子

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child

On-Yomi: シ、ス、ツ — Kun-Yomi: こ、-こ、ね

Elements:

child

Heisig story:

This kanji is a pictograph of a child wrapped up in one of those handy cocoons that Japanese mothers fix to their backs to carry around young children who cannot get around by themselves. The first stroke is like a wee head popping out for air; the second shows the body and legs all wrapped up; and the final stroke shows the arms sticking out to cling to the mother's neck.

Heisig comment:

* As a primitive, the meaning of child is retained, though you might imagine a little older child, able to run around and get into more mischief.

Koohii stories:

1) [lbphenom] 12-1-2008(43): A child who is ten will still ask for his ma (top looks a bit like katakana ma).

2) [Danieru] 28-1-2008(30): A pictograph of a child, with arms outstretched for mother (or perhaps because she is chasing a rat?). Note that this kanji occupies the first space on the Zodiac circle, and is the sign for the rat (such as 2008!).

3) [Po0py] 15-12-2008(21): A ten year old child with a baseball cap.

4) [Jeromin] 21-12-2008(9): A child, from one to ten, before becoming a teen.

5) [NyahK] 6-6-2010(6): I'd imagine most people knew this long before starting RTK. When they were still a child of kanji, perhaps?

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