員

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employee

On-Yomi: イン

Elements:

employee, mouth, shellfish, clam, oyster, eye, animal legs, eight

Heisig story:

How do we get a mouth over a shellfish to mean an employee? Simple. Just remember the advice new employees get about keeping their mouths shut and doing their job, and then make that more graphic by picturing an office building full of white collar workers scurrying around with clams pinched to their mouths.

Koohii stories:

1) [NooNoo] 12-4-2008(119): An employee (member of the company) has to clam up his mouth if he wants keep the job!

2) [seshiiru] 13-12-2007(57): An employee is basically a shellfish with a mouth.

3) [taikura] 12-1-2009(34): An employee is a worker. They lend their mouth ( 口 ) to spread a message & sell products; eyes ( 目 ) to watch competitors & find customers; and eight ( 八 ) hours a day. Alt., an employee is a shell ( 貝 ) in the ocean of a company; it looks up to the boss's mouth ( 口 ) for orders. 医員 (doctor); 一員 (member); 駅員 (station attendant); 委員 (committee member); 会社員 (company employee); 海員 (sailor); 楽員 (band member); 期間契約社員 (fixed term contractor).

4) [rotifera] 9-11-2007(23): An employee is not a robot (Calculon's friend), he's got a mouth to feed. Pay him more than a few clams!

5) [bemanuel] 16-8-2006(15): Employees work and earn clams so that they can feed their mouths.

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