敬 - Be RESPECTFUL Or Get Beaten By a Stick

Readings & Meanings:

うやま（う）

ケイ

respect

Common Usage:

敬う

尊敬

敬語

敬意

Examples:

目上の人を敬いなさい。

野口英世は私の尊敬する科学者だ。

敬語を使えない若者が増えている。

戦争中に亡くなった人々に敬意を表して黙祷する。

Translations:

Respect your elders.

Hideyo Noguchi is a scientist I greatly respect.

Young men who can't use polite forms of speech are increasing in number.

Let us hold a moment of silent prayer for all those who have died in war.

Radicals:

攵, "Boku," is on the right. This radical is a pictogram of a hand breaking something with a stick.

The part on the left (苟) apparently bears no relation to the kanji 苟, which means "any". No relation, even though they look identical. The 苟-looking piece of 敬 combines person, horns, and a mouth. Kanji Networks says it's like going stiff when faced by a charging ram, thus stiffness, formality.

Whatever. We're going to remember this kanji by thinking this way: "If 苟 (any) student is rude, he gets 攵 (the stick). That's how you teach respect."

Important:

敬語. Keigo. It's an important thing, in Japanese. Too bad it doubles our work as learners. You have to learn new rules, new vocabulary, new kanji. All of my teachers have always put keigo off until, say, Intermediate II level. By then, it's too late. We've already practiced and practiced with the neutral or (a little bit) casual expressions.

I think keigo should be taught right away, alongside normal speech. I'm still struggling with keigo these days, and I wish I'd learned it earlier.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/knetwork/KANG.html#KANG33
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/kanji/kanji/e.htm