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Kotomora

凾

box

Strokes9

Readings

On'yomi

  • カン

Kun'yomi

  • はこ
  • い.れる

Meaning

凾 centers on a container: a box or something that holds items. The verb sense of putting something in follows naturally from the idea of a box.

Study

Etymology

凾 is a variant form of 函, which originally depicted an arrow container. The modern form 凾 replaces the inner 氺 with 了 and 口, but the exact historical development of this variant is uncertain.

Meaning mnemonic

The outer shape 凵 is like an open container. Inside, 了 and 口 and 又 suggest items being placed into a box: a hand 又 putting a small object 口 into a finished 了 container.

Reading mnemonic

For カン, imagine a can that is a box: can -> カン, and you put things into the can-box.