480531170

142
L3
算
SAN
reckon, count
14 strokes
KEISANcalculation
YOSANbudget
SANSŪarithmetic
Relatively late origin (Shuowen) . The top
element is 58 ‘bamboo’, which Katō takes as
referring to bamboo tallies used for counting
in ancient times, together with 284 (‘equipment,
means’) as phonetic with associated
sense ‘count’, giving ‘to count’. KJ1970:443;
SS1984:353; OT1968:755, 98.
Mnemonic: USE BOTH HANDS TO COUNT ON
A BAMBOO ABACUS
143
止
SHI, tomeru/maru
stop
L4
4 strokes
CHŪSHIsuspension
tomeYAKUpeacemaker
tomedo*an end
144
市
SHI, ichi
city, market
L4
5 strokes
SUItaSHISuita City
SHIJŌmarket
uoichifishmarket
On the basis of the bronze form , Mizukami
interprets the graph as consisting of , meaning
‘flat’ or ‘balanced’ (according to Katō, CO
丂 originally referred to waterweed spreading
flat over the surface, see 130), and 143 ‘stop’,
145
矢
SHI, ya
arrow
L1
5 strokes
ISSHIretaliation
yajirushiarrow sign
yasaki nijust on the point of
146
姉
SHI, ane
elder sister
L4
8 strokes
SHIMAIsisters
neesan* elder sister
aneueelder sister (formal)
OBI forms such as and , already stylized,
are taken as a person’s foot; ‘stop, remain’ is an
extended sense (Qiu), but the graph can also
indicate action with the feet, i.e., ‘go, move’ (see
e.g. 636 ‘istory’), apparently due to confusion
with several other early graphs similar in
shape and pronunciation. MS1995:v1:702-03;
QX2000:329; BK1957:253-4; OT1968:536, 25.
Mnemonic: FOOTPRINT STOPS OVER LINE
giving an extended meaning of ‘stop/stay [at
a place] and exchange items of equal value’,
reflecting an ancient barter system for goods.
Ogawa is in general agreement. Shirakawa, less
convincingly, takes the bronze form as a pictograph
depicting a large sign to show where
a market was being held. MS1995:v1:436-7;
OT1968:313; SS1984:362-3; KJ1985:194. We
suggest taking lower part as ‘cloth’ 1232 and
as a top hat.
Mnemonic: GO TO MARKET TO BUY CLOTH
AND TOP HAT
OBI ; bronze . Based on a pictograph of an
arrow. See also 133 (‘yellow’) and 886
(‘reach’). MS1995:v2:928-9; KJ1970:460-61;
SS1984:363. We suggest taking the graph as
56 ‘big’ with single top stroke as a broken tip.
Mnemonic: BIG ARROW WITH BROKEN TIP
Etymology disputed. Generally recognised from
bronze stage onwards . Has 37 ‘woman’,
and a phonetic interpreted in various ways,
such as 144 (‘market’), with associated sense
‘young plant sprouting’ (Katō), or as (CO; ‘vegetation
growing vigorously’) with associated
sense ‘unequal’ (Mizukami, Tōdō) or ‘projecting’
The 160 Second Grade Characters 81