branch, support, sustain, branch radical (no. 65)
支 centers on the idea of holding something up or branching out from a central point: physically supporting or sustaining something, or a branch that diverges from a main line. The radical sense is the same character used as a component.
支 originally depicted a hand holding a branch or a forked object, combining 十 (a branch or cross shape) and 又 (a hand). This gives the dual sense of a physical branch and the act of supporting or sustaining.
The top 十 looks like a forked branch, and the bottom 又 is a hand. Picture a hand holding a branch to support a plant or to show a branching path.
For シ, imagine a hand supporting a branch while saying 'shh' to keep it steady: shh -> シ, and the branch stays in place.
support; backing; aid; assistance
rule; domination; control
support; backing; endorsement; approval
to pay
payment
provision; supply; payment; allowance; grant
branch office; branch store
branch; branch office; subdivision
to support; to prop; to sustain; to underlay; to hold up; to defend
obstacle; hindrance; impediment; difficulty
expenditure; disbursement; expenses
preparation; arrangements
income and expenditure
branch office
manager; executive
branch office
prop; stay; support; brace; fulcrum
hindrance; impediment
Christianity (in feudal Japan); Christian
bronchus; bronchial tube
branch (office)
tributary; branch
to interfere (with); to hinder; to be hindered (from doing); to become impeded; to have difficulty; to suffer inconvenience
payment method