カテゴリー: D

This kanji is composed of the ‘roof’ radical (representing a grand palace or hall) and a symbol representing sound or wind spreading widely. It abstractly depicts a voice or proclamation echoing throughout a large room. Originally, it meant to proclaim an official decree throughout a palace, which eventually came to mean ‘to declare’ or ‘to announce’ publicly.

This kanji originally depicted a tall, stemmed dish used for drinking sake or making offerings to the gods. Today, we use it to mean a general ‘dish’ or ‘plate’ for holding all kinds of food and drinks.

This kanji consists of two parts: a ‘cover’ (or cap) radical on top, and the ‘shell’ radical below, which represents money used in ancient times. Together, they symbolize covering and hiding wealth to keep it all for oneself—hence meaning ‘to devour’ or ‘to be greedy.’

This kanji depicts two major natural elements: river and fire. Since ancient times, both have brought disasters into human life.

This kanji is composed of two parts: ‘speech’ on the left and ‘fire’ on the right. Therefore, it carries the meaning ‘to discuss’—representing people speaking with a passionate fire in their hearts.

In this kanji, the left side represents ‘tree’ (wood), and the right side represents a stand with legs. The kanji itself means ‘desk’.

In the upper part of this figure, you can spot a prominent eye, with a glowing moon positioned right below it. Reflecting the visual of an inner eye opening under the moonlight, this character beautifully captures the very essence of a ‘dream’ seen at night.

On the left side of this figure, you can see a splash, which represents water. And on the right… what do you think it is? It is a grim depiction of a person with a heavy object, like a stone or iron, fastened around their neck. This visualizes a severe ancient penalty or ritual where someone was weighted down and cast into the water. Therefore, this character carries the meaning of ‘sink’ or ‘submerge’.