480531170

1451
秀
SHŪ, hiideru, sugureru
excel(lent)
L1
7 strokes
SHŪSAIgenius, prodigy
YŪSHŪ naexcellent
Hideo common male name
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Tends to be
treated as comprising 87 ‘grain plant’, and
(see Note 1 below) as phonetic. In one
analysis, the associated sense for here is
taken as ‘extend, stretch out’, giving ‘rice (sic;
see Note 2) which grows tall’, and – by extension
– ‘outstanding’ (Ogawa). Alternatively, the
associated sense is taken as ‘emerge’, giving
‘grain plant with ear of grain emerging’ (Katō;
Gu is in agreement). Another commentator
(Shirakawa) prefers to treat as originally
a pictograph of a grain plant with an ear of
grain hanging down, but the status of the
1452
L1
臭
9
SHŪ, kusai
smell, smack of,
suspicious
strokes
SHŪKIbad smell
ZOKUSHŪvulgarity
USANkusai suspicious
OBI ; seal ; traditional . Has 19 ‘dog’,
and 150 (‘self’), in its original sense ‘nose’,
giving ‘dog smells with the nose’, based on the
correct perception that dogs have a very keen
sense of smell; the original way of writing
graph he bases this judgment on is less certain.
Schuessler gives the meaning of as ‘to
flower and set ears’ (grain), which follows Karlgren.
Karlgren considers lower element ‘may
originally have depicted the root of the plant
(?).’ Note 1: (NJK, ‘whereupon; possessive
particle’) is interpreted in various ways, but is
typically taken as having an original meaning
such as ‘bent’; this is seen in the interpretation
as pictograph of ‘hunchback’ (Katō) or ‘bow’
(Ogawa), while ‘bend/curve, bend easily’ (like
an ear and ear-lobe) is an extended sense
noted in Mizukami. Note 2: is originally a
pictograph of a grain plant, but not specifically
rice (though occasionally misinterpreted as
such). OT1968:729; KJ1970:513; GY2008:445;
MS1995:v1:16-18; SS1984:406. Take as
something bent.
Mnemonic: HEAD OF GRAIN PLANT IS
BENT – EXCELLENT CROP
1207 ‘smell’ (verb). ‘Bad smell, odor’ is an extended
sense, along with ‘suspicious’ (cf. English
‘fishy’). Script simplification in 20th century Japan
has led to the lower element ‘dog’ being
changed to 56 ‘big’, or at least a shape corresponding
to , losing semantic transparency
in the process. Despite more extensive script
simplification, . has been retained in PRC usage.
QX2000:197; KJ1970:262; OT1968:832. Take
as big, as nose.
Mnemonic: BIG NOSE CAN SMELL OUT
SUSPICIOUS THINGS
1453
袖
SHŪ, sode
sleeve
L1
10 strokes
RYŌSHŪa leader, chief
HANsodeshort sleeves
sodenashi sleeveless
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Listed in
Shuowen, but not with main heading status,
being noted as a less formal, more popular
form. Has 444 ‘garment’, and 421 (‘reason;
means’) with associated sense ‘draw/pull
out’ (Ogawa), giving ‘sleeve’. DJ2009:v2:676;
OT1968:903; GY2008:1154.
Mnemonic: THIS GARMENT HAS SLEEVES FOR
A REASON
430 The Remaining 1130 Characters