琴
こと · koto · JLPT N3 · noun
harp
🪕 琴 = 王王 (strings over bridges) + 今 (sound hint): koto, the zither
The 王王 on top is not two kings: it began as strings stretched over bridges. 今 (kin) gives the character's on'yomi reading キン. On its own in Japanese it is read こと, the long 13-string zither.
琴 — two 玉 (jade) on top + 今 (jīn) phonetic below
Originally a pictograph of a stringed instrument, showing strings stretched over a wooden body. The modern form reanalyzes the top as paired 玉 (jade), suggesting the precious tone of the instrument, while 今 at the bottom hints at the pronunciation qín. It refers to the ancient Chinese zither (guqin).
きん · kin · JLPT N2 · noun
zither
琴 = 玉 jade radical (left) + 今 kin, the sound clue (right)
The left side is the jade radical, a hint that the word is about a precious instrument. The right side, 今, gives the reading kin, so the sound and the meaning are both built into the character.
琴 — two 玉 (jade) on top + 今 (jīn) phonetic below
Originally a pictograph of a stringed instrument, showing strings stretched over a wooden body. The modern form reanalyzes the top as paired 玉 (jade), suggesting the precious tone of the instrument, while 今 at the bottom hints at the pronunciation qín. It refers to the ancient Chinese zither (guqin).