帚
broom
Strokes8
Readings
On'yomi
- ソウ
- シュウ
Kun'yomi
- ほうき
Meaning
帚 centers on a tool for sweeping: a broom. Its meaning is straightforward and concrete.
Study
Etymology
帚 is a pictograph of a broom, with the top part representing the bristles and the bottom 巾 representing the handle or cloth tied to it.
Meaning mnemonic
The top 彐 looks like the bristles of a broom, the middle 冖 is the binding, and the bottom 巾 is the handle or cloth. Together they form a broom.
Reading mnemonic
For ソウ, imagine sweeping with a broom and making a soft 'sow' sound as the bristles move: sow -> ソウ.