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Kanji Etymology

figure 1 kanji etymology kou 226x300 226x300 - Kanji: 校

Kanji: 校

By Ponte Ryūrui / 24/12/2011 /

校 consists of two main radicals, which are 木 (き, ki, i.e. “wood”) and 交 (こう, kō, i.e. “mingle”, “mixing”). 木 is a pictograph of a tree, whereas 交 is the

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figure 1 hidari 214x300 214x300 - Kanji: 左

Kanji: 左

By Ponte Ryūrui / 17/12/2011 /

To fully understand the meaning of the character 左, one should combine it with the one of the character 右 (みぎ, migi, i.e. “right”), on which a

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figure 1 kuchi 141x300 141x300 - Kanji: 口

Kanji: 口

By Ponte Ryūrui / 13/12/2011 /

the 口 radical in characters such as 古, 右,　可,　名,　各,　吾,　吉, etc., is in fact a pictograph of a ritual vessel or container and not a mouth.

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figure 1 go 126x300 126x300 - Kanji: 五

Kanji: 五

By Ponte Ryūrui / 03/12/2011 /

五 belongs to the 仮借文字 (かしゃもじ, kashamoji, i.e. rebus (phonetic loan) characters; or in other words, characters that were borrowed phonetically to

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figure 1 inu 66x300 66x300 - Kanji: 犬

Kanji: 犬

By Ponte Ryūrui / 24/11/2011 /

犬 belongs to the 象形文字 (しょうけいもじ, shōkeimoji, i.e. set of characters of pictographic origin). It is a pictograph of a dog.

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figure 1 mi 300x189 300x189 - Kanji: 見

Kanji: 見

By Ponte Ryūrui / 19/11/2011 /

見 belongs to the 象形文字(しょうけいもじ, shōkeimoji i.e. set of characters of pictographic origin). It is a pictograph of a human with an exaggerated eye,

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figure_3_4_hiragana_ne-horz

平仮名 (ひらがな, hiragana): ね (i.e. “ne”)

By Ponte Ryūrui / 10/11/2011 /

The modern form of ね comes from the cursive form of the kanji 奴 (やっこ, yakko, i.e. “servant (especially samurai’s attendant)”). Follow the progression of the

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figure 1 2 hiragana ni horz 300x174 - 平仮名 (ひらがな, hiragana): に (i.e. “ni”)

平仮名 (ひらがな, hiragana): に (i.e. “ni”)

By Ponte Ryūrui / 10/11/2011 /

The modern form of に comes from the cursive form of the kanji 仁 (に, ni, i.e. “benevolence”, “compassion”, etc.). Follow the progression of the different

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figure 1 kanji etymology getsu 75x300 - Kanji: 月

Kanji: 月

By Ponte Ryūrui / 31/10/2011 /

月 belongs to the 象形文字 (しょうけいもじ, shōkeimoji, i.e. set of characters of pictographic origin). It is a pictograph of a crescent moon.

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figure 1 2 hiragana na horz 300x233 - 平仮名 (ひらがな, hiragana): な (i.e. “na”)

平仮名 (ひらがな, hiragana): な (i.e. “na”)

By Ponte Ryūrui / 28/10/2011 /

The modern form of な comes from the cursive form of the kanji 奈 (な, na, i.e. “Nara”, “what”). Follow the progression of the different scripts shown in

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