480531170

47
L3
石
SEKI, SHAKU, ishi
stone, rock
5 strokes
KASEKI fossil
koishi pebble
SEKIYU petroleum
Etymology unclear. The OBI and bronze
forms, , may well depict a rock under an
overhanging cliff. Shirakawa considers the
shape beneath the cliff to be a ritual vessel
related to ancient beliefs, not a rock. Some
scholars, including Katō, take as a phonetic
element with an associated sense such
as ‘split’ or ‘release’ (small rocks splitting off).
OT1968:707; QX2000:198; KJ1970:610-11;
SS1984:504-5; YK1976:307-8.
Mnemonic: LARGE STONE AT BASE OF
ROCKY CLIFF
48
赤
SEKI, SHAKU, akai
red
L4
7 strokes
SEKIDŌ equator
SEKIMEN blush
akanbō baby
Etymology disputed. Many scholars take the
OBI and bronze forms , to show 56 ‘big’
over 8 ‘fire’, , giving a meaning ‘fire burning
brightly’ and thus ‘red [flames]’. Shirakawa,
however, interprets the upper element more
literally as a person with outstretched limbs,
to give a meaning such as ‘cleanse someone
of their crimes’, which one imagines would be
a final cleansing! Popularly believed to show
‘earth’ 64 over . This is incorrect, but useful
as a mnemonic. BK1957:209-10; OT1968:964;
SS1984:505.
Mnemonic: BIG FIRE MAKES EARTH GLOW RED
49
L5
千
SEN, chi
thousand
3 strokes
SEN’EN thousand yen
GOSEN five thousand
chidori plover
Etymology unclear. Early forms such as
might suggest interpretation as 41 ‘person’
with 35 ‘ten’, representing ‘ten people
[each one hundred years old]’. This was the
traditional interpretation (Shuowen), but it is
incorrect, as in early times the graph close in
shape to the modern stood for ‘seven’ 32.
Shirakawa takes it as a version of the old graph
for ‘person’ modified to represent ‘thousand’
by the addition of a horizontal stroke, with
as a phonetic element (a view shared by
Katō). BK1957:104; AS2007:424; SS1984:515;
KJ1985:84.
Mnemonic: ADD A STROKE ON TOP, AND TEN
BECOMES A THOUSAND
50
川
SEN, kawa
river
L5
3 strokes
kawaguchirivermouth
SENRYŪcomic verse
edogawaEdo River
Based on pictographs of water flowing between
two river banks, such as the OBI form
, later stylized. See also 42 ‘water’.
SS1984:515; QX2000:175; KJ1970:631.
Mnemonic: RIVER FLOWS BETWEEN TWO
BANKS
58 The 80 First Grade Characters