descendants, elder brother, insect
昆 centers on a swarm or multitude: descendants as a large group, an elder brother as one among many siblings, and insects as countless tiny creatures. The common thread is a sense of numerousness or collective grouping.
昆 combines 日 (sun) and 比 (compare, line up), likely suggesting the idea of a multitude under the sun. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the components point to a collective or swarm-like concept.
Under the sun (日), a line of many figures (比) represents a swarm of descendants or insects. Picture a long line of siblings or a trail of ants stretching out beneath the sun.
For コン, imagine a conga line of countless insects and descendants dancing under the sun: conga -> コン, and the line keeps growing like a swarm.
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insect; bug
kombu (usu. Saccharina japonica); konbu; kelp; any edible species from the family Laminariaceae
shredded tangle of kelp
kagome kombu (Saccharina sculpera)
shredded kombu
Laminaria ochotensis (species of kelp)
medical entomology
thin strips of kombu cooked in soy sauce, etc. then dried
kelp with herring roe (sushi type)
grandchildren; posterity
Entomological Society of Japan
sixth-generation descendant; great-great-great-great-grandchild
soup stock made from kombu
type of food (sliced dried herring or other fish wrapped in kombu seaweed and boiled)
kelp tea; seaweed tea
brothers
Kunming (China)
insect virus
insect hormone (i.e. ecdysone)
entomology