箎
ancient woodwind instrument
Strokes14
Readings
On'yomi
- コ
- ク
- チ
- ジ
Kun'yomi
—
Meaning
箎 refers to a specific ancient woodwind instrument, likely a type of flute or pipe. The meaning is narrow and concrete, with no clear abstract extensions.
Study
Etymology
箎 combines 竹 (bamboo) with 虎 (tiger), but the historical reason for this combination is uncertain. It may have originally represented a bamboo instrument with a tiger-shaped resonator or decoration, but this is speculative.
Meaning mnemonic
The top 竹 (bamboo) suggests a bamboo instrument, and the bottom 虎 (tiger) can be imagined as the instrument's shape or the sound it makes—like a tiger's roar turned into music.
Reading mnemonic
For コ, imagine a small child (子, こ) playing this ancient bamboo instrument: 子 -> コ, and the child's tune echoes like a tiger's growl.