alt="Image"/>; traditional 轉. Has 車 33 ‘cart/vehicle’, and 專 925 (‘sole’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘move/change’, thus ‘move things elsewhere’. ‘Go round/revolve’ is an extended usage. 転 is based on cursive form. MS1995:v2:1272-3; KJ1970:630; YK1976:380. We suggest taking the right-hand part as ‘two’ 二 65 noses ム.
Mnemonic: VEHICLE ROLLS OVER TWO NOSES – OUCH!
376
L4
都
TO, TSU, miyako
capital, big city
11 strokes
都市 TOSHI city
首都 SHUTO capital
都合 TSUGŌ circumstances
Bronze ; seal . Widely taken as 邑 (阝 as a right-hand component 376) ‘village/town’, with 者 314 (‘person’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘gather, accumulate’ (Mizukami, Katō, Yamada). In the right-hand side of the bronze and seal forms, (corresponding to 邑 or right-hand 阝), an element for ‘kneeling person’ is discernible (in 邑, corrupted in shape to 巴). Original graph meaning ‘enclosed area where many people are gathered’ became extended to ‘capital’ (city where the Emperor resides). MS1995:v2:1332-3; KJ1970:497; YK1976:382. Note: In Japanese and Chinese script, 阝 is used in compound graphs for two separate determinatives: one as described immediately above, while the other (full form: 阜 1907) occurs as a left-hand component, as in for example 院 249, meaning ‘piled-up earth, terraced land, mound’.
Mnemonic: CAPITAL IS A VILLAGE ON THE RIGHT WITH MANY PERSONS
377
L4
度
DO, TAKU, tabi
degree, times
9 strokes
程度 TEIDO degree
温度 ONDO temperature
一度 ICHIDO once
Seal (bronze similar). Taken as 又 2003 ‘hand’, with abbreviated form of 庶 1480 (‘many’) (Katō, Yamada, Tōdō) – or variant of 石 47 (‘stone’) – (Ogawa) as a phonetic, both with ngers of same associated sense ‘spread out fingers of the hand’, to give ‘measure with the hand’. The hand, with spread-out thumb and middle finger, was moved from one point to the next as a rough way of measuring a short distance. Later took on a generalized meaning ‘measure’ and not just linear, hence ‘degree’, etc. KJ1970:612; YK1976:383-4; TA1965:332-5; OT1968:156. We suggest taking 广 127 as ‘building’ and central part as two ‘tens’ 十 35 with ‘one’ 一 1.
Mnemonic: HAND MEASURES TWENTY-ONE DEGREES IN BUILDING
378
L3
投
TŌ, nageru
throw, cast
7 strokes
投手 TŌSHU baseball pitcher
投票 TŌHYŌ vote
投げ出す nagedasu throw out
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has扌 34 ‘hand’, and 殳 170 (originally hand holding stick) as phonetic with associated sense ‘throw (stick)’ (Ogawa); Shirakawa also sees 殳 as stick/baton, as weapon. KJ1970:735; YK1976:386; OT1968:404; SS1984:642.
Mnemonic: TWO DIFFERENT HANDS NEEDED TO THROW WEAPON
379
L1
豆
TŌ, ZU, mame
beans, miniature
7 strokes
豆腐 TŌFU tofu (beancurd)
大豆 DAIZU soybean
豆本 mameHON miniature book
OBI form ; seal . Originally a pictograph of a round vessel on a stem (varied in height) with a splayed foot, to serve meat or other food; later, some such vessels (Ch. dou) served a ritual purpose. In Tōdō’s word-family ‘stand upright’. The graph seems to have been borrowed to represent a different word (of same pronunciation in Han times) meaning ‘bean, soybean’; the meaning ‘small’ may be an extended use from ‘bean’ (something small). KJ1970:733-4; MR2007:314; QX2000:179,356; TA1965:281-3; SS1984:642; AS2007:215-6. We suggest taking the top lateral stroke as ‘one’ 一 (1).
Mnemonic: ONE MINIATURE BOX ON STAND, FULL OF BEANS
380
L3
島
TŌ, shima
island
10 strokes
列島 RETTŌ archipelago
島民 TŌMIN islanders
島国 shimaguni island nation
Seal ; this is a late graph (Shuowen). Has 山 26 ‘mountain’, and (abbreviated shape for 鳥 190 ‘bird’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘big waves’, to give ‘mountains (or other land projecting up) surrounded by sea’, namely ‘island’. YK1976:387; KJ1970:668; OT1968:304.
alt="Image"/>; traditional 轉. Has 車 33 ‘cart/vehicle’, and 專 925 (‘sole’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘move/change’, thus ‘move things elsewhere’. ‘Go round/revolve’ is an extended usage. 転 is based on cursive form. MS1995:v2:1272-3; KJ1970:630; YK1976:380. We suggest taking the right-hand part as ‘two’ 二 65 noses ム.
