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186
L4
知
CHI, shiru
know
8 strokes
CHISHIKIknowledge
CHITEKIintellectual
shiriaiacquaintance
Seal . A late graph. Has 22 ‘mouth; speak’,
and 145 (‘arrow’) as phonetic with associated
sense ‘hit the mark’, giving ‘describe spot-on/
exactly (like a flying arrow to its target)’, and by
extension ‘know’. Alternatively, Shirakawa takes
‘arrow’ as being linked to taking an oath to the
deities, and interprets 22 in his more usual
way as ‘receptacle’; ‘knowing’ is then taken as
emerging from the process of oath-taking.
is a separate graph (NJK) also meaning
‘know’; lower element is originally not 66
‘sun, day’, but NJK ‘speak’. MS1995:v2:930-31;
TA1965:465-7; SS1984:587.
Mnemonic: IF YOU GOT AN ARROW IN THE
MOUTH, YOU’D KNOW ABOUT IT!
187
茶
CHA, SA
tea, annoy
L4
9 strokes
CHAWANteabowl
CHACHAinterruption
SADŌtea ceremony
Very late graph (probably Tang Dynasty). Qiu
notes that originally – a graph comprising
53 ‘plant, grass’, and 820 (‘ample’) as
phonetic with associated sense ‘bitter’ – denoted
a certain bitter plant, and that the modified
shape was apparently devised to refer clearly
to another type of plant with bitter leaves, i.e.
tea. The occasional use of 187 as ‘make fun of’
or ‘irritate’ may relate to the bitter connotations.
QX2000: 326. Though the lower element in the
modern form is not quite 820, ‘ample’, it may
be helpful.
Mnemonic: ALMOST AMPLE TEA PLANTS
188
昼
CHŪ, hiru
noon, daytime
L4
9 strokes
CHŪSHOKUlunch
CHŪKŌSEIdiurnal
hirumadaytime
Bronze ; seal ; traditional . The bronze
form has 66 ‘sun, day’, and an upper element
comprised of a rare graph which has 400
‘writing brush’ over (‘mix; cut’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘sun, red, bright’, giving
‘sun makes bright’; meaning extended to
‘daytime’ in contrast to darkness of night (Katō).
In another view, the same upper element is
equated with (traditional form of 91
‘picture, stroke’), but like Katō also as phonetic,
in this case with associated sense ‘shine with
red light’, giving ‘sun shines making Heaven
and Earth bright’ (Mizukami). is based on
cursive equivalents of . MS1995:v1:620-22;
SS1984:595; KJ1970:491-2. We suggest taking
the modern form as 895 ‘measure’, with 66
‘sun’ and a single line as the horizon.
Mnemonic: MEASURE NOON SUN OVER
HORIZON
189
長
CHŌ, nagai
long, senior
L5
8 strokes
SEICHŌgrowth
KAICHŌchairperson
nagaikilong life
OBI forms , show a person with long hair,
in some cases with a walking stick; Shirakawa
notes that only old people were allowed long
hair. Tōdō puts the graph in a word-family
meaning ‘long’. MS1995:v2:1382-4; SS1984:601;
TA1965:348-9. (See also 638.)
Mnemonic: SENIOR CITIZEN RUNS WITH
FUNNY LEGS, LONG HAIR STREAMING
92 The 160 Second Grade Characters