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From: deejayREMOVETHE@CAPITALLETTERSmm.com (Steve Sundberg)
Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan
Subject: Re: Kanji question
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NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 06:09:42 EST
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 11:09:50 GMT
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On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 08:26:34 +0100, "Paul Blay"
<ask_me_or_get_spam_trapped@saotome.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>"Steve Sundberg" <deejayREMOVETHE@CAPITALLETTERSmm.com> wrote ...
>> It's been many, many years since I've had the resources available to
>> dissect kanji. Back in the day, when we learned a new character, we
>> would be taught not only stroke order but also what the individual
>> elements were that made up a more complicated kanji. I'm wondering if
>> anyone can help me dissect "ai," as in "ai suru?" I recognize some of
>> the elements but not all of them. (Jim Breen's online Japanese-English
>> dictionary is of great help but can't give me all the answers.)
>
>Ah that would be where you are wrong. ;-)
> 
>> So far, I recognize winter, crown, and heart. But the top-most strokes
>> remain undefined. Might they be "claw?"
>
>If you put it into the " Paste a kanji to find its elements: " bit on 
>the Multi-radical kanji selection page it says that 愛 'contains'
>冖 夂 心 爪

Thanks much, Paul. I didn't see that option even after 5+ years of
regularly visiting the site for one reason or another. Took me a while
to figure out how to cut'n'paste a kanji in the search box (I don't
have a Japanese keyboard but have the IE language set installed) but
did succeed. I'm going to have use that function more often, and it
would be useful at times for my http://www.oldtokyo.com Web site.

Yes, the top radical means "claw." The other radicals were confirmed
as I had initally thought. I'm not sure how winter figures into the
concept of "ai," though. Winter warms the heart?

Thanks again!