Thursday, February 14, 2008

市 - She's Number One in My MARKET


Readings & Meanings:

いち



market, city

Common Usage:

市場(いちば)

市場(しじょう)

_city_

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 . 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).

Market SPAM

しじょう is for abstract markets, Wall Street, trading.


References:

Picture: http://www.yenchart.com/Chart-Dollar-Yen.htm
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1S
http://www.kanjinetworks.com/tnetwork/TAG.html#TAG54
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/kanji/kanji/u.htm

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