Kanji Mastery—Radical 41 (Inch)

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[a] Inching RF

This little character packs a serious punch in the Sino-Japanese lexical arena. Meaning "inch," at least according to traditional Japanese measurements, this "radical" has found its way into at least a dozen centrally important words in Japanese. It is not every character that has its own folk story, either, but this one does. As you will see in the combinations below, it is often used in rather imprecise, everyday, or "cultural measurements," such as a "brief letter" or "a little bit." A careful study of the character combinations using "inch" will give you a good sense of how various kanji "fit" together.

Etymology for 寸

Character Information for 寸

[b] Minute RF

寸

Radical 41

Chinese (Mandarin): cun1
Chinese (Cantonese):xxx

Japanese (On reading): スン sun
Japanese (Kun readings): n/a
Korean:

Selections from The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary.

寸 Radical 41

Sun (the Japanese inch). At right: sunzukuri. Nickname: Inch.

寸土　すんど          sundo          an inch of land                 (inch + land)
寸分　すんぶん      sunbun        a bit, a little                       (inch + part)
寸言　すんげん      sungen        brief but signicant words  (inch + speech)
寸前　すんぜん      sunzen        just before                        (inch + before)
寸進　すんしん      sunshin       inching along (progress)  (inch + enter)
寸時　すんじ          sunji           a moment, a minute          (inch + time)
寸書　すんしょ      sunsho       note, short letter                (inch + writing)
寸劇　すんげき      sungeki      dramatic sketch                 (inch + drama)
寸簡　すんかん      sunkan       brief note, short letter        (inch + simple)

The character combinations above are fairly straightforward. Those below are just a little bit more "daring" when it comes to interpretation.

寸忠　　すんちゅう  sunchuu      my loyalty (humble)            (inch + loyalty)
寸志　　すんし         sunshi         small token of appreciation (inch + aim)
寸鉄　　すんてつ     suntetsu      small weapon; pithy saying (inch + iron/metal)
寸陰　　すんいん     sun'in          a moment, a minute             (inch + "yin")
寸切り　すんぎり     sungi(ri)      a straight cut                         (inch + cut)

[c] Measurement RF

Finally, I have added a brief (寸) list of the combinations in which this characters "is radical." A full dictionary (such as The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary, from which these examples are drawn, will show the enormous range of combinations possible with any one radical, either on its own or as a part of larger characters. If you are not aware that Japanese characters have gone through a number of "simplifications" from the forms originally borrowed from China, note the versions in the brackets.

寺　          ジ, てら                       JI, tera                       temple
寿　[壽]  ス, ジュ, ことぶく       SU, JU; kotobu(ku)    longevity, age, congratulations 
対　[對]  タイ                             TAI                             the opposite, antonym, facing
封             フウ, ホウ                    FUU, HOO                seal; sealing, closing; block
専    [專]  セン, もっぱら            SEN, moppa(ra)        mainly, solely; specialty
将    [將]  ショウ, はた, まさに   SHOO, hata, masa ni  commander, general; again
射             シャ, いる, さす           SHA, iru, sasu           archery shooting; shine upon
尋             ジン, たずねる, ひる    JIN, tazu(neru), hiro   fathom, look for, inquire
尊             ソン, たっとぶ             SON, tatto(bu)            value, honor, reverence
導             ドウ, みちびく             DOU, michibi(ku)        leading; guide, lead, conduct 

[d] Scale (Geertz) RF