‘close eyes’ and by extension
‘sleep’. Later, 619 (‘populace, people’)
was substituted as phonetic element (Yupian
[6 th century AD] notes as being the same
as ). GY2008:1038,1156; MS1995:v1:114-5;
KJ1970:840; OT1968:102.
Mnemonic: THE PEOPLE CLOSE THEIR EYES
IN SLEEP
2012
L1
矛
MU, BŌ, hoko
halberd, lance
5 strokes
hokosakimain point (also fig.)
MUJUN contradiction
BŌGEKI halberd, spear
Bronze ; seal . Simpler bronze forms depict
a weapon with handle and sharp point, while
a slightly more involved shape is felt to show
a weapon such as lance or halberd, with
41 ‘person’ (holding the weapon) as the lower
element (Katō; Mizukami also notes a view
broadly in line with this analysis). The more involved
shape then provides basis for seal form.
KJ1970:862; MS1995:v2:928-9; OT1968:705;
GY2008:212. Difficult mnemonically.
Mnemonic: ANGULAR HALBERD HAS TWO
POINTS AND A HANDGUARD
2013
霧
MU, kiri
Seal ( 霚 ) ; late graph; modern form .
mist, fog
Seal form has ‘rain’ 3, with 敄 (CO, ‘effort’;
L1
19 strokes
originally ‘attack vigorously with halberd/
lance’) as phonetic with associated sense
MUTEKI foghorn
‘cover’, giving ‘water vapour which covers
NŌMU thick fog
(an area)’, i.e. ‘fog’. At some point, the phonetic
asagiri morning mist
was changed from 敄 to (‘[perform]
duties’ 815; same associated sense). Katō
treats as erroneous; Kangxi zidian lists
only , not 霚 . KJ1970:863; OT1968:1089;
GY2008:969,1571; KZ2001:3073/3671.
Mnemonic: PERFORM ONE’S DUTIES COME
RAIN, MIST, OR FOG
The Remaining 1130 Characters 601