Oh, and I've been meaning to ask you something. I'm planning to sort of maybe possibly try to learn a bit of Japanese, and I'm currently grappling with the logic of Chinese characters. So, to take an example:
朽, according to the dictionary, means "decay/rot" or "decaying/rotting". When, however, I look up "decay" (the English word) in a dictionary, 朽 does often turn up, but invariably in combination with other characters, to make up a variety of words relating to death/decay/crumbling/dying in seclusion (!).
So, my question is: does 朽 actually mean "decay" in the same sense that the English word "decay" means it, or is the meaning of 朽 closer to "a character, which, when taken together with other characters indicates a state of decay or rot"? In other words, does the character actually mean something on its own, or does it depend entirely on the context provided by other characters?
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Date: 2008-09-13 11:39 pm (UTC)朽, according to the dictionary, means "decay/rot" or "decaying/rotting". When, however, I look up "decay" (the English word) in a dictionary, 朽 does often turn up, but invariably in combination with other characters, to make up a variety of words relating to death/decay/crumbling/dying in seclusion (!).
So, my question is: does 朽 actually mean "decay" in the same sense that the English word "decay" means it, or is the meaning of 朽 closer to "a character, which, when taken together with other characters indicates a state of decay or rot"? In other words, does the character actually mean something on its own, or does it depend entirely on the context provided by other characters?
And is my question making any sense? :-P