Bronze ; seal . Has 彳 131 ‘road’, and 寺 149 (‘temple’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘stop’. MS1995:v1:484-5; KJ1970:481; YK1976:343-4.
Mnemonic: WAIT AT TEMPLE BESIDE ROAD
358
L4
代
DAI, TAI, kawaru/eru, yo
replace, world, generation, fee
5 strokes
世代 SEDAI generation
交代 KŌTAI alternation
部屋代 heyaDAI room charge
Bronze ; seal . Has 亻 41 ‘person’, and 弋 311 (‘stake’, ‘marker’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘change’, to give overall meaning ‘substitute person’; subsequently took on more abstract and generalised meanings: ‘substitution, alternation, exchange, generation, age’. KJ1970:889; YK1976:346-7; OT1968:46.
Mnemonic: PERSON REPLACED BY STAKE – FOR A FEE
359
L3
第
DAI
grade, order
11 strokes
第二課 DAINIKA Lesson Two
次第に SHIDAI ni gradually
及第 KYŪDAI making grade
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 58 ‘bamboo’, and a slightly abbreviated form of 弟 194 (‘younger brother’; qv) as phonetic with associated sense ‘order, sequence’, to give original meaning ‘put letters or records in order’. It subsequently acquired more general meaning of ‘order, sequence’, probably with a connotation of relative status, given other related words in Chinese noted by Schuessler such as those for ‘younger brother’ and possibly also ‘ladder’. Note: In Han times, strips of bamboo were commonly joined together – clearly reflected in the shape of the graph 冊 884 ‘bundle of bamboo tablets’ – to give a surface for writing. MS1995:v2:986-7; YK1976:348; OT1968:749; AS2007:210.
Mnemonic: BAMBOO TOPS YOUNGER BROTHER IN TERMS OF ORDER
360
L4
題
DAI
subject, title
18 strokes
問題 MONDAI problem, issue
題名 DAIMEI title
話題 WADAI topic
Seal . Has 頁 103 ‘head’, and 是 1574 (now ‘proper’, ‘this’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘shave the head’; shaving the head gives impression of bigger forehead, hence the original meaning ‘forehead’. In ancient China, slaves’ foreheads were marked (tattooed) with a sign to show ownership, and from that there evolved the extended sense ‘title, heading’. KJ1970:712-3; YK1976:348; MS1995:v2:1450-51.
Mnemonic: PROPER HEADER NEEDED FOR TITLE OF THIS SUBJECT
361
L4
炭
TAN, sumi
charcoal, coal
9 strokes
石炭 TANSEKI coal
炭素 TANSO carbon
炭火 sumibi charcoal fire
Seal . Generally taken as 火 8 ‘fire’ and 屵 as phonetic element with associated sense ‘return, go back’. Charcoal is wood that has been burned once (under controlled conditions) but can be burned again as fuel, hence the two graphic elements together meaning ‘fire returns’. As well as this interpretation, Mizukami sets out an alternative, taking 屵 semantically as ‘cliff, bluff’, to give ‘combustible material coming from a cliff or similar’, i.e. coal (as extended sense; also in modern Chinese [certain non-Mandarin dialects], 炭 can mean ‘coal’). MS1995:v2:796-7; KJ1970:678; YK1976:351.
Mnemonic: FIERY MATERIAL FROM MOUNTAIN CLIFF IS COAL
362
L3
短
TAN, mijikai
short
12 strokes
短所 TANSHO shortcoming
短気 TANKI short tempered
手短に temijika ni in brief
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Katō and Yamada choose to take 矢 145 ‘arrow’ as an abbreviation of the NJK 矩 ‘carpenter’s square’, with 豆 379 (‘upright vessel’, now ‘bean’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘small’, to give overall meaning such as ‘small in measure, short in stature’. Ogawa, though, takes 矢 literally as ‘arrow’, and 豆 as phonetic with associated sense ‘small’, to give ‘short arrow’. Either way, the resultant meaning evolved as just ‘short’. KJ1970:683; YK1976:351-2; OT1968:706.
machibuse ambush
