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Kotomora

繇

reason, cause

Strokes17

Readings

On'yomi

  • ヨウ
  • ユウ
  • ユ
  • チュウ
  • ジュ

Kun'yomi

  • したが.う

Meaning

繇 centers on the underlying reason or cause behind something. Its meanings are narrow and abstract, focusing on the source or motive that brings about an event.

Study

Etymology

繇 combines 䍃 (a phonetic component associated with shaking or distant) and 系 (thread, connection). The exact historical development is uncertain, but it likely originally expressed a thread of reasoning or a causal link.

Meaning mnemonic

The left side 䍃 suggests something distant or indirect, and the right side 系 is a thread. Imagine pulling on a distant thread to reveal the hidden reason or cause behind an event.

Reading mnemonic

For ヨウ, picture a yo-yo dangling from a thread (系). When you pull the string, the yo-yo comes back—just like tracing a cause back to its reason: yo-yo -> ヨウ.