杣
timber, lumber, woodcutter, (kokuji)
Strokes7
Readings
On'yomi
—
Kun'yomi
- そま
Meaning
杣 centers on wood from a mountain: timber, lumber, and the woodcutter who works with it. As a kokuji, it was created in Japan to express this specific mountain-forestry idea.
Study
Etymology
杣 is a Japanese kokuji formed by combining 木 (tree) and 山 (mountain) to represent timber or a woodcutter working in mountain forests.
Meaning mnemonic
A tree 木 on a mountain 山 is the source of timber. Picture a woodcutter felling trees on a mountain slope to produce lumber.
Reading mnemonic
For そま, imagine a woodcutter in a mountain forest saying 'So, ma!' as he starts his work: 'So, ma!' -> そま, tying the sound to the mountain timber scene.