Christopher Seely - The Complete guide to Japanese kanji: remembering and understanding the 2,136 general use characters

The OBI form above for (listed by Gu), of very low frequency of occurrence, is best regarded as provisional. The above table is based on information in MS1995:v1:284-5, GY2008:39, and KJ1970:58. The issue of distinction between (determinative no. 34 in the traditional system of 214) and (determinative no. 35 in the same system) can be confusing. This is due partly, no doubt, to similarity in shape.

There is also the difficulty of clearly interpreting the original meanings. Such difficulties surrounding and are perhaps the reason why the diff erence in shape between the two is not maintained clearly in the authoritative Kangxi zidian (1716) compiled on Imperial command (Peking Palace printed version [early 19th century]), though they are still treated as separate determinatives. In the modern period, was printed for a while in a way which helped distinguish it from (see, for example, the traditional form of 441 love), but that distinctiveness has been lost in the standard computerized fonts. In this book the general trend in interpretation of these two elements has been followed, and so the basic meaning of (determinative 34) is provisionally taken to be descend, come down, or descending foot, while (determinative 35) is taken as drag the foot, walk slowly. 2. as a Component Shape The characters lung(s) 968, (Imperial) We 1731, and fine, cheerful 1005 all feature the element written in the same shape as moon in modern usage, but in these three cases only carries the meaning moon in .

In , the left-hand element is the abbreviated form of in compound graphs (such as ), and in the left-hand element is an abbreviation of boat in compound graphs. According to Qiu, the merging and confusion of the shape of these elements in compound graphs can be seen as early as the clerical script stage. In the earlier part of the modern period, distinctions used to be made in the traditional forms of Ming printed font to reflect the earlier usage, but those distinctions were dispensed with through the process of script simplification. The correct interpretation of in a particular case is explained in the individual entries. 3. as a Component Shape The characters 785 duty and 1742 court, government office both share as a right-hand element in modern texts.

In , the right-hand element (meaning spindle) retains its etymologically correct shape (middle horizontal stroke longer than bottom horizontal). In , though, the right-hand was originally slightly different in shape, i.e., (originally meaning person standing on earthen mound, leading to the extended sense surpass others), with the middle horizontal stroke shorter than the horizontal stroke beneath it to represent earth. Just as in the case of as a component shape (see the immediately preceding section), this subtle distinction in shape is no longer supported in standard fonts for Japanese: only the shape is supported. Explanation regarding the distinction is included in individual entries for relevant graphs. 4. as a Component Shape In Japanese usage, the character change 258, for example, is written with as the right-hand element, but the traditional form has .

Originally, at the OBI stage as an independent character was a pictograph of a person upside down, while originally depicted a persons withered/bent leg, or (by analogy based on the shape) a ladle. In standard Japanese usage, though, the two shapes have been regularized as . Explanation regarding the above distinction is included in individual entries for relevant graphs. APPENDIX
&
BIBLIOGRAPHY