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Kotomora

觸

touch, feel, hit, proclaim, announce, conflict, contact

Strokes20

Readings

On'yomi

  • ショク

Kun'yomi

  • ふ.れる
  • さわ.る

Meaning

觸 centers on physical or metaphorical contact: touching, feeling, hitting, or coming into conflict. The senses of proclaiming or announcing are less common and may be extensions of making contact through speech.

Study

Etymology

觸 combines 角 (horn) and 蜀, which likely provides the sound. The original idea may involve butting or touching with a horn, extending to contact in general.

Meaning mnemonic

A horn (角) makes contact with something, like an insect (虫) under a net (罒) wrapped in a package (勹). The whole scene is about touching and feeling.

Reading mnemonic

For ショク, imagine a shock when a horn unexpectedly touches you: shock -> ショク, and the contact is startling.