字じ源げん

noun

origin of a character; character etymology

Refers to the historical origin and structural composition of a Chinese character, often discussed in kanji studies. Sense 2 (composition) is closely related and merged here.

• 漢かん字じの字じ源げんを調しらべると、成なり立たちがよくわかる。

  When you look into the origin of a kanji, you can understand how it was formed.

noun

Chinese character from which a kana is derived

Specifically used for the original kanji that gave rise to a kana character, such as 安 → あ or 以 → い.

• ひらがなの「あ」の字じ源げんは「安あん」です。

  The character origin of the hiragana 'a' is the kanji '安'.