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sign of the hog
On-Yomi: ガイ、カイ — Kun-Yomi: い
Elements:
sign of the hog, acorn, top hat
Heisig story:
This kanji is the 12th sign of the Chinese zodiac: the sign of the hog. It is best learned by thinking of an acorn-eating hog in connection with the primitive meaning given below.
Heisig comment:
* The top hat represents the external shape of the acorn, and the unusual but easily written complex of strokes beneath it (which you might also see as distortions of an elbow and person) stands for the mysterious secret whereby the acorn contains the oak tree in a nutshell.
Koohii stories:
1) [Floatingweed5] 20-11-2007(193): A greedy hog in a top hat who has eaten all of the acorns. He even elbows people out of the way to get them.
2) [tryllid] 8-10-2008(39): Top Hat + Elbow + Person: The sign of the hog was a very recognizable tattoo - a hog with a big grin in a top hat, sticking his elbow into the person next to him.
3) [roundrabbit] 8-9-2009(26): This is easy, if you know Mr. Peanut, the logo of Planters. Replace his face or body with an acorn and you have Mr. Acorn, the logo / sign of the hog. He wears the same top hat, has the same turned out elbow holding a diagonal walking stick, and poses like a human.
4) [Tobberoth] 25-11-2008(18): Warning: Stroke order in book is wrong. The top hat should be written as normal.
5) [thegeezer3] 8-6-2007(13): Q: What is the difference between a pig and a hog? A: A hog is the generic term for all swine. Pigs are immature hogs weighing less than 125 pounds. Other swine related terms include the following: Piglet: a baby swine less than ten weeks old (nursing pig) Sow: a female pig that has had a litter Boar: a male hog (with tusks?).