沒
not, have not, none, to drown, sink
Readings
On'yomi
- ボツ
- モツ
Kun'yomi
- おぼ.れる
- しず.む
- ない
Meaning
沒 centers on disappearance or absence: sinking below a surface, drowning, or the state of not having something. The 'not' and 'none' senses are abstract extensions of something being submerged and lost from view.
Study
Etymology
沒 combines 氵 (water) with a phonetic element that historically represented submersion. The character originally depicted something sinking or disappearing into water, which extended to the abstract sense of absence.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side is water 氵, and the right side looks like a hand 又 reaching up while being pulled under by a force 力. Picture something sinking into water, disappearing from sight—just like drowning or having nothing left.
Reading mnemonic
For ボツ, imagine a boat sinking into the water with a deep 'botsu' sound as it goes under: botsu -> ボツ, and the boat disappears beneath the surface.