480531170

1809
貪
DON, TAN, musaboru
covet, voracity
L1
11 strokes
DONSHOKUvoracity
DON’YOKUrapaciousness
TANRANcovetousness, greed
1810
鈍
DON, nibui
blunt, dull
L2
12 strokes
DONKANinsensitivity
DONSAIstupidity
nibuirodull gray
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 10
‘shellfish, shell currency’, with 138 (‘now’)
taken as ‘hide away’, giving ‘covet wealth’
(Ogawa), or as phonetic with associated
sense ‘addicted to’ (Katō), giving ‘have extreme
attachment to valuables’. KJ1970:685;
OT1968:954.
Mnemonic: NOW I COVET SHELL CURRENCY
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Consists
of 16 ‘metal’, combined with 1806
(‘camp’) as phonetic with associated sense
‘blade which is blunt and rounded’, giving
‘blunt, dull’; later, ‘dim-witted’ evolved as an
extended sense. KJ1970:745; OT1968:1038. As
with 1806, we suggest taking as ‘strange
hair’ 230.
Mnemonic: STRANGE HAIR BLUNTS DULL
METAL
1811
曇
DON, kumori/ru
Seal ; late graph (later version of
cloud, dim, mar
Shuowen). Has 66 ‘sun’ over 83 ‘cloud’,
L2
16 strokes
thus ‘sun obscured by clouds below’,
hence ‘cloudy’. KJ1970:746; GY2008:614;
DONTENcloudy sky
OT1968:475.
hanagumorihazy spring sky
kumorigachi cloudy
Mnemonic: SUN IS DIMMED BY CLOUD
1812
L1
丼
5
donburi, DON
donburi (bowl of rice
with meat or fish)
strokes
oyakodonburiegg + chicken
TENdonrice + tempura
DONBURIKANJŌ rough estimate
This graph shape exists in Chinese usage as
an old variant of 1575 ‘well’ (q.v.) or as
one element in a compound graph such as
493 ‘mold, type’ where it may represent
a mold or frame. In Japanese, though,
is best regarded as a separate graph, used
to represent a Japanese dish (or range of
dishes) called donburi. This consists of rice
with ingredients on top which vary but
include beef, fish, or chicken and which have
been simmered in a special sauce. The term
donburi originally referred to the large, deep
bowl in which this popular food was served,
but then came to refer to the food itself.
540 The Remaining 1130 Characters