124. The "Feather" Radical: 羽

Why Are These Kanji Winged?

The 羽 character is the pictograph of a "bird's wings," so it's obvious why 羽 (812: feather; wing; counter for birds or rabbits; "feather" radical) means what it does (except perhaps for the rabbit part!). Similarly, it's not surprising that 翼 (1885) means "wing," given what's on top. But what about the other four kanji? Let's look at Henshall's etymologies:

習 (307: to learn; custom)

The etymology is somewhat obscure but because the bottom part phonetically expressed "repeat" in the past, the whole character once represented a "repeated (flapping of the) wings." This referred to a fledgling's learning to fly. Henshall doesn't say more about how 習 came to mean what it did, but both learning and customs involve a great deal of repetition. I love thinking that students and members of a culture figuratively keep flapping their wings until they learn something crucial!

翌 (988: next)

This character combines "wings" on top with "to stand, rise, leave" on the bottom. The 立 acts phonetically here to express "to fly" while lending the idea of "rise and leave." Originally, 翌 referred to a "bird flying off." The current meaning, "next," is borrowed, so the etymology is irrelevant, except that I anticipated that 羽 would appear in at least one kanji about taking wing, and 翌 used to mean that.

翁 (1037: elderly man; honorific title for a great man)

Henshall says in his newer edition that the radical may mean "feathers" here and that the 公 ("public, fair") may act phonetically to express "head, neck" in 翁. If all that is true, then 翁 represents “bird’s neck/head feathers.” One scholar who backs that view also notes that people have long used 翁 in place of two other characters meaning “old man” or something similar. 

翻 (1826: to flutter; overturn; change representation)

The newer edition says that the 羽 means “wings, plumage” and that the 番 (turn, number; guard) acts phonetically to express one of two things. If it conveys “flap in a flat manner,” then 翻 represents “bird flaps wings and flies.” But if the phonetic implies “return,” as when a bird repeatedly returns its wings to the same point, then 翻 symbolizes “move wings up and down and fly.” By extension, says Henshall, the character means “turn, change.”

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that 羽 appears in an extremely common kanji in which it is a mere component:

曜 (216: day of the week)

This character combines 日 (sun) and 隹 (bird) with 羽 (wings), says Henshall, noting that these parts combine to mean "sun winging like a bird, giving the passing of a day." 

Note that the 羽 shapes have turned into ヨ shapes in 曜. But they were originally 羽 and still are in the Chinese version of the character.

Photo Credit: Lutlam

We need to read the kanji on this cemetery monument from right to left, but how?! It's not easy to recognize the characters, as they're in seal script. Here are the modern versions:

石垣翁碑
Stone monument for the great Mr. Ishigaki

石垣 (いしがき: surname); 翁 (おう: elderly
great man); 碑 (ひ: inscribed stone monument)

The Japanese often use –翁 (-おう) as an honorific title for elderly great figures, so the 翁 here doesn't just refer to his age.

Look at the shape of the 羽 in the 翁 on the monument. There used to be more feathers in those wings. Just as men go bald, wings seem to lose feathers, at least in the kanji world!

While we're discussing the shape of 羽, I'd like to mention that this radical has a variant—namely, the part of the non-Joyo 栩 (type of oak) that lies to the right of 木.

Photo Credit: Eve Kushner

This sign is for a dental practice in Osaka with unusual hours. I glanced at the 午後9時 line several times without taking in what it's saying. Most businesses open at 9 a.m., so that's initially how I read it, but actually the 夜間 (やかん: nighttime) hours are from 午後9時 (ごごくじ: 9 p.m.) to 午前3時 (ごぜんさんじ: 3 a.m.) the 翌- (よく-: next) morning. That's appropriate because this is an emergency (緊急, きんきゅう) clinic. But what if there's a dental emergency between 3 and 9 in the morning?.