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Kotomora

卷

volume, book, part

StatusJinmeiyō (variant)Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • カン
  • ケン

Kun'yomi

  • ま.く
  • まき

Meaning

卷 centers on a rolled-up or bound collection: a volume or part of a book, or a scroll-like unit of writing.

Study

Etymology

卷 is the older form of 巻. It combines 龹 (a phonetic component) with 㔾 (a kneeling person), suggesting a rolled or bent shape, which extended to scrolls and book volumes.

Meaning mnemonic

The top 龹 looks like a rolled scroll, and the bottom 㔾 resembles a person kneeling to read it. Together they make a book volume.

Reading mnemonic

For カン, imagine a can of rolled-up scrolls: can -> カン, and each scroll is a volume of a book.