Going and coming

Pictograph: a foot (止 element on top) emerging from a cave or pit-dwelling (凵 element below). Oracle bone forms show the foot stepping out of the curved enclosure — the moment of leaving. The character has stylized over millennia but the encoded meaning ("to exit / step out") never moved. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体. Pairs with 入 (enter) as the cleanest in/out opposition.

Mandarin: chū, level 1st tone. 出 covers exit, departure, production, and emergence: 出去 (chūqù, go out), 出来 (chūlái, come out), 出门 (chūmén, leave the house), 出生 (chūshēng, to be born — "exit life"), 出现 (chūxiàn, to appear), 出口 (chūkǒu, exit / export), 输出 (shūchū, output / export). Mandarin builds an entire family of directional verbs from 出+: 出来 (come out toward speaker), 出去 (go out away from speaker), 出去走走 (go out for a stroll). 出 is one of the foundational motion characters in CJK languages.

Japanese: on-reading シュツ (shutsu) for formal compounds — 出発 (shuppatsu, departure), 輸出 (yushutsu, export), 出席 (shusseki, attendance), 出張 (shutchō, business trip), 提出 (teishutsu, submission). Note the irregular pronunciation 出(shutsu) often gets simplified to シュッ (shut) with gemination before unvoiced consonants.

Kun-readings dominate everyday Japanese: で.る (de.ru, to come out / leave) — the most common everyday verb form, used dozens of times daily; だ.す (da.su, to put out / submit) — the transitive partner. 出口 (deguchi, exit) and 入口 (iriguchi, entrance) are signs you see at every Japanese train station, both using kun-readings.

Memory aid: a foot stepping out of a cave-mouth — the moment of leaving frozen into a character.

Pictograph: a crossroads viewed from above — two intersecting paths forming an X / +. Where people meet and scatter, where lives intersect — that single visual became the verb "to go / to act / to operate". One of the most semantically loaded characters in the script. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

行 is one of the legendary 破音字 (broken-tone characters) of the script — the SAME character carries multiple distinct meanings paired with distinct pronunciations.

Mandarin has TWO main readings: — xíng (rising 2nd tone): to walk / go / act / OK. 行人 (xíngrén, pedestrian), 进行 (jìnxíng, to carry out), 行动 (xíngdòng, action), 旅行 (lǚxíng, travel), 行 (xíng, "OK / fine"), 不行 (bùxíng, "no way / not OK"). The single-syllable colloquial "行" / "不行" is one of the most useful Mandarin words. — háng (rising 2nd tone): row / line / business. 银行 (yínháng, bank — "silver business"), 一行 (yīháng, one line of text), 行业 (hángyè, industry), 同行 (tóngháng, peers in same business — note: same characters as tóngxíng "to travel together", but different reading).

Japanese: TWO on-readings split by domain. — コウ (kō): 旅行 (ryokō, travel), 行動 (kōdō, action), 銀行 (ginkō, bank), 飛行機 (hikōki, airplane). — ギョウ (gyō): 行事 (gyōji, event / ceremony), 修行 (shugyō, ascetic practice), 行政 (gyōsei, administration), 一行 (ichigyō, one line of text). Kun-readings: い.く / ゆ.く (i.ku / yu.ku, to go) — the everyday verb; 行く先 (yukisaki, destination); おこな.う (okona.u, to perform / carry out — formal verb).

行く is one of the first verbs Japanese learners memorize. The OK/not-OK colloquial 行 is one of the first words Mandarin learners memorize. Same character, two foundational words.

Memory aid: a crossroads — every "going" radiates from intersections.

Traditional 會: a lid (亼) above a vessel containing grain — the encoded meaning is "scattered things gathered in one container". The metaphor extends naturally: people gathering = a meeting. Three forms — 繁體 會 / 新字体 会 / 简体 会, with simplification converging on the same simpler shape.

会 / 會 anchors the entire vocabulary of meetings, organizations, and assembly: 会議 / 会议 (meeting), 会社 (company — Japan/Korea; Mandarin uses 公司), 机会 / 機會 (opportunity — "occasion to meet"), 宴会 (banquet), 国会 (national assembly), 同窓会 (alumni reunion), 协会 / 協會 (association).

Mandarin: huì, falling 4th tone. 会 covers meetings AND a critical grammatical function — modal "to know how to / to be able to": 我会说中文 (wǒ huì shuō Zhōngwén, "I can speak Chinese"). This is a foundational Mandarin grammar pattern. Other compounds: 会议 (huìyì, meeting), 开会 (kāihuì, hold a meeting), 机会 (jīhuì, opportunity), 一会儿 (yīhuìr, a moment / a while), 会话 (huìhuà, conversation), 会员 (huìyuán, member).

Japanese: TWO on-readings split by Buddhist vs. secular tradition. カイ (kai) is dominant — 会社 (kaisha, company — one of the foundational nouns of Japanese business life), 会議 (kaigi, meeting), 会員 (kaiin, member), 学会 (gakkai, academic conference), 機会 (kikai, opportunity), 国会 (kokkai, National Diet — Japan's parliament), 同窓会 (dōsōkai, alumni reunion). エ (e) appears in Buddhist compounds — 法会 (hōe, Buddhist service). Kun-reading あ.う (a.u, to meet) — 会う (au) is one of the most-used Japanese verbs.

The Japanese 会社員 (kaishain, company employee / "salaryman") embodies the entire postwar Japanese economic identity through this single character.

Memory aid: a vessel with a lid containing gathered grains — what gathers, meets.

Another striking phonetic-loan etymology. Oracle bone 來 originally pictured a stalk of barley with grain heads — barley was an "imported" grain that came to ancient North China from elsewhere, and the verb "to come / arrive" was a natural metaphor. The character was hijacked phonetically for "come", and the original "barley" meaning got relocated to a new character 麥 (mài / mugi, barley). Same pattern as 何 (load → what) in the previous batch.

Three forms: 繁體 來 / 新字体 来 / 简体 来. Japanese and simplified Chinese both adopted the simpler 来.

Mandarin: lái, rising 2nd tone. 来 is a foundational verb of motion: 来 (lái, to come), 来自 (láizì, to come from), 来到 (láidào, to arrive at), 起来 (qǐlái, get up — directional complement), 出来 (chūlái, come out). Mandarin uses 来 as a directional complement attached to verbs to indicate motion toward the speaker — a grammatical pattern that doesn't exist in English. 走过来 (zǒu guòlái) = "walk over here", 拿来 (nálái) = "bring it here".

Japanese: on-reading ライ (rai) for compounds — 来年 (rainen, next year), 来週 (raishū, next week), 来月 (raigetsu, next month), 未来 (mirai, future), 将来 (shōrai, future / prospects), 以来 (irai, since). Note Japanese uses 来 for "the next" time-unit (来年 = next year), in contrast to Mandarin 明年 (next year). Kun-reading く.る (ku.ru, to come) is the main verb. 来る (kuru) is one of only TWO truly irregular verbs in Japanese (the other is する suru — to do); it conjugates as くる/きます/こない/きた — pure memorization.

Memory aid: barley fields ripe at harvest — what comes to the village is what comes home.

發 (traditional) combines shooting a bow (弓) to send off an arrow with two feet (癶) — standing with feet apart to loose a bow, hence "to send off, to shoot, to bloom, to arise." From the instant an arrow leaves the bow grew "departure, occurrence, discharge."

The form splits three ways and sharply: traditional (ko/en/es) is 發, Japanese shinjitai (ja) is 発, Chinese simplified (zh) is 发 — utterly different by mode (發 12 strokes vs 発 9 vs 发 5). Moreover the simplified 发 also absorbed 髮 (hair), so the modern Chinese 发 carries both "to shoot / bloom (發)" and "hair (髮)."

Korean hanja-sound "bal": 發展 (baljeon, development), 發生 (balsaeng, occurrence), 出發 (chulbal, departure), 發見 (balgyeon, discovery), 發表 (balpyo, announcement), 開發 (gaebal, development), 爆發 (pokbal, explosion). Korea uses the traditional 發.

Mandarin: fā, 1st tone (to shoot / bloom) / fà, 4th tone (hair). 发展 (fāzhǎn, development), 出发 (chūfā, departure), 发现 (fāxiàn, discovery), 发生 (fāshēng, to occur) / 头发 (tóufa, hair — 4th tone). A one-character, two-meaning, two-tone case — "development" is fā (1st), "hair" is fà (4th).

Japanese: on-readings ハツ (hatsu) and ホツ (hotsu) — essentially no kun. 発展 (hatten, development), 出発 (shuppatsu, departure), 発見 (hakken, discovery), 発表 (happyō, announcement), 発音 (hatsuon, pronunciation), 発作 (hossa, a seizure — a ホツ reading).

Memory aid: standing on two feet (癶) to loose a bow (弓) — a character that splits into traditional 發 / shinjitai 発 / simplified 发.

對 (traditional) comes from holding something like a lamp-stand or instrument-rack upright and facing with the hand (寸), giving "to face, to answer, a pair, to deal with." It began from setting things up to face and pair.

The form splits three ways: traditional (ko/en/es) is 對, Japanese shinjitai (ja) is 対, Chinese simplified (zh) is 对 — the left part differs by mode (對 14 strokes vs 対 7 vs 对 5).

Korean hanja-sound "dae": 對話 (daehwa, conversation), 反對 (bandae, opposition), 對象 (daesang, object / target), 絶對 (jeoldae, absolute), 對應 (daeeung, response), 相對 (sangdae, relative), 對策 (daechaek, countermeasure). Korea uses the traditional 對.

Mandarin: duì, 4th tone. 对 (duì, correct / right), 对面 (duìmiàn, opposite side), 对话 (duìhuà, dialogue), 反对 (fǎnduì, to oppose), 对不起 (duìbuqǐ, sorry). In modern Chinese 对 (duì) is used daily as the affirmative "right / correct" — 对！ (Right!).

Japanese: on-readings タイ (tai) and ツイ (tsui), kun あいて (aite). 対話 (taiwa, dialogue), 反対 (hantai, opposition), 対象 (taishō, object / target), 一対 (ittsui, a pair — a ツイ reading), 対面 (taimen, meeting face to face). A pair is counted 一対 (ittsui).

Memory aid: holding something upright and facing with the hand (寸) — a character that splits into traditional 對 / shinjitai 対 / simplified 对.

着 split off from the older 著 along an evolutionary fork. The core image is "to attach something to a body" — to clothe oneself. From this concrete root the meaning radiated outward: "to arrive" (your body attaches to the destination), "to adhere / cling" (literal sticking), "to focus on / become attached to" (psychological clinging). Then the three regions diverged dramatically. Japanese cleaved 著 and 着 into two distinct characters with separated meanings: 著 = "authorship / to make manifest" while 着 = "to wear / arrive / attach." Mainland Chinese kept the spelling 着 but loaded it with multiple pronunciations and grammatical roles.

Korean reading "chak." Used across all three branches of meaning in compounds: 到着 (dochak, arrival), 着用 (chagyong, wearing), 着陸 (changnyuk, landing), 密着 (miljak, close adhesion), 愛着 (aechak, attachment / fondness), 執着 (jipchak, obsession). One character, three semantic clusters.

Mandarin is where 着 gets genuinely complex — three distinct pronunciations: zháo (2nd tone) — 着急 (zháojí, anxious), 着火 (zháohuǒ, catch fire); zhuó (2nd tone) — 穿着 (chuānzhuó, attire), 着陆 (zhuólù, to land); and the unstressed grammatical particle zhe — attached to verbs to mark continuous aspect: 看着 (kànzhe, looking), 等着 (děngzhe, waiting). The grammatical zhe is one of the most common morphemes in spoken Mandarin, with no etymological resemblance to the noun-meaning of 着 — purely a phonetic loan.

Japanese on-reading チャク (chaku) covers the formal arrival/wearing senses: 到着 (tōchaku, arrival), 着陸 (chakuriku, landing), 着用 (chakuyō, wearing), 装着 (sōchaku, fitting / equipping). The kun-readings split the meanings cleanly: きる (kiru, to wear) — 服を着る (fuku o kiru, to wear clothes); つく (tsuku, to arrive) — 駅に着く (eki ni tsuku, to arrive at the station); つける (tsukeru, to attach / put on) — 印をつける (shirushi o tsukeru, to put a mark on). 着る is paired with 脱ぐ (nugu, to take off clothing).

Memory aid: clothing attaching to a body — wearing, arriving, clinging, all from the same image of contact.

Pictograph: a person (the upper portion is 大, the spread-armed adult human) standing upright on the ground (the bottom horizontal line). The picture is the verb. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

立 sits at the heart of an entire family of "standing / establishing" abstractions. Beyond physical standing, it covers founding, setting up, and being positioned: 独立 (independence — "stand alone"), 成立 (to be established / to take effect), 設立 / 设立 (to set up / found), 中立 (neutrality — "stand in the middle"), 国立 (kokuritsu, national / state-run — "established by the country"), 立場 / 立场 (standpoint / position — "the spot where one stands").

Mandarin: lì, falling 4th tone. 立 alone is mostly literary; the everyday verb "to stand" is 站 (zhàn, falling tone). 立 still leads many compound abstractions: 成立 (chénglì), 独立 (dúlì), 立刻 (lìkè, immediately — "stand at the moment"), 立场 (lìchǎng, position / stance), 设立 (shèlì, to establish).

Japanese: on-reading リツ (ritsu) is dominant — 独立 (dokuritsu, independence), 設立 (setsuritsu, founding), 国立 (kokuritsu, national — as in 国立大学 national universities), 立派 (rippa, splendid / fine — "standing-faction"). Less common リュウ (ryū) in 建立 (konryū, building of a temple). Kun-readings: た.つ (ta.tsu, to stand — intransitive) and た.てる (ta.teru, to set up — transitive). 立つ / 立てる is one of the foundational intransitive/transitive verb pairs in Japanese. Also note compounds with 立 take small phonetic adjustments: 立派 (rippa) shows the 立 vowel-doubling characteristic of compounds.

立 is also a critical RADICAL — it appears at the top of characters like 章 (chapter), 童 (child), 音 (sound), 意 (meaning) — though in those cases it has the abstract sense of "set up / situated".

Memory aid: a stick figure standing on a baseline — the upright adult.

The oracle bone form of 取 is one of the more grisly etymologies in the entire CJK system: 又 (a hand) reaching for 耳 (an ear). The reference is to ancient battlefield practice — soldiers would sever an enemy's left ear and present it to the commander as proof of a confirmed kill, the basis for war honors and rewards. The original verb meant "to take an ear in war." Over the millennia this brutal specificity wore away, leaving the abstract sense "to take, to grasp, to obtain."

Korean reading "chwi." Common in formal vocabulary: 取得 (chwideuk, acquisition / obtaining a license), 取消 (chwiso, cancellation), 取材 (chwijae, news gathering / coverage), 摘取 (jeokchwi, to pick / pluck), 爭取 (jaengchwi, to fight to obtain). The Korean compound 取引 (chwiin, "trade / dealings") is actually a Japanese-origin compound borrowed back — Korean stock-market and business writing uses it freely.

Mandarin qǔ, 3rd tone. Top-frequency in everyday speech: 取得 (qǔdé, to obtain), 取消 (qǔxiāo, to cancel), 取出 (qǔchū, to take out / withdraw), 取代 (qǔdài, to replace), 取钱 (qǔ qián, to withdraw money from a bank). 取 is the standard verb for any "fetch / retrieve" action.

Japanese on-reading シュ (shu) appears in news vocabulary — 取材 (shuzai, news coverage), 取得 (shutoku, acquisition), 採取 (saishu, collection / sampling). But the kun-reading とる (toru) is where 取る really lives — one of the most semantically broad verbs in Japanese, covering "to take, grasp, hold, pick, win, snatch, secure." 写真を取る (shashin o toru, to take a photo), 休みを取る (yasumi o toru, to take a break), メモを取る (memo o toru, to take notes). Note that the same sound とる takes different kanji depending on nuance: 取る (general taking), 撮る (photography), 採る (selection), 捕る (catching) — a classic Japanese homophone-kanji distinction.

Memory aid: a hand (又) reaching for an ear (耳) — a brutal origin, but the modern meaning is simply "to take."

Phonetic-semantic compound: 扌 (hand radical, the left-side variant of 手) + 寺 (originally "office / government post", from earlier batch — providing phonetic value plus the secondary meaning "to hold a duty"). The encoded meaning: "to hold something in hand / to maintain a position". The 扌 hand radical is one of the most productive in the script — it appears in dozens of action verbs. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

Mandarin: chí, rising 2nd tone. 持有 (chíyǒu, to possess), 支持 (zhīchí, to support — "branch-hold", an extremely high-frequency political/social word: 支持 a candidate, a cause, a friend), 坚持 (jiānchí, to persist / persevere — "firmly hold"), 主持 (zhǔchí, to host / preside over — TV hosts use this word), 保持 (bǎochí, to maintain). 支持 and 坚持 are both essential vocabulary for navigating modern Mandarin discourse.

Japanese: on-reading ジ (ji) for compounds — 持続 (jizoku, sustainability — used in environmental/business contexts: 持続可能 sustainable), 維持 (iji, maintenance / upkeep), 所持 (shoji, possession), 支持 (shiji, support / endorsement), 持参 (jisan, "bringing along" — used at events: 弁当持参 = "bring your own lunch"). Kun-reading も.つ (mo.tsu, to hold) is one of the highest-frequency Japanese verbs — 持つ covers physical holding (本を持つ, hold a book) and abstract possession (時間を持つ, have time). 気持ち (kimochi, "feeling" — already mentioned in 気 entry) literally combines 気 (energy) with 持ち — "what one holds in spirit".

The Japanese 持続可能 (jizoku kanō, "sustainable") has become a major modern keyword — Japanese SDGs reporting uses this term constantly.

Memory aid: hand + temple/duty = holding what you have been given to keep.

Compound ideograph: 重 (heavy / from earlier batch) + 力 (force / strength, just discussed). The encoded meaning: "to apply force to heavy things" → to move. Three forms: 繁體 動 / 新字体 動 / 简体 动 — Japan kept traditional, Mainland China simplified the right side. The Japan-only kokuji 働 (work, from previous batch) was created by adding 亻 to this character.

動 anchors a vast vocabulary of motion, action, and emotion across CJK languages. The character covers physical motion AND emotional movement — to be 感動 (kandō / gǎndòng) is to be "moved" both literally and figuratively, just as in English.

Mandarin: dòng, falling 4th tone (simplified 动). 动物 (dòngwù, animal — "moving creature"), 运动 (yùndòng, sports / movement), 动作 (dòngzuò, action), 感动 (gǎndòng, to be moved emotionally), 活动 (huódòng, activity), 自动 (zìdòng, automatic). The 〜动 suffix is highly productive — anything that moves uses it.

Japanese: on-reading ドウ (dō) is dominant — 動物 (dōbutsu, animal), 運動 (undō, exercise / movement), 動作 (dōsa, action / motion), 感動 (kandō, moved / impressed), 活動 (katsudō, activity), 自動 (jidō, automatic), 不動産 (fudōsan, real estate — "non-moving property"), 自動車 (jidōsha, automobile — "self-moving vehicle"). Kun-reading うご.く (ugo.ku, to move — intransitive) and うご.かす (ugo.kasu, to move something — transitive). The transitive/intransitive pair is essential.

The English idiom "I was moved" (emotionally) translates directly to 動 / 动 in CJK languages — 感動 / 感动 (to be moved by something). The metaphor is universal.

Memory aid: heavy thing + force = motion. The literal physics of CJK movement.

Beautiful pictograph: a hand from above and a hand from below, with a vessel (originally 舟 boat, now stylized) between them — the moment of giving and receiving. The original character meant BOTH "give" and "receive"; over time the meaning narrowed to "receive" alone, while a new character 授 (to give / bestow) was created to take over the giving sense. So 受 and 授 form a deliberate transitive-pair: 授 = give / 受 = receive. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

Mandarin: shòu, falling 4th tone. 接受 (jiēshòu, to accept), 受到 (shòudào, to receive / suffer), 享受 (xiǎngshòu, to enjoy — also "luxury / comfort"), 感受 (gǎnshòu, to feel / be impressed by), 受不了 (shòubuliǎo, can't stand), 受伤 (shòushāng, to be injured — "suffer-wound"). The 受到 + noun pattern is essential — 受到欢迎 (be welcomed), 受到批评 (be criticized).

Japanese: on-reading ジュ (ju) for compounds — 受験 (juken, taking an exam — central student vocabulary), 受信 (jushin, receiving signal / mail), 受付 (uketsuke, reception — kun + on hybrid). Kun-reading う.ける (u.keru, to receive / take) is among the highest-frequency Japanese verbs. 受ける covers many uses: 試験を受ける (juken o ukeru, "take an exam"), 影響を受ける (eikyō o ukeru, "be influenced"), 質問を受ける (shitsumon o ukeru, "receive a question").

The Japanese verb pair 送る / 受ける (okuru / ukeru, send / receive) is foundational for any communication context — emails, gifts, social interactions all rotate through this pair.

Memory aid: a hand giving from above + hand receiving below — the moment of transfer.

Pictograph: an arrowhead point or a narrow funnel — the shape of something sliding INTO a tight opening. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

Critical confusion alert: 入 looks almost identical to 八 (eight). Both are two-stroke characters with two diagonal lines, but the geometry is reversed: — 入: two strokes meeting at the TOP point, opening downward. Direction: into a narrow opening. — 八: two strokes diverging from the TOP, opening downward and outward. Direction: splitting apart. In handwriting, beginners constantly confuse them. The mnemonic: 入 has the two strokes meeting AT the top (like an arrowhead pointing IN); 八 has them separating from the top (like legs walking apart).

Mandarin: rù, falling 4th tone. 进入 (jìnrù, to enter), 收入 (shōurù, income — "what comes in"), 输入 (shūrù, input / import), 加入 (jiārù, to join), 投入 (tóurù, to invest / throw in), 入口 (rùkǒu, entrance), 入门 (rùmén, beginner-level / "enter the gate"). The collocation 进入 (jìnrù) is the most common verb form because 入 alone feels formal in modern speech.

Japanese: on-reading ニュウ (nyū) for compounds — 入学 (nyūgaku, school enrollment), 入院 (nyūin, hospitalization), 輸入 (yunyū, import), 入場 (nyūjō, admission/entrance to a venue). Kun-readings: は.いる (hai.ru, to enter — intransitive), い.れる (i.reru, to put in — transitive). The pair 入る/入れる is one of the foundational transitive/intransitive verb pairs every Japanese learner masters.

入口 (iriguchi, entrance) — pure kun-reading compound — is signed at every Japanese building. Pairs with 出口 (deguchi, exit) from the previous entry.

Memory aid: an arrowhead point — converging into a target. Compare 入 (in) with 八 (eight, splitting apart) — and never confuse them again.

通 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 辶 (the "going" radical, a foot moving along a road) plus 甬 (a tunnel / passage, providing both sound and the sense of "open path"). Together they form the picture of movement through an unobstructed channel — "to pass through, to communicate, to flow without blockage." This single character covers a remarkable conceptual sweep: physical traffic, telecommunication, mutual understanding, and "ordinariness" (because what is unobstructed is what is universal).

Korean reading "tong." Saturates everyday Sino-Korean vocabulary: 通信 (tongsin, telecommunication), 交通 (gyotong, traffic / transportation), 普通 (botong, ordinary / usual), 通過 (tonggwa, passing through), 共通 (gongtong, common / shared), 通報 (tongbo, notification). The native-feeling word (sotong, communication / mutual understanding) is also Sino-Korean — 疏通 — and underlies modern Korean discourse about social communication.

Mandarin tōng, 1st tone. One of the highest-frequency Sino-Chinese morphemes: 通过 (tōngguò, to pass / by means of), 交通 (jiāotōng, traffic), 通知 (tōngzhī, notice), 沟通 (gōutōng, communicate), 普通 (pǔtōng, ordinary), 普通话 (pǔtōnghuà, "common speech" — Standard Mandarin). The fact that the official name for Mandarin uses 通 reflects the ideal of a language that "flows everywhere unobstructed."

Japanese on-reading ツウ (tsū) — 交通 (kōtsū, traffic), 普通 (futsū, ordinary), 通信 (tsūshin, communication), 通常 (tsūjō, normally). Two distinct kun-readings split semantically: とおる (tōru, "to pass through") for the physical sense — 道を通る (to pass along a road); and かよう (kayou, "to commute / go regularly") for the recurring-movement sense — 学校に通う (to attend school regularly), 病院に通う (to make regular hospital visits). The kayou form has no exact English equivalent — it specifically denotes habitual back-and-forth movement.

Memory aid: the "going" radical (辶) plus a passage (甬) — moving through an open channel.

Pictograph: two feet (止) one above the other — left foot then right foot, the alternating motion of walking. The character is itself the verb in motion. Three forms: 繁體 步 / 新字体 歩 (Japan added a small dot to the bottom-right) / 简体 步.

步 covers literal walking, abstract progress, and counting steps as units of distance. As a measure word for steps and stages, it appears in many compounds.

Mandarin: bù, falling 4th tone. 步行 (bùxíng, to go on foot), 散步 (sànbù, take a walk — common verb), 进步 (jìnbù, progress / improvement), 步骤 (bùzhòu, stage / step in a process), 一步一步 (yíbù yíbù, "step by step"), 让步 (ràngbù, to make a concession — "yielding step"), 步行街 (bùxíngjiē, pedestrian street).

Japanese: TWO on-readings. ホ (ho) is dominant — 歩道 (hodō, sidewalk — every Japanese road has a 歩道 sign), 散歩 (sanpo, taking a walk — extremely common everyday word), 徒歩 (toho, on foot — rental ads constantly say 駅から徒歩5分 = "5 minutes on foot from the station"). ブ (bu) appears in 歩合 (buai, percentage / commission). Kun-reading あるく (aruku) is the everyday verb — 歩く (aruku, to walk) is among the highest-frequency Japanese verbs. The variant あゆむ (ayumu, to walk / make progress) is more poetic / formal.

散歩 (sanpo, "leisurely walk") is one of the most useful daily Japanese words — Japanese culture has long valued the contemplative neighborhood walk, and the Tokyo TV show 散歩 has been a national institution for decades.

Memory aid: two footprints — left foot, right foot, the picture of walking.

Phonetic-semantic compound: 辶 (walking radical) + 軍 (army, providing phonetic value and semantic suggestion). The encoded meaning: "movement of an army-sized group" → "to transport / move / carry / operate / be in motion". The character covers physical transport AND the abstract metaphysical "fortune / destiny" (which "moves" through life). Three forms: 繁體 運 / 新字体 運 / 简体 运.

運 carries TWO essential meanings unified by "movement": — Physical transport: 運送 (transport), 運転 (drive / operate), 運動 (exercise / movement / political movement). — Fortune / destiny: 運命 (fate / destiny), 幸運 (luck), 運気 (one's fortune-energy), 不運 (misfortune). The metaphor: fate is what "moves through" your life — your karmic transport.

Mandarin: yùn, falling 4th tone (simplified 运). 运动 (yùndòng, sports / movement / political campaign), 运输 (yùnshū, transport), 运气 (yùnqi, luck — neutral final tone), 命运 (mìngyùn, fate), 幸运 (xìngyùn, fortunate), 奥运 (Àoyùn, Olympics — abbreviation of 奥林匹克运动会). The 运动 in Mandarin is curiously broad — both "exercise" and "political movement / campaign", which is why phrases like 文化大运动 (Cultural Revolution) use this character.

Japanese: on-reading ウン (un) — 運動 (undō, exercise / sports / movement), 運命 (unmei, fate / destiny — major existential vocabulary), 運転 (unten, driving — 運転手 untenshu, driver / chauffeur), 運送 (unsō, freight transport), 幸運 (kōun, good fortune), 不運 (fuun, misfortune), 運営 (un'ei, operation / management). Kun-reading はこ.ぶ (hako.bu, to carry) — 荷物を運ぶ (nimotsu o hakobu, carry luggage), 工事が運ぶ (kōji ga hakobu, "the construction is going [smoothly]") — abstract "progress" use.

Memory aid: walking + army = movement of substantial mass — transport, motion, the moving wheel of fate.

Compound character: 辶 (walking radical) + 关 (two hands offering / lifting an object). The encoded meaning: "to carry something with both hands while walking" → "to send / deliver / escort / give as a gift". The character covers physical and abstract sending alike. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

Mandarin: sòng, falling 4th tone. 送货 (sònghuò, deliver goods — central e-commerce vocabulary), 送别 (sòngbié, see someone off), 送礼 (sònglǐ, to give a gift — Chinese gift-giving etiquette is anchored in this verb), 赠送 (zèngsòng, to present), 送给 (sòng gěi, to give to someone). Also "treat someone to / give for free": 老板送了我一杯茶 = "the boss gave me a cup of tea (on the house)".

In Mandarin business and shopping, 送 carries the meaning "to give as a free gift / promotional bonus" — a major retail concept: 买一送一 (mǎi yī sòng yī, "buy one get one free").

Japanese: on-reading ソウ (sō) for compounds — 放送 (hōsō, broadcasting — every Japanese TV/radio uses 放送), 送別 (sōbetsu, farewell), 運送 (unsō, transportation), 配送 (haisō, delivery — used in shipping), 送信 (sōshin, transmission — email/data), 郵送 (yūsō, postal sending). Kun-reading おく.る (oku.ru, to send) — 送る covers sending physical things (荷物を送る = send a package), digital things (メールを送る = send email), AND seeing people off (友達を空港まで送る = see a friend off to the airport). The same verb spans all those uses.

There's an important verb-pair distinction in Japanese: 送る (okuru, to send away from oneself) vs. 受ける (ukeru, to receive) — making 送 and 受 (next entry) the foundational sending-receiving pair.

Memory aid: walking + offering both hands = to deliver / send.

Pictograph: a person (大) astride / climbing onto a tree (木). The encoded scene: someone mounting / boarding. The character covers boarding vehicles, mounting horses, and abstractly "taking advantage of" or "multiplying" (in math). Three forms: 繁體 乘 / 新字体 乗 / 简体 乘 — Japan simplified by removing the bottom strokes, Mainland China kept the traditional form (one of the rare cases where simplified Chinese is more complex than Japanese shinjitai).

Mandarin: chéng, rising 2nd tone. 乘车 (chéngchē, board a vehicle), 乘客 (chéngkè, passenger), 乘机 (chéngjī, board a plane / take an opportunity), 乘法 (chéngfǎ, multiplication — math), 乘以 (chéngyǐ, multiplied by). The mathematics meaning is essential — 三乘以四 = "3 times 4". Note that for "ride" in everyday speech, 坐 (zuò, sit) is more common: 坐车 / 坐飞机 (board car / plane).

Japanese: on-reading ジョウ (jō) for compounds — 乗車 (jōsha, boarding a vehicle), 乗客 (jōkyaku, passenger), 乗用車 (jōyōsha, passenger car), 搭乗 (tōjō, boarding — used at airports for boarding announcements). Kun-reading の.る (no.ru, to ride / get on) is a high-frequency verb — 電車に乗る (densha ni noru, take the train) is foundational. Transitive partner の.せる (no.seru, to give a ride / load on): 友達を車に乗せる (give a friend a ride).

Note the meaning split: 乗る pairs with the particle に (location-marker) — 電車に乗る, not 電車を乗る. Mandarin's 坐 likewise pairs with vehicles directly: 坐火车 = "take the train".

Memory aid: a person mounted on top of a tree — climbing/boarding.

交 is a person with their two legs crossed in an X — the oracle bones clearly show a figure with crossed shins. From crossed legs grew "to cross, to intersect, to associate, to exchange."

Korean hanja-sound "gyo": 交通 (gyotong, traffic), 交流 (gyoryu, exchange), 外交 (oegyo, diplomacy), 交換 (gyohwan, exchange), 社交 (sagyo, social interaction), 交差 (gyocha, crossing). It enters everything where people cross paths and meet.

Mandarin: jiāo, 1st tone. 交通 (jiāotōng, traffic), 交流 (jiāoliú, exchange), 交朋友 (jiāo péngyou, to make friends), 交给 (jiāogěi, to hand over), 成交 (chéngjiāo, to close a deal). It also means "to hand in / submit" — 交作业 (to hand in homework).

Japanese: on-reading コウ (kō), kun まじ.わる (majiwaru) and か.わす (kawasu). 交通 (kōtsū, traffic), 交流 (kōryū, exchange), 交差点 (kōsaten, intersection), 交換 (kōkan, exchange), 交番 (kōban, police box). The Japanese street 交番 (kōban, police box) carries this character.

Memory aid: a person with legs crossed in an X — from crossing comes association and exchange.

Phonetic-semantic compound: 彳 (the "step" radical, originally from 行, indicating walking) + 寺 (temple / office, providing phonetic value). The encoded meaning: "to linger on the road" — to wait for someone or to host them. The character carries TWO meanings unified by "lingering at a designated spot": (1) "to wait" — passively staying; (2) "to host / treat" — actively hosting a guest. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

Mandarin: dài, falling 4th tone (or dāi 1st tone for "stay"). 等待 (děngdài, to wait — formal), 接待 (jiēdài, to receive guests / hospitality), 期待 (qīdài, to anticipate / look forward to), 对待 (duìdài, to treat / handle), 待遇 (dàiyù, treatment / pay), 一会儿 + 待 in casual: 待会儿 (dāihuǐr, "in a little while" — note the 1st tone reading).

Japanese: on-reading タイ (tai) for compounds — 招待 (shōtai, invitation), 期待 (kitai, expectation / anticipation), 待機 (taiki, standby / waiting), 接待 (settai, hospitality / business entertainment — important Japanese corporate culture concept). Kun-reading ま.つ (ma.tsu, to wait) is among the highest-frequency Japanese verbs. 待ってください (matte kudasai, "please wait") is one of the first sentences in any Japanese class. 待合室 (machiaishitsu, waiting room) — every Japanese hospital, train station, and government office has a 待合室.

The Japanese 接待 (settai) carries cultural weight beyond mere "hospitality" — it refers specifically to formal business entertainment, often elaborate dinners with clients, that traditionally lubricate Japanese corporate relationships.

Memory aid: a road-walker resting at a temple — waiting / hosting / lingering.

The most divergent simplification in this entire batch. The traditional 歸 originally pictured a married woman returning to her parental home — the original homecoming scene. The character generalized to "to return / go back to where one belongs". Three radically different forms: — 繁體 歸: full traditional, 18 strokes, complex. — 新字体 帰: Japanese kept the right side and dropped most of the left. — 简体 归: Chinese simplified to just the bottom-right components.

All three forms read as the same character meaning "return/homecoming".

Mandarin: guī, level 1st tone (simplified 归). In modern Mandarin, the colloquial verb "to return / go back" is 回 (huí), so 归 feels formal and abstract: 归来 (guīlái, return — literary), 回归 (huíguī, regression / return), 归于 (guīyú, to belong to), 归纳 (guīnà, summarize / induce). For everyday "go home", Mandarin uses 回家 (huí jiā), not 归家.

Japanese: on-reading キ (ki) for compounds — 帰国 (kikoku, return to one's country — used for repatriating overseas Japanese), 帰宅 (kitaku, returning home), 復帰 (fukki, restoration / return to original state). Kun-reading かえ.る (kae.ru, to return — intransitive) is the EVERYDAY verb every Japanese learner masters in week one. 家に帰る (ie ni kaeru, "I go home") is the standard end-of-day phrase. Compare with 戻る (modoru, also "to return") — 帰る emphasizes returning to one's base/home, while 戻る emphasizes simply going back. Native speakers feel a clear distinction.

Japanese also uses 帰り道 (kaerimichi, "the way home") and 帰り(kaeri, "the return trip"). The end of every Japanese workday or school day is anchored in 帰る.

Memory aid: a married woman returning to her parents — the foundational image of "going back where one belongs".

渡 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 氵 (water) plus 度 (measure / degree / regulation). The composite suggests "to cross water at a measured, regulated point" — a controlled river crossing at a designated ford or ferry. From this concrete riverside image the meaning extended into "to transfer, to hand over, to pass through a transitional period."

Korean reading "do." Largely formal Sino-Korean: 讓渡 (yangdo, transfer / cession of property), 過渡 (gwado, transition), 渡江 (dogang, crossing a river), 渡海 (dohae, crossing the sea). 渡 alone is rare in modern Korean conversation — it lives in legal, historical, and literary contexts.

Mandarin dù, 4th tone. 渡过 (dùguò, to cross over / get through difficulty), 过渡 (guòdù, transition — political or developmental), 让渡 (ràngdù, to transfer rights), 渡轮 (dùlún, ferry boat). The metaphorical sense "get through hard times" — 渡过难关 (dùguò nánguān, to get through a tough patch) — is widely used in Chinese commentary and counsel.

Japanese is where 渡 becomes most active. On-reading ト (to) — 渡航 (tokō, overseas voyage / sea travel), 譲渡 (jōto, transfer / cession). The kun-readings make a critical Japanese grammatical distinction: わたる (wataru, intransitive — "to cross over by oneself") vs わたす (watasu, transitive — "to hand over to someone"). 橋を渡る (hashi o wataru, to cross the bridge — subject moves) vs 鍵を渡す (kagi o watasu, to hand over the key — object moves to someone). This intransitive/transitive pair is one of the cleanest examples of the わたる/わたす, あがる/あげる pattern that defines Japanese verb morphology.

Memory aid: water (氵) + measure (度) — crossing water at a measured point.

走 in oracle bone script shows a person at the top with arms swinging in motion, atop 止 (a foot) at the bottom — unmistakably the picture of running. And yet 走 contains one of the most famous false friends in the entire CJK family. The character means RUN in Korean and Japanese, but it means WALK in modern Mandarin. The same picture, two different speeds, depending on which country you're reading in.

The historical drift: in Classical Chinese, 走 originally did mean "to run" (matching its pictorial origin). At some point during medieval Chinese, the meaning shifted from "run fast" to merely "go on foot," and finally to "walk." Japan and Korea borrowed the character earlier and froze the original "run" meaning, while Mandarin's living usage drifted. Today, modern Chinese expresses "to run" with an entirely different character, 跑 (pǎo).

Korean reading "ju." Always means "run / fast motion": 走行 (juhaeng, driving / running), 疾走 (jiljju, sprinting), 脫走 (talju, escape / desertion), 暴走 (pokju, runaway / out-of-control rush), 競走 (gyeongju, race). A car's "mileage" in Korean is 走行距離 (juhaeng-geori).

Mandarin zǒu, 3rd tone — and this is where the false friend trips everyone. 走路 (zǒulù) = "to walk down the road," NOT "to run." 走开 (zǒukāi) = "go away, scram." 走出 (zǒuchū) = "to walk out." The Chinese verb for "to run" is 跑 (pǎo): 跑步 (pǎobù, jogging / running), 跑车 (pǎochē, sports car), 长跑 (chángpǎo, long-distance running). A Chinese reader looking at a Korean billboard for a sports car saying 走行性能 ("running performance") would parse it as "walking performance" — a baffling sentence about pedestrians.

Japanese on-reading ソウ (sō) — 走行 (sōkō, running / driving), 競走 (kyōsō, race / competition), 暴走 (bōsō, runaway). Kun-reading はしる (hashiru, to run) — 走る is one of the most common verbs in spoken Japanese, used both literally (子供が走る, the child runs) and metaphorically (電車が走る, the train runs).

Memory aid: in Korea and Japan, 走 is "run." In China, 走 is "walk" — modern Chinese uses 跑 for "run." One of the most famous CJK false friends.

止 was originally the shape of a human foot — toes and sole drawn as a picture. A foot is a step, and the place where a step halts is where the foot rests, so it came to mean "stop, cease." That is why 止 lives on inside countless characters as the "foot / step" component.

Look for 止 and you find footprints: 步 (bù, to walk) is two feet, 正 (zhèng, correct) is a foot heading for a goal, and 走 (run), 歷 (to pass through), 武 (martial — "to stop the spear"), 企 (to plan — standing on tiptoe) all grow from 止.

Mandarin: zhǐ, 3rd tone. 停止 (tíngzhǐ, to stop), 禁止 (jìnzhǐ, to prohibit), 不止 (bùzhǐ, more than / not limited to), 为止 (wéizhǐ, up until).

Japanese: on-reading シ (shi), kun と.まる (tomaru) and と.める (tomeru). 止まる (tomaru, to stop), 中止 (chūshi, cancellation), 禁止 (kinshi, prohibition), 行き止まり (ikidomari, dead end).

Korean hanja-sound "ji": 停止 (jeongji, suspension), 禁止 (geumji, prohibition), 防止 (bangji, prevention), 止血 (jihyeol, to stanch bleeding).

Memory aid: a single foot planted on the ground — where the step ceases is "stop."

The traditional 拂 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 扌 (hand) plus 弗 (negation / brushing off). The original meaning was concrete and physical — "to brush off, to flick away with the hand." Then something interesting happened only in Japan: the metaphor of "brushing money out of one's hand" became the standard verb for "to pay." Japan simplified the character to 払, while China and Korea kept the original 拂 strictly in its "brush off" meaning and use entirely different characters (付/支付) for payment.

Korean reading "bul." Largely archaic now: 拂拭 (bulsik, "to brush and wipe clean"), 拂去 (bulgeo, to brush away). The old Sino-Korean compound 支拂 (jibul, payment) survives in formal financial writing but everyday Korean uses jibul — which is the same Hanja read aloud — in legal/banking contexts only. Conversational Korean prefers (naeda, "to put out") for everyday paying.

Mandarin fú, 2nd tone. Modern Chinese restricts 拂 strictly to its "brush off" sense: 拂尘 (fúchén, to dust off), 吹拂 (chuīfú, to blow gently). For "to pay," Chinese uses an entirely different character — 付 (fù), as in 付钱 (fùqián, pay money), 支付 (zhīfù, payment), 付款 (fùkuǎn, to make payment). A Chinese speaker reading Japanese 払う would parse it as "brush off / dust" and miss the financial meaning completely.

Japanese is where 払 lives most actively. The on-reading フツ (futsu) is rare; the kun-reading はらう (harau, "to pay / brush away / drive off") dominates: お金を払う (okane o harau, "to pay money") is one of the first sentences any Japanese learner masters. Compound forms read with rendaku ばらい: 月払い (tsukibarai, monthly payment), 後払い (atobarai, deferred payment), 支払い (shiharai, payment). 払う also retains the original "drive away" sense — 厄を払う (yaku o harau, to drive away misfortune) — bridging finance back to its origins.

Memory aid: a hand (扌) flicking something out — Japanese saw money leaving the hand and called it "paying."

飛 is a pictograph of unmistakable clarity — a bird with two wings outstretched, soaring upward. Of all Chinese characters, this is one of the most directly visual: oracle bone, bronze, and modern forms all preserve the silhouette of flight. Japan and Korea retain the elaborate traditional 飛 with all its wing-strokes; Mainland China simplified to 飞, collapsing the two wings into a single curving sweep — perhaps the most stylish character simplification in the entire reform, capturing the gesture of flight in just three strokes.

Korean reading "bi." 飛行機 (bihaenggi, airplane) is the everyday word for aircraft. Other compounds: 飛龍 (biryong, flying dragon), 飛躍 (biyak, leap / dramatic progress), 飛散 (bisan, scattering / dispersal), 飛上 (bisang, taking off / rising). Important homophone caution: the syllable "bi" in Korean represents many different Hanja — 非 (not), 比 (compare), 悲 (sad), 鼻 (nose) — context determines which.

Mandarin fēi, 1st tone (simplified 飞). 飞机 (fēijī, airplane), 飞翔 (fēixiáng, to soar), 飞快 (fēikuài, extremely fast — literally "flying-quick"), 飞行员 (fēixíngyuán, pilot). 飞 is also a powerful intensifier in colloquial speech: 飞起来 ("fly up") can describe anything moving with shocking speed.

Japanese on-reading ヒ (hi) — 飛行機 (hikōki, airplane), 飛行 (hikō, flight), 飛躍 (hiyaku, leap / rapid progress). Kun-reading とぶ (tobu) — and here Japanese makes a subtle distinction: 飛ぶ is "to fly" (through the air), while 跳ぶ (also tobu) is "to jump." Same sound, different kanji, different motion. Compound usage 飛び込む (tobikomu, to dive in) and 飛び出す (tobidasu, to spring out) populate everyday speech.

Memory aid: a bird spreading both wings — the picture is the meaning.

Compound character: 阝 (mound / hill — left-side variant of 阜) + 夂 (downward feet). The encoded scene: feet stepping down a hillside. The character covers ALL downward motion: descending, falling rain, surrendering (submitting / "going down" before a victor). Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

降 is another 破音字 — same character, two pronunciations, two meanings:

Mandarin: — jiàng (4th tone): descend / fall. 降落 (jiàngluò, to land — used for airplanes), 降水 (jiàngshuǐ, precipitation), 降低 (jiàngdī, to lower / reduce), 下降 (xiàjiàng, to descend), 降级 (jiàngjí, to demote). — xiáng (2nd tone): surrender. 投降 (tóuxiáng, to surrender), 招降 (zhāoxiáng, to induce surrender). The "surrender" reading is rarer in everyday Mandarin but appears in war/strategy contexts.

Korean preserves the same split as (descend) vs. (surrender) — same logic across the language.

Japanese: on-reading コウ (kō) for compounds — 下降 (kakō, descent), 降下 (kōka, falling / descent), 降水量 (kōsuiryō, precipitation amount — used in weather forecasts), 投降 (tōkō, surrender), 降伏 (kōfuku, surrender / capitulation). Kun-readings split by what's descending: — お.りる (o.riru, to get off / descend): people descending. 電車を降りる (densha o oriru, get off the train — paired with 乗る no.ru, to board). — ふ.る (fu.ru, to fall / rain): weather. 雨が降る (ame ga furu, rain falls), 雪が降る (yuki ga furu, snow falls). — くだ.る (kuda.ru, to descend): more formal "go down". The 乗る/降りる pair (board / disembark) is the foundational train-taking vocabulary in Japan.

Memory aid: a hill with feet going down — descent in all senses.

科 is a compound ideograph of 禾 (grain) and 斗 (a dipper for measuring grain) — measuring rice (禾) with a dipper (斗) to grade it. From measuring grain to sort it by quality grew "grade, division, subject, department."

Korean hanja-sound "gwa": 科目 (gwamok, school subject), 科學 (gwahak, science), 外科 (oegwa, surgery), 內科 (naegwa, internal medicine), 學科 (hakgwa, academic department), 敎科書 (gyogwaseo, textbook), 科擧 (gwageo, the imperial civil service exam). The old civil service exam 科擧 (gwageo) — "to select by grading" — uses this character.

Mandarin: kē, 1st tone. 科学 (kēxué, science), 科技 (kējì, science and technology), 学科 (xuékē, discipline), 外科 (wàikē, surgery), 百科全书 (bǎikē quánshū, encyclopedia). 科技 (kējì) is a core word in daily modern Chinese.

Japanese: on-reading カ (ka) — there is no kun-reading (this is an on-only character). 科学 (kagaku, science), 教科書 (kyōkasho, textbook), 外科 (geka, surgery), 学科 (gakka, department), 科目 (kamoku, subject). Surgery is read geka, pairing with the 外 (ge) seen earlier.

Memory aid: rice (禾) measured by a dipper (斗) — sorting grain into grades, hence subject and division.

休 is the warmest compound ideograph in the script: a person (亻, the personside radical) leaning against a tree (木) = to rest. Picture an ancient traveler walking down a road, growing tired, finding shade beneath a large tree, and pausing. That moment frozen into a character. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

This is one of the all-time best characters to teach the principle of compound ideographs to a beginner: the meaning is obvious once you see the parts. 亻 (person) on the left, 木 (tree) on the right — a person at rest beside a tree. The picture is the verb.

Mandarin: xiū, level 1st tone. 休息 (xiūxi, to rest), 退休 (tuìxiū, to retire — "withdraw and rest"), 休假 (xiūjià, vacation), 不休 (bùxiū, ceaselessly — "without rest"). The character carries an unhurried, restorative quality even in modern HR vocabulary like 退休 and 休假.

Japanese: on-reading キュウ (kyū) in 休日 (kyūjitsu, holiday / day off), 連休 (renkyū, consecutive holidays — Japanese workers track these closely), 休憩 (kyūkei, break), 休業 (kyūgyō, business closure). Kun-reading やす.む (yasu.mu, to rest / take time off): 仕事を休む (shigoto o yasumu, to take a day off work), 学校を休む (gakkō o yasumu, to skip school). Note also やす.まる, やす.める — the active and stative variants.

The Golden Week 黄金週間 (Ōgon Shūkan) and Silver Week シルバーウィーク are Japanese national holidays where 連休 (renkyū) anchors the entire travel and consumption calendar — knowing 休 is essential cultural literacy.

Memory aid: a person (亻) propped against a tree (木) — taking a break in the shade.

泳 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 氵 (water radical) plus 永 (long / lasting). The composite reads as "to move through water for a long time" — to swim. The connection is doubly meaningful: 永 itself originally depicted long, branching streams of flowing water, so the etymology of 泳 contains water twice over, once as the radical and once as the phonetic/semantic component.

Korean reading "yeong." Limited to swimming-related compounds: 水泳 (suyeong, swimming), 泳法 (yeongbeop, swimming stroke / technique), 背泳 (baeyeong, backstroke), 平泳 (pyeongyeong, breaststroke). 泳 never appears as a standalone Korean word.

Mandarin yǒng, 3rd tone. The standard Chinese word for swimming is the two-character compound 游泳 (yóuyǒng) — combining 游 (to drift / float / wander through water) with 泳 (to swim). Both characters mean swimming-related motion, and Chinese typically requires both to form the noun. Other compounds: 泳衣 (yǒngyī, swimsuit), 泳池 (yǒngchí, swimming pool), 蛙泳 (wāyǒng, "frog swim" = breaststroke).

Japanese on-reading エイ (ei) appears in formal compounds: 水泳 (suiei, swimming), 背泳 (haiei, backstroke), 競泳 (kyōei, competitive swimming). Kun-reading およぐ (oyogu, to swim) — 泳ぐ is the everyday verb. The metaphorical extension 世間を泳ぐ ("to swim through society") means "to navigate the social world skillfully" — a very Japanese metaphor for managing relationships.

Memory aid: water (氵) + lasting (永) — sustained motion through water.