Relatively late (Shuowen). Has 刀 198 ‘sword, knife’, and 七 32 (‘seven’, originally ‘cut’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘cut bone, cut’. In Late Han times, 七 and 切 were near-homophones. KJ1970:47-8; TA1965:778-9; AS2007:419,312.
Mnemonic: SEVEN SWORD CUTS
174
L3
雪
SETSU, yuki
snow
11 strokes
降雪 KŌSETSU snowfall
大雪 ōyuki heavy snow
除雪車 JOSETSUSHA snow 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 彗 ‘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
船
SEN, fune, funa-
boat, ship
11 strokes
船長 SENCHŌ captain
こぎ船 kogibune rowing boat
船便 funaBIN seamail
Bronze forms such as show 舟 1450 ‘boat’ with right-hand element as phonetic, probably as a substitute for NJK 穿 ‘to gouge, bore through’, giving ‘hollowed-out timber’ and thus ‘boat’ (early Chinese pronunciation of 穿 is close to 船) (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 八 70 ‘eight’ and 口 22, ‘mouth, opening’ as ‘(port) hole’.
Mnemonic: A BOAT WITH EIGHT PORTHOLES IS A SHIP
176
L4
線
SEN
line
15 strokes
脱線 DASSEN derailment
光線 KŌSEN light ray
直線 CHOKUSEN straight line
A relatively late graph , noted in Shuowen as an old form of 綫 ‘thread’. Modern form has 糸 29 ‘thread’, and 泉 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
L5
前
ZEN, mae
before, front
9 strokes
前者 ZENSHA the former
空前 KŪZEN unprecedented
前払い maebarai prepayment
Early forms , . Traditional . Views vary, but widely agreed OBI forms onwards have 止 143 ‘foot, footprint’. Beneath there is an element typically taken as 舟 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 剪 ‘cut’ (NJK); when 前 came to be used mainly for ‘before’, 刀 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 月 (a variant of 肉 209 ‘meat’) of the modern form as ‘meat’, and the top element as ‘horns’.
Mnemonic: BEFORE CUTTING MEAT, CUT THE HORNS
178
L3
組
SO, kumi, kumu
group, assemble
11 strokes
組織 SOSHIKI organization
組合 kumiai union
組み立て kumitate assembly
Bronze forms such as often include 又 2003 ‘hand’ (later omitted in seal script). Has 糸 29 ‘thread’ and phonetic 且 1135 (based on pictograph– possibly meat – piled up in a vessel as an offering), with/without ‘hand’, with associated sense i] ‘accumulate’ (Ogawa), or ii] ‘mix, accumulate’ (Mizukami), giving ‘cord made of threads put together. ‘Group’ and ‘assemble’ are extended meanings. MS1995:v2:1012-3; TA1965:364-7; OT1968:775,18.
ISSAI all
