堵
fence, railing, enclosure
Readings
On'yomi
- ト
Kun'yomi
- かき
Meaning
堵 centers on a physical barrier that marks a boundary or keeps things in or out: a fence, railing, or enclosure.
Most common words using 堵
- 安堵あんど
relief; reassurance
- 堵と
fence; wall; hedge
- 堵に安んずるとにやすんずる
to live in peace (of the people)
- 堵の如しとのごとし
in crowds (of spectators); in great numbers
- 堵列とれつ
row of people lined up; forming a row; lining up (side by side)
- 安堵感あんどかん
sense of relief; feeling of relief
- 本領安堵ほんりょうあんど
recognition and guarantee, by the shogunate, of ownership of the inherited estate of a samurai who pledged allegiance to it (in the Kamakura and early Muromachi periods)
Study
Etymology
堵 combines 土 (earth) with 者, which likely contributes the sound. The earth radical suggests a wall or barrier made of earth, fitting the fence/enclosure meaning.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side is earth 土, and the right side 者 looks like a person or structure. Picture an earthen wall or fence built around a person's land to form an enclosure.
Reading mnemonic
For ト, imagine a toe getting caught on a low fence: toe -> ト, and the fence is the enclosure.