Circular Thinking: Part 2
Friday, August 22nd, 2008
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Last week we encountered this fun compound:
花環 (hanawa: wreath, garland) flower + circle
The following version is actually much more common:
花輪 (hanawa: wreath, garland) flower + circle
The second kanji has changed, but everything else remains the same: the yomi of hanawa, the meaning of “wreath, garland,” and the flower + circle breakdown.
Although 環 and 輪 look very different, both have the kun-yomi of wa, and both can mean “ring.” These similarities make them something like dead ringers!
However, they’re not exactly alike. As we saw, 環 (KAN, wa) can have two meanings:
1. ring, circle, loop
2. to surround, encircle; around
Meanwhile, 輪 (RIN, wa) has the following meanings:
1. wheel, with the related meaning of “wheeled vehicle”
2. ring, circle, loop
3. periphery, outline
Originally, 輪 meant “wheel,” so it would make sense for us to investigate that side of this kanji’s personality first. But since we’re coming straight from a discussion of 環 as “ring, circle, loop,” let’s look at the same qualities in 輪 today, saving the free-wheeling parts of 輪 for next week. We’ll examine the “periphery, outline” meaning then, too.
Sample Sentences with 輪 as “Ring, Circle, Loop” …
Wa Wa Wa
It’s easy to remember the on-yomi of 輪 because RIN sounds like “ring”! But compounds in which 輪 means “ring” seem to feature the on-yomi only about half the time. Otherwise, the reading is the kun-yomi wa, as in a word you may already know:
指輪 (yubiwa: ring (worn on finger)) finger + ring
For More Body Parts Decorated with 輪 …
Here’s another fun wa word:
輪ゴム (wagomu: rubberband) ring + rubber
What do you get if you turn a rubberband inside out? The inverse, ゴム輪, can still mean “rubberband,” but your inversion can also change the rubberband into a rubber tire!
ゴム輪 (gomuwa: rubber tire) rubber + wheel
This has become an uncommon way to refer to tires, as they’re all made of rubber nowadays (rather than wood or iron, as in the past).
Posted by Eve Kushner in Kanji Curiosity | No Comments »
