OBI ; bronze ; seal . Pictograph of animal fur, taken as fur garment (later written 裘, with 衣 444 ‘clothing’ to distinguish from other meanings of abstract nature); some OBI occurrences show the fur spread out, while others show it hanging. The meaning ‘seek’ is a loan usage. MS1995:v2:1166-8; KJ1970:124; YK1976:124; OT1968:556. We suggest taking as a variant of 水 42 ‘water’, – as a cross (stroke), with a spot (top right).
Mnemonic: CROSS WATER TO SEEK SPOTTED FUR
479
L3
泣
KYŪ, naku
weep, cry
8 strokes
泣訴 KYŪSO imploring
泣き虫 nakimushi ‘cry baby’
泣き出す nakidasu burst into tears
OBI ; seal forms , . OBI and first seal form have 目 76 ‘eye’ with 水 42 ‘water, liquid’ (here, tears), while the second seal form has氵/水 ‘water, liquid’ with 立 77 (‘stand’), generally taken as a phonetic with associated sense ‘tears’, to mean ‘cry, weep’. On the basis of historical pronunciation criteria, though, Tōdō considers the above analysis questionable, and includes in his word-family ‘put between and obstruct’, interpreting 泣 as denoting crying interrupted with loud gasps, i.e. ‘sob’. KJ1970:261; MS1995:v2:740-41; YK1976:125; OT1968:565; TA1965:815-20.
Mnemonic: STAND WEEPING WATERY TEARDROPS
480
L3
救
KYŪ, sukuu
rescue, redeem
11 strokes
救命ブイ KYŪMEIBUI lifebuoy
救援 KYŪEN rescue, relief
救い出す sukuidasu extricate
Bronze ; seal . Has 攴/攵 112 ‘strike with whip/stick; compel’, and 求 478 (originally fur garment, now meaning ‘request’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘stop, rest’, to give ‘cause to stop’. ‘Help’ is a loan usage. MS1995:v1:572-3; KJ1970:263; YK1976:126.
Mnemonic: BEING BEATEN – REQUEST RESCUE
481
L3
給
KYŪ, tamau
supply, bestow
12 strokes
供給 KYŌKYŪ supply
月給 GEKKYŪ monthly pay
来給え kitamae Come!
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 糸 29 ‘thread’ (originally silk thread), and 合 134 (‘join’) as semantic and phonetic, to give ‘join up silk threads’. This involved quickly joining up broken silk threads from cocoons in the silk manufacturing process, and so ‘supplement, make up (a deficiency)’ evolved as an extended use. In modern Japanese, also employed occasionally for the verbal suffix –tamau, based on the older honorific verb tamau ‘to bestow’ (of a superior to an inferior). OT1968:776; KJ1970:260-61; YK1976:127.
Mnemonic: SUPPLY JOINED THREADS
482
L1
挙
KYO, ageru, kozotte
raise, offer, act, perform, together
10 strokes
挙手 KYOSHU raising hands
選挙 SENKYO election
一挙に IKKYO ni at a stroke
Bronze ; seal ; slightly modified traditional form 擧. Has 手 34 ‘hand’, and , which is the traditional form of 与 2047 ‘give’, serving here in the majority view as phonetic with associated sense ‘lift up high’ (Ogawa takes as ‘join together and raise up’). Overall meaning is ‘lift up high with the hands’. Bronze form has many hands, so ‘all together’ may be an extended sense. KJ1970:268; TA1965:423-8; YK1976:129; OT1968:411. Suggest taking modern form as hand 手 and as laden table.
DISCUSSION INVOLVES RIGHTEOUS WORDS
