鍔
sword guard, kettle brim
Readings
On'yomi
- ガク
Kun'yomi
- つば
Meaning
鍔 centers on a protective metal rim or flange: the guard of a sword or the brim of a kettle. Both senses describe a projecting metal edge that shields or contains.
Most common words using 鍔
- 鍔つば
guard (on a sword)
- どじょう汁に金鍔どじょうじるにきんつば
two things that do not go well together; pairing kintsuba with loach soup
- 金鍔きんつば
confection of sweetened beans wrapped in wheat-flour dough (in the shape of a sword guard)
- 金鍔焼ききんつばやき
confection of sweetened beans wrapped in wheat-flour dough (in the shape of a sword guard)
- 鍔広つばびろ
wide brim (e.g. of hat)
- 鍔音つばおと
sound when stopping the blade of a sword with the guard
Study
Etymology
鍔 combines 金 (metal) with 咢, which likely contributes the sound. The character refers to a metal rim or guard, consistent with the metal radical.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side is metal 金, and the right side 咢 looks like a mouth 口 under a cover 二 with a wrapping stroke 勹. Picture a metal guard shaped like a protective jaw around a sword or a kettle's brim.
Reading mnemonic
For ガク, imagine a sword guard shaped like a gak (a made-up sharp metallic sound) that rings when struck: gak -> ガク, and the metal guard protects the hand.