乾 - DRY only after a Day in the Sun

Readings & Meanings:

かわ（かす）

カン

かわ（く）

dry

Common Usage:

乾く

乾燥

乾物（かんぶつ）

乾燥機

乾杯

Examples:

冬は空気が乾く。

この植物は乾燥に強い。

乾物は保存がきくから便利だ。

乾燥機を入れ替えた。

乾杯の音頭をとる。

Translations:

In winter, the air gets dry.

This plant is strong in arid conditions.

Dried food is convenient because it's preservable.

We replaced the dryer.

I will lead the toast.

Radical:

Otsunyou! This is our first kanji with the amazing bending 乙 radical. It's a pictograph of a line that bends.

But hold on... 乙 is also listed as the phonetic. Ehh, who cares?

Look on the left. Recognize that? It's the same left-hand part as in 朝. Think of it as the sun rising between plants.

So what's the deal with the other two lines on the right side, above 乙? They signify a flag or pennant. It's fostering the idea of the sun high in the sky.

So we've got the sun rising on the left, a signifier for the sun high in the sky, but what's 乙's role? It shows the sun's path from east to west.

Somehow, all of this combines to mean "dry." Perhaps something will dry if it is in the sun all day.

(From my Japan experience, I can tell you that is not true. Laundry can take two days to dry. It's ridiculously humid in that country.)

Important:

How is 乾 different from 枯?

The key may be in the skull (古) in 枯. 枯 indicates drying associated with death, like withering.

乾 is a lack of moisture. If the river is talked about using 乾く, there is no more water, it's completely evaporated.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm