Why is the meaning of kanji 閑 is “leisure”?
Kanji 閑 contains 門 + 木.
Why does gate + tree mean leisure?
kanji
add a comment |
Kanji 閑 contains 門 + 木.
Why does gate + tree mean leisure?
kanji
add a comment |
Kanji 閑 contains 門 + 木.
Why does gate + tree mean leisure?
kanji
Kanji 閑 contains 門 + 木.
Why does gate + tree mean leisure?
kanji
kanji
asked 1 hour ago
user32763user32763
1346
1346
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
閑 is a compound ideogram composed of a gate latched shut with wood. And it meant something like door latch or fencing originally.
Eventually, the meaning of spare time or leisure was borrowed from another kanji that has the same reading, 間. This was pretty common in the history of kanji, for kanji with the same reading to just pick up meanings from each other. So you can't always look at a kanji's elements and just assume there was some intent to express the modern meaning with pictures.
In Japanese, it basically only retains the adopted meaning and associated concepts, like tranquil (as seen in 閑散, 森閑) or negligent (as seen in 閑却, 等閑).
add a comment |
The word meaning leisure was originally written as「閒」.
「閒」depicts moonlight「月」streaming through a door「門」, indicating the original meaning crack, space. This was extended to mean free time, leisure.「閒」is no longer used, so:
Space is now written as「間」
Free time, leisure borrowed the identically pronounced character「閑」.
「閑」is a compound of a wooden obstruction「木」blocking a door「門」, indicating the original meaning fence, railing, obstruction. This meaning is no longer used by the character「閑」, so there is no confusion as to what「閑」means.
The word representing the original meaning of「[閑]{げん・かん}」(Zhengzhang OC: /*ɡreːn/) is cognate to「[欄]{らん}」(/*ɡ·raːn/; handrail) and possibly「限{げん・かん}」(/*ɡrɯːnʔ/; boundary, limit).
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "257"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fjapanese.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f65608%2fwhy-is-the-meaning-of-kanji-%25e9%2596%2591-is-leisure%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
閑 is a compound ideogram composed of a gate latched shut with wood. And it meant something like door latch or fencing originally.
Eventually, the meaning of spare time or leisure was borrowed from another kanji that has the same reading, 間. This was pretty common in the history of kanji, for kanji with the same reading to just pick up meanings from each other. So you can't always look at a kanji's elements and just assume there was some intent to express the modern meaning with pictures.
In Japanese, it basically only retains the adopted meaning and associated concepts, like tranquil (as seen in 閑散, 森閑) or negligent (as seen in 閑却, 等閑).
add a comment |
閑 is a compound ideogram composed of a gate latched shut with wood. And it meant something like door latch or fencing originally.
Eventually, the meaning of spare time or leisure was borrowed from another kanji that has the same reading, 間. This was pretty common in the history of kanji, for kanji with the same reading to just pick up meanings from each other. So you can't always look at a kanji's elements and just assume there was some intent to express the modern meaning with pictures.
In Japanese, it basically only retains the adopted meaning and associated concepts, like tranquil (as seen in 閑散, 森閑) or negligent (as seen in 閑却, 等閑).
add a comment |
閑 is a compound ideogram composed of a gate latched shut with wood. And it meant something like door latch or fencing originally.
Eventually, the meaning of spare time or leisure was borrowed from another kanji that has the same reading, 間. This was pretty common in the history of kanji, for kanji with the same reading to just pick up meanings from each other. So you can't always look at a kanji's elements and just assume there was some intent to express the modern meaning with pictures.
In Japanese, it basically only retains the adopted meaning and associated concepts, like tranquil (as seen in 閑散, 森閑) or negligent (as seen in 閑却, 等閑).
閑 is a compound ideogram composed of a gate latched shut with wood. And it meant something like door latch or fencing originally.
Eventually, the meaning of spare time or leisure was borrowed from another kanji that has the same reading, 間. This was pretty common in the history of kanji, for kanji with the same reading to just pick up meanings from each other. So you can't always look at a kanji's elements and just assume there was some intent to express the modern meaning with pictures.
In Japanese, it basically only retains the adopted meaning and associated concepts, like tranquil (as seen in 閑散, 森閑) or negligent (as seen in 閑却, 等閑).
edited 56 mins ago
answered 1 hour ago
LeeboLeebo
595129
595129
add a comment |
add a comment |
The word meaning leisure was originally written as「閒」.
「閒」depicts moonlight「月」streaming through a door「門」, indicating the original meaning crack, space. This was extended to mean free time, leisure.「閒」is no longer used, so:
Space is now written as「間」
Free time, leisure borrowed the identically pronounced character「閑」.
「閑」is a compound of a wooden obstruction「木」blocking a door「門」, indicating the original meaning fence, railing, obstruction. This meaning is no longer used by the character「閑」, so there is no confusion as to what「閑」means.
The word representing the original meaning of「[閑]{げん・かん}」(Zhengzhang OC: /*ɡreːn/) is cognate to「[欄]{らん}」(/*ɡ·raːn/; handrail) and possibly「限{げん・かん}」(/*ɡrɯːnʔ/; boundary, limit).
add a comment |
The word meaning leisure was originally written as「閒」.
「閒」depicts moonlight「月」streaming through a door「門」, indicating the original meaning crack, space. This was extended to mean free time, leisure.「閒」is no longer used, so:
Space is now written as「間」
Free time, leisure borrowed the identically pronounced character「閑」.
「閑」is a compound of a wooden obstruction「木」blocking a door「門」, indicating the original meaning fence, railing, obstruction. This meaning is no longer used by the character「閑」, so there is no confusion as to what「閑」means.
The word representing the original meaning of「[閑]{げん・かん}」(Zhengzhang OC: /*ɡreːn/) is cognate to「[欄]{らん}」(/*ɡ·raːn/; handrail) and possibly「限{げん・かん}」(/*ɡrɯːnʔ/; boundary, limit).
add a comment |
The word meaning leisure was originally written as「閒」.
「閒」depicts moonlight「月」streaming through a door「門」, indicating the original meaning crack, space. This was extended to mean free time, leisure.「閒」is no longer used, so:
Space is now written as「間」
Free time, leisure borrowed the identically pronounced character「閑」.
「閑」is a compound of a wooden obstruction「木」blocking a door「門」, indicating the original meaning fence, railing, obstruction. This meaning is no longer used by the character「閑」, so there is no confusion as to what「閑」means.
The word representing the original meaning of「[閑]{げん・かん}」(Zhengzhang OC: /*ɡreːn/) is cognate to「[欄]{らん}」(/*ɡ·raːn/; handrail) and possibly「限{げん・かん}」(/*ɡrɯːnʔ/; boundary, limit).
The word meaning leisure was originally written as「閒」.
「閒」depicts moonlight「月」streaming through a door「門」, indicating the original meaning crack, space. This was extended to mean free time, leisure.「閒」is no longer used, so:
Space is now written as「間」
Free time, leisure borrowed the identically pronounced character「閑」.
「閑」is a compound of a wooden obstruction「木」blocking a door「門」, indicating the original meaning fence, railing, obstruction. This meaning is no longer used by the character「閑」, so there is no confusion as to what「閑」means.
The word representing the original meaning of「[閑]{げん・かん}」(Zhengzhang OC: /*ɡreːn/) is cognate to「[欄]{らん}」(/*ɡ·raːn/; handrail) and possibly「限{げん・かん}」(/*ɡrɯːnʔ/; boundary, limit).
edited 32 mins ago
answered 55 mins ago
drooozedroooze
4,94411930
4,94411930
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Japanese Language Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fjapanese.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f65608%2fwhy-is-the-meaning-of-kanji-%25e9%2596%2591-is-leisure%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown