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Last week, I dangled a promise before you. I said that reading 順 words about organizing objects would help you think more clearly. This week, I’m willing to bet that another set of 順 words will have a very different effect.

As we saw last time in a discussion of etymology, 順 (JUN) can mean “order, sequence.” But this character can also mean “to obey, submit to, follow.” And that’s just what bothers me!

To be sure, compliance has its uses. When we “go with the flow,” life becomes considerably easier. The following compound helps make that happen:

順応 (junnō: to adapt or conform to)
     to submit to + to respond to (a situation)

This word serves as the root of two versions of “adaptability”:

順応力 (junnōryoku: adaptability)
     to submit to + to respond to (a situation) +
     power
順応性 (junnōsei: adaptability)
     to submit to + to respond to (a situation) +
     quality

Sample Sentences with 順応 …

But as I look over other 順 words about obedience, compliance, submissiveness, and the like, I experience a rage that makes little sense. It’s the rage of the captive, the flogged, the forcibly tamed. In a past life, I must have been a gorilla imprisoned in a zoo or a tiger forced to jump through fiery hoops in a circus! Anyway, let me know if these terms rile you up in the same way:

順良 (junryō: faithful, law-abiding)     to obey + good

The second kanji is what you already know as いい (ii: good), more formally represented as 良い (yoi: good).

孝順 (kōjun: obedience, filial piety)     filial piety + to obey
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