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219<br />

L5<br />

聞<br />

BUN, MON, kiku/koeru<br />

hear, ask, listen<br />

14 strokes<br />

SHINBUNnewspaper<br />

CHŌMONa hearing<br />

kikichigaimishearing<br />

OBI has ‘person’ with hand to exaggeratedly<br />

large ‘ear’: parallel formational construction<br />

is found with 20 ‘see’. Bronze script then<br />

shows some variation, and seal script becomes<br />

standardized as 31 ‘ear’ with 231 (‘door’/<br />

‘gate’) as phonetic with associated sense ‘distinguish’.<br />

The other meaning ‘ask’ (a word with<br />

slightly different pronunciation from ‘hear’ in<br />

early Chinese) might represent a loan usage.<br />

MS1995:v2:1060-61; KJ1970:834-5; YK1976:442;<br />

MR2007:459; AS2007:514.<br />

Mnemonic: AN EAR AT THE DOOR MEANS<br />

SOMEONE IS LISTENING<br />

220<br />

米<br />

BEI, MAI, kome<br />

rice, America<br />

L3<br />

6 strokes<br />

BEIKAprice of rice<br />

BEIKOKUAmerica<br />

HAKUMAIwhite rice<br />

OBI , based on pictograph of ears of grain.<br />

Katō takes the horizontal line as chaff. The<br />

graph now stands for ‘rice’, but disputed whether<br />

originally rice grains were represented, or<br />

millet. The sense ‘America’ is based on an old<br />

on reading ME, formerly used to write <br />

AMERIKA. KJ1970:840-41; YK1976:444-5;<br />

SS1984:765-6.<br />

Mnemonic: GRAIN-LADEN AMERICAN RICE<br />

PLANTS<br />

221<br />

歩<br />

HO, BU, aruku, ayumu<br />

walk, rate<br />

L4<br />

8 strokes<br />

SHINPOprogress<br />

BUairatio<br />

arukidasustart walking<br />

Traditional form is . The most complete OBI<br />

graph has ‘crossroads’ with ‘left foot’ and<br />

‘right foot’, to represent ‘walk’. KJ1970:156;<br />

MS1995:v1:703-4; YK1976:449. We suggest taking<br />

the modern graph as ‘foot/stop’ 143 (q.v.)<br />

and ‘few’ 160.<br />

Mnemonic: FOOT STOPS AFTER JUST A FEW<br />

PACES OF WALKING<br />

222<br />

母<br />

BO, haha<br />

mother<br />

L5<br />

5 strokes<br />

BOSEImaternity<br />

okāsama*Mother<br />

hahaoyamother<br />

OBI forms onwards are based on pictograph<br />

of woman 37 with exaggerated<br />

breasts and nipples. KJ1970:859; YK1976:451;<br />

SS1984:780-81.<br />

Mnemonic: A MOTHER IS A WOMAN WITH<br />

PROMINENT NIPPLES<br />

223<br />

L4<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

方<br />

4<br />

HŌ, kata<br />

side, way, person,<br />

direction, square<br />

strokes<br />

HŌGAKUdirection<br />

oyakataboss<br />

mikataway of looking<br />

The OBI form appears generally to be<br />

taken as based on a pictograph of a plowshare.<br />

All modern meanings are loan usages.<br />

MR2007:395-6; KJ1970:762-3; YK1976:452.<br />

Mnemonic: PLOW OFF TO ONE SIDE – THAT’S<br />

THE DIRECTION<br />

100 The 160 Second Grade Characters

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