鬻
sell, deal in, rice gruel
Readings
On'yomi
- イク
- シュク
Kun'yomi
- かゆ
- かい
- ひさ.ぐ
Meaning
鬻 centers on selling or dealing in goods, with a secondary, likely older meaning of rice gruel. The two senses may be historically connected through the idea of trading in foodstuffs, but they are distinct in modern usage.
Most common words using 鬻
- 鬻ぐひさぐ
to sell
Study
Etymology
鬻 is a complex character whose exact historical development is uncertain. It appears to combine 䰜 (a variant of 鬲, a cauldron) with 米 (rice), suggesting the original meaning of rice gruel. The 'sell' meaning may have arisen from phonetic borrowing or semantic extension, but the connection is not clearly established.
Meaning mnemonic
Inside a large cauldron (the lower part resembling 鬲), rice (米) is being cooked into gruel. Picture someone selling this steaming rice gruel from the cauldron at a market.
Reading mnemonic
For イク, imagine a merchant shouting 'Eek! I cook rice gruel to sell!' The 'eek' sound (イク) ties the selling meaning to the reading.