Loek van Kooten, MAYou know the word 彼氏 (kareshi), boyfriend. But have you ever wondered what that second kanji actually means?
氏 (shi/uji) is one of the oldest identity markers in Japanese. It means "clan", "lineage", or simply "Mr. /Ms. " , and it is everywhere. When you fill out a form in Japan, 氏名 (shimei) asks for your name. When a news anchor refers to someone formally, they say X氏 (X-shi). And when Murasaki Shikibu wrote the world's first novel, she named her shining prince 光源氏 (Hikaru Genji): "shining one of the Minamoto clan. "
The kanji shows a person bending forward, pointing to the ground, to the low, the foundational, the root of a family. That connects 氏 to 底 (soko, bottom) and 低 (hikui, low): the foundation your family is built on. So 彼氏 (kareshi)? It combines 彼 (kare, "that/he") with 氏 (shi) as a formal way to refer to a person: "that gentleman. " In old Japan, knowing someone's 氏 (uji) told you everything: their rank, their ancestors, their place in society. Now 彼氏 (kareshi) just means your boyfriend.
From formal identity to casual romance in one word. Even the local shrine has a connection: 氏神 (ujigami) is the guardian deity of a clan or neighborhood. Your ujigami protects the land where your roots are. One kanji, stretching from ancient ancestor worship to filling out paperwork to texting your friends about your new kareshi. What is your favorite Japanese word that turned out to have a deeper meaning than you expected?
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