Kanji Mastery—Radical 148 (Horn)

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[a] 角突合 RF

This versatile little character is hardly in the top dozen of the major "radicals" in Sino-Japanese. It might not even make it into the top one-hundred, so why would I bother to include it this early in the "kanji mastery" process? Well, the "horn radical" packs a great number of useful interpretive matters into the several dozen character combinations it shows in the dictionary over a space of just three pages. I would argue that, if you can begin to master the interpretive assumptions behind this character (look it up—Radical 148), you will be well on your way to understanding how Kanji "work."

Let's take a look at the etymology of the character, followed by a few combinations. By all means, check out the following sites for useful information on the character:

Etymology for 角

Character Information for 角

角

Radical 148

[b] Horns? RF

Chinese (Mandarin): jiao3 (jue2)
Chinese (Cantonese):gok3 (luk6)

Japanese (On reading): ショク shoku
Japanese (Kun readings): ふ(れる), さわ(る), ふ(れ), わわ(り)
Korean:

Selections from The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary.

角 Radical 148

Tsuno horn. At left: tsuno hen. Nickname: Horn.

KAKU angle; corner; square; squared timber; target

kado corner; angle; edge; angularity; harshness

kaku(na) square, four-cornered

tsuno horn, antlers; feeler, tentacle

tsuno(gumu) sprout 

sumi corner, nook

角石　かくいし         kakuishi               square stone               (square + stone)　　   　    
店　かどみせ            kadomise             corner store                 (corner + store)
角字　かくじ             kakuji                  square characters       (square + character)
角柱　かくちゅう      kakuchuu            square pillar (prism)    (square + post)
角形　かくがた         kakugata             square shape               (square + image)
角叉　つのまた         tsunomata           points on antlers          (horn + tip/prong)
角笛　つのぶえ         tsunobue             bugle, trumpet              (horn + bamboo flute)
角帽　かくぼう         kakubou              square college cap       (square + hat/cap)
角力　すもう            sumou                 sumo; wrestler              (corner + strength)   

角革　かどがわ        kadogawa            corner leather (book)    (corner + leather)

The combinations above contain more-or-less "straightforward" kanji combinations. I have saved a few for the space below that take at least a step or two beyond the obvious. Character combinations are filled with possibilities, and surprises (mild and otherwise) are just around...the corner (角).

[c] Hornblower RF

角突き　つのつ(き)   tsunotsu(ki)     

bullfight; wrangling    (horn + contention)

角通　　かくつう      kakutsuu         

an expert on sumo    (corner + penetrate)

角袖　　かくそで     kakusode         

plain clothes officer   (square + sleeve)

角突合　つのつきあい  tsunotsu(ki)a(i)  

 bickering, wrangling (horn + contend + link)