Category: Kanji Etymology

  • Oracle bone script (甲骨文, こうこしゅぶん, koukotsubun)

    10/07/2011
    The seal script form of the character 玉 (たま, tama, "sphere", also a "jewel"), initially was mostly identical to 王…
  • Figure 1. 金文 (きんぶん, kinbun, i.e. “text on metal”) form of the character員

    06/07/2011
    The traditional form of 円 is 圓, whose most ancient form is 員. The other form of 員 was surrounded…
  • figure_1_examples_of_various_forms_of_kanji_rain_in_oracle_bone_script_16

    30/06/2011
    Kanji 雨 consist of three compounds that all add to its pictographic nature. The top part 一 represents the heavens…
  • Figure 1. 又 (right hand), oracle bone script (甲骨文).

    26/06/2011
    右　belongs to the 会意文字 (かいいもじ, kaii moji, i.e. characters that are a combination of two or more pictographs, or characters…
  • figure_1_oracle_bone_script_of_one

    22/06/2011
    一 belongs to the 指事文字 (shiji moji, i.e. characters expressing simple abstract concept) group of characters. One theory says that…