480531170

174
L3
雪
SETSU, yuki
snow
11 strokes
KŌSETSUsnowfall
ōyukiheavy snow
JOSETSUSHAsnow plow
OBI forms , . The simpler OBI form is taken
either as patterns in the surface of snow made
by wind in a blizzard (Mizukami, Katō), or
snowflakes (Karlgren, Shirakawa); additional
element in the other OBI form shows clouds, or
rain. The snow patterns/snowflakes were later
(seal script) mistakenly interpreted as ‘broom’,
and wrongly interpreted as ‘precipitation to
be swept away’; lower element is not phonetic
here. MS1995:v2:1418-9; KJ1970:617; BK1957:90;
SS1984:512-3; AS2007: 547,289. However, while
incorrect, we suggest taking the modern form as
sweeping snow away (by broom).
Mnemonic: ‘RAIN’ THAT A BROOM CAN
SWEEP AWAY IS ACTUALLY SNOW
175 L3
L3
船
SEN, fune, funaboat,
ship
11 strokes
SENCHŌcaptain
kogibunerowing boat
funaBINseamail
Bronze forms such as show 1450 ‘boat’
with right-hand element as phonetic, probably
as a substitute for NJK ‘to gouge, bore
through’, giving ‘hollowed-out timber’ and
thus ‘boat’ (early Chinese pronunciation of
is close to ) (Schuessler). Katō too feels the
right-hand element is phonetic with associated
sense ‘hollowing out’. MS1995:v1:1100-01;
KJ1970:501; AS2007:195; SS1984:520. We
suggest taking the right hand element as
70 ‘eight’ and 22, ‘mouth, opening’ as ‘(port)
hole’.
Mnemonic: A BOAT WITH EIGHT PORTHOLES
IS A SHIP
176
L4
線
SEN
line
15 strokes
DASSENderailment
KŌSENlight ray
CHOKUSENstraight line
A relatively late graph , noted in Shuowen
as an old form of ‘thread’. Modern form has
29 ‘thread’, and 926 (‘spring/source’) as
phonetic with associated sense of ‘thin/fine
thread’. KJ1970:626-7; YK1976:320; SS1984:525;
DJ2009:v3:1069.
Mnemonic: TRACE THREAD-LIKE LINE TO
SOURCE
177
前
ZEN, mae
before, front
L5
9 strokes
ZENSHAthe former
KŪZENunprecedented
maebaraiprepayment
Early forms , . Traditional . Views vary,
but widely agreed OBI forms onwards have
143 ‘foot, footprint’. Beneath there is an element
typically taken as 1450 ‘boat’, here perhaps
representing primitive boat-shaped sandals (referred
to by Ma), overall giving meaning of ‘go
forward’ spatially, then by extension in terms
of time. Katō and Tōdō both note the graph
as early way of writing ‘cut’ (NJK); when
came to be used mainly for ‘before’, 198
‘knife’ was added as bottom element to represent
‘cut’. Shirakawa interprets it in a ceremonial
sense, with ‘before’ etc. as extended meanings.
MR2007:238-9; SS1984:530; KJ1970:636;
TA1965:571. We suggest taking (a variant of
209 ‘meat’) of the modern form as ‘meat’, and
the top element as ‘horns’.
Mnemonic: BEFORE CUTTING MEAT, CUT THE
HORNS
The 160 Second Grade Characters 89