5 ms·

Yeah yeah, this all makes sense until you see 品, which isn't "a three-mouthed monster" but "goods". Languages are weird, man.

by euske 10y ago

jimworm 10y ago
Out of the several uses of 品, one is the verb "taste" which makes slightly more sense.
ju-st 10y ago
I interpret that character as "three boxes" so "goods" is a very intuitive translation :)
- throwanem 10y ago
  Yeah, I'm not sure what world you have to live in for "three-mouthed monster" to be a more obvious meaning for that glyph than "stacked crates". But I think I might like to visit.
  - cheiVia0 10y ago
    I see you haven't gotten to the 4th paragraph of TFA... "口" = mouth, not crate "品" is a stack of mouth characters
    - throwanem 10y ago
      I read the whole article, thanks. Do you think it's possible that more than one square or rectangular thing may exist?
- comex 10y ago
  According to kanjinetworks.com that is, in fact, what the etymology boils down to: > Square-shaped object (tripled) → high-quality goods spread throughout a protective container (compare 舗 and 販) → quality; counter for goods; (person's) character; grade; value. http://www.kanjinetworks.com/eng/kanji-dictionary/online-kanji-etymology-dictionary.cfm?kanji_id=PAM04 http://www.kanjinetworks.com/eng/kanji-dictionary/online-kan...
artichokeheart 10y ago
I wOUld agree with you if it weren't for the wOUnd I have where a bOUlder pOUnded me in the head, so I don't have the cOUrage.
- igravious 10y ago
  I see what yOU did there.
cooper12 10y ago
You might enjoy (and probably have already seen) "Why Japanese People": https://youtu.be/AqragQq63Js https://youtu.be/AqragQq63Js
dboreham 10y ago
Whoa! I know that one -- it is "Shinagawa". I know this because my hotel was at that train station in Tokyo on a trip in the early 90's, long before signage in English was common in Japan..
- adsofhoads 10y ago
  It's actually just the "shina". The "gawa" is 川, river.
Tharkun 10y ago
You need a lot of goods to feed many mouths. Two or three of something is a pretty common pattern in kanji. Two basically implies "several", while three implies "a fuckton". Two suns, for instance, is "bright". Three suns is a sparkling crystal.

Yeah yeah, this all makes sense until you see 品, which isn't "a three-mouthed monster" but "goods". Languages are weird, man.

by euske 10y ago

Yeah yeah, this all makes sense until you see 品, which isn't "a three-mouthed monster" but "goods". Languages are weird, man.

jimworm 10y ago

Out of the several uses of 品, one is the verb "taste" which makes slightly more sense.

ju-st 10y ago

I interpret that character as "three boxes" so "goods" is a very intuitive translation :)

throwanem 10y ago
Yeah, I'm not sure what world you have to live in for "three-mouthed monster" to be a more obvious meaning for that glyph than "stacked crates". But I think I might like to visit.
- cheiVia0 10y ago
  I see you haven't gotten to the 4th paragraph of TFA... "口" = mouth, not crate "品" is a stack of mouth characters
  - throwanem 10y ago
    I read the whole article, thanks. Do you think it's possible that more than one square or rectangular thing may exist?
comex 10y ago
According to kanjinetworks.com that is, in fact, what the etymology boils down to: > Square-shaped object (tripled) → high-quality goods spread throughout a protective container (compare 舗 and 販) → quality; counter for goods; (person's) character; grade; value. http://www.kanjinetworks.com/eng/kanji-dictionary/online-kanji-etymology-dictionary.cfm?kanji_id=PAM04 http://www.kanjinetworks.com/eng/kanji-dictionary/online-kan...

artichokeheart 10y ago

I wOUld agree with you if it weren't for the wOUnd I have where a bOUlder pOUnded me in the head, so I don't have the cOUrage.

igravious 10y ago
I see what yOU did there.

cooper12 10y ago

You might enjoy (and probably have already seen) "Why Japanese People": https://youtu.be/AqragQq63Js https://youtu.be/AqragQq63Js

dboreham 10y ago

Whoa! I know that one -- it is "Shinagawa". I know this because my hotel was at that train station in Tokyo on a trip in the early 90's, long before signage in English was common in Japan..

adsofhoads 10y ago
It's actually just the "shina". The "gawa" is 川, river.

Tharkun 10y ago

You need a lot of goods to feed many mouths. Two or three of something is a pretty common pattern in kanji. Two basically implies "several", while three implies "a fuckton". Two suns, for instance, is "bright". Three suns is a sparkling crystal.