480531170

686
L1
潔
KETSU, isagiyoi
clean, pure
15 strokes
KEPPAKU naimmaculate
KEPPEKI nafastidious
isagiyokuvaliantly
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 絜 (CO
originally meaning ‘correct, proper’) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘purify by bathing’
(Ogawa says ‘free of defilement’), and 42
‘water’ to reinforce 絜 , for overall meaning
‘purify by bathing’; subsequently generalized
sense ‘clean, pure’.KJ1970:257; YK1976:155;
OT1968:607; SS1984:250. We suggest taking
as 29 ‘thread’, as 198 ‘cut’, and as variant of
315 ‘master’.
Mnemonic: ODD MASTER CUTS THREADS,
WASHES THEM CLEAN IN WATER
687
L3
件
KEN, kudan
item, matter
6 strokes
JIKENincident
JŌKENcondition, terms
kudan noaforementioned
Seal ; seemingly a very late graph (Yupian).
The element 108 ‘ox, cow’ is taken to be an
abbreviation for (NJK, originally ‘lead cow
by a rope’; by extension, ‘be pulled/ bound’),
with 41 ‘person’, to give overall meaning
‘person who is bound and not free’, i.e. ‘slave’.
In ancient China, slaves were regarded as no
more than objects, and hence extended senses
such as ‘thing’. KJ1970:385-6; YK1976:156;
MS1995:v2:834-5.
Mnemonic: PERSON LEADING A COW IS A
SERIOUS MATTER
688
券
KEN
TICKET, PASS, BOND
L3
8 strokes
RYOKENpassport
SHŌKENbond
TEIKIKENcommuter pass
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen). Has 198 ‘knife/
cut’, and (CO showing hands and grain/rice,
originally meaning ‘handle rice’) as phonetic
689
L3
険
11
KEN, kewashii
steep, severe,
perilous
strokes
KEN’AKU nadangerous
HOKENinsurance
KENSO naprecipitous
Seal ; late graph (Shuowen); traditional
Has1907 ‘hill, mound’, and (CO, originally
‘many people agree’: see 500) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘carved wood’ (Katō). According
to Katō, ancient contracts were made
of a piece of wood carved in a certain way and
then divided into two pieces, which could be
matched up again to signify conclusion of a
contract by parties concerned. KJ1970:373;
OT1968:115; YK1976:156-7;. We suggest taking
as 65 ‘two’, and 8 ‘fire(s)’.
Mnemonic: START TWO FIRES WITH CUT UP
TICKETS
with associated sense taken as either ‘gather
together’ (Katō, Yamada), giving ‘hills/mountains
grouped together’, or ‘jagged, pointed,
steep’ (Tōdō, Ogawa), giving ‘jagged/steep hills/
mountains’, and ‘steep’ as a generalized meaning.
Either interpretation leads to ‘dangerous’ as
an extended meaning. KJ1970:375; TA1965:847-
8; OT1968:1069. We suggest taking as ‘odd’
elder brother 114 under cover/cap 亼 .
Mnemonic: ODD ELDER BROTHER DONS CAP
TO CLIMB STEEP HILL
222 The 185 Fifth Grade Characters