So Ka So Ka!: 市 - She's Number One in My MARKET

Thursday, February 14, 2008

市 - She's Number One in My MARKET

Readings & Meanings:

いち

シ

market, city

Common Usage:

市場（いちば）

市場（しじょう）

＿city＿市

Examples:

築地市場は観光地として有名になってきた。（いちば）

ドル市場は最近動きが激しい。　（しじょう）

広島市はカキの養殖で有名だ。

Translations:

Tsukiji Market has become famous as a sightseeing spot.

The dollar lately has been fluctuating wildly.

Hiroshima City is famous for cultivating oysters.

Radical:

My sources disagree on the parts of 市. Jim Breen indicates that it is made up of 亠 (nabe lid) and 巾 (cloth, towel, from a pictograph of a towel wrapped around a head).

Kanji Networks suggests that 市 is made up of 止 (stop, straight) and 平 (flat/level), making the argument that sellers congregate on level ground to set up market.

Guys, don't fight.

Perhaps the kanji evolved from 止 and 平, but it seems pretty clear that, now, the radical used is 巾 (Haba group). Kanji Networks group 市 in with the Haba group, so that's an admission in itself.

Important:

Another duplicate kanji combo with different pronunciations and meanings.

いちば is for physical places, like Tsukiji, and like the picture below (沖縄本島市場).