480531170

400
L3
筆
HITSU, fude
writing brush
12 strokes
ENPITSUpencil
HISSHAwriter
fudezukaipenmanship
OBI ; seal . The simpler, older form shows a
hand holding a writing brush ( 159); to this,
58 ‘bamboo’ was later added, reflecting
the fact that brushes typically had a bamboo
shaft, though sometimes wood was used. In
OBI, texts were sometimes written first using
a brush, then incised with a knife-like instrument.
The brush was the most common writing
instrument in China and Japan until displaced
by the steel-tipped pen, etc. in modern times.
YK1976:426; KJ1970:55; MS1995:v2:1062.
Mnemonic: HAND HOLDS BAMBOO WRITING
BRUSH
401
L3
氷
HYŌ, kōri
ice
5 strokes
HYŌZANiceberg
HYŌTENfreezing point
kōrimizuice water
OBI (); bronze () ; seal ; the latter
now a CO . Quite a rare graph in OBI and
bronze. OBI form depicts cracks or irregularities
in ice. At bronze stage 42 ‘water’ was added
402
表
HYŌ, omote, arawasu
show, surface, list
L3
8 strokes
HYŌMENsurface
HYŌGENexpression
JIKOKUHYŌtimetable
Seal . Has 444 ‘clothing’, and 230 ‘fur,
hair’. The function of the element is disputed:
taken either as phonetic with associated
on the left, but in the seal script this changed
to the right, giving , as in modern Chinese
usage. The form standard in Japanese is
found in Chinese calligraphic tradition (Tang
Dynasty onwards). Distinguish also from 644
‘long’. MR2007:450; MS1995:v1:116; KJ1970:809;
FC1974:v1:191-2. Suggest taking the extra
stroke relative to 42 ‘water’ (at the top left) as
a crack in the ice.
Mnemonic: A CRACK IN THE WATER? – THAT
MUST MEAN ICE
sense ‘envelop, enclose’, to give ‘outer garment
to cover inside’ (Katō, Mizukami, Yamada), or as
semantic and interpreted as a garment worn
over a fur coat (Mizukami, Qiu). The meanings
‘front, surface; show’ are extended usages.
KJ1970:843-4; MS1995:v2:1164-5; YK1976:427;
QX2000:20. Suggest take the top part as odd
variant of ‘master’ 315, with ‘clothing’ .
Mnemonic: THE ODD MASTER’S CLOTHES
SHOW A LONG LIST
403
秒
BYŌ
second (of time)
L3
9 strokes
NIBYŌtwo seconds
BYŌSHINa second hand
BYŌSOKUspeed per sec.
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 87 ‘grain
plant/cereal’, and 160 (‘few, little’) taken
either as phonetic and semantic meaning
‘small’ (Ogawa), or as phonetic with associated
sense ‘slender, thin’ (Yamada) or ‘ear (of cereal)’
– again, something small – (Katō). The sense
‘small’ was then extended to small units, giving
‘second’ in the dimension of time. KJ1970:847;
YK1976:429; OT1968:731.
Mnemonic: A LITTLE BIT OF CEREAL EATEN IN
A SECOND
The 200 Third Grade Characters 143