固 - It's HARD To Think With This TIGHT Headband on my Skull

Readings & Meanings:

かた（い）

こ

かた（める）

かた（まる）

solid, firm, hard

Common Usage:

固める

凝固剤

固定

Examples:

ゼリーを固める。

チーズには凝固剤が入っている。

棚を壁に固定する。

Translations:

The jelly is firming up.

I'm putting the coagulation agent into the cheese.

I'll fix the shelves to the wall.

Radical:

The box that surrounds this kanji is Kunigamae, 囗.

You probably recognize the inner kanji: 古. It's the same as in 古い, meaning old. But did you know that it's a pictograph of a skull? Skulls are old, indeed.

Part of 古's meaning is "hard." Another is "dried up."

Together, they depict something enclosed so tightly it can't move.

Important:

We're going to look at a lot of かたい words today.

This かたい has to do with being fixed or solid. Use it when you refer to something that is tightly fixed (with adhesive) to a surface, or use it when referring to solidity (picture molecules binding tightly to each other.

References:

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