suffering(苦)

The upper radical signifies ‘plants’ or ‘leaves,’ while the lower component depicts a mouth stimulated by a harsh taste, meaning ‘bitter.’ Consequently, the kanji represents ‘bitterness’ and, by extension, ‘suffering.’ As the old proverb goes, ‘Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

capital(京)

This kanji depicts a large building with tall pillars and a wide roof. Thus, it came to mean the place where such grand buildings gather—that is, ‘the capital.’ Both the former capital, Kyoto, and the current capital, Tokyo, have this kanji in their names.

lead-er(率)

This kanji depicts wet threads being wrung out to dry. This action of squeezing and transforming things is why the kanji came to mean ‘to lead’ as a verb and ‘leader’ as a noun—someone with the great power to change a difficult situation.

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