左

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 左に銀行があります。▶ —
   There's a bank on the left.
2. 左利きです。▶ —
   I'm left-handed.

Collocations

Mnemonic

左 hidari — onyomi さ (sa): 左右 (sayuu, left and right), 左翼 (sayoku, left-wing politics). Pairs with 右 (migi). Oracle-bone 左 shows a left hand + 工 (tool) — "the left hand holds the auxiliary tool". Since the right hand was the primary acting hand, the left was helper → original sense "to assist" survives in 補佐 (hosa, to support/assistant). The directional "left" came to dominate later. Same root surfaces in 佐 (sa, helper-rank), 差 (sa, difference), 惰 (da, lazy — 心 heart leaning left).

Quick check

1. How does 補佐 (assistant) etymologically connect to 左?

   • 左 originally meant "auxiliary-hand = to assist", preserved in 佐 (helper/aide)
   • Phonetic coincidence
   • Idiomatic mutation
   • Unrelated