管
くだ · kuda · JLPT N3 · noun
pipe
🎋 管 = bamboo 竹 on top + 官: early pipes were hollow bamboo tubes
The bamboo radical 竹 marks things made of bamboo, and a hollow bamboo stem was the first pipe. 官 (kan) supplies the on-reading kan, as in 水道管 suidōkan, water pipe. The native reading くだ kuda is the plain word for a tube.
管 — bamboo radical 竹 + official 官 (phonetic)
Originally a pictograph of a bamboo tube or pipe, written with the bamboo radical 竹 on top. The lower component 官 supplies the sound. From 'bamboo pipe' it extended to 'tube,' then to 'manage' or 'control' — since pipes channel and regulate flow, the meaning shifted toward administration.
かん · kan · JLPT N3 · noun
pipe
🎋 管 = bamboo ⺮ + 官 (kan): a hollow bamboo stalk is a pipe
The bamboo radical ⺮ on top gives the meaning, because hollow bamboo stems were the first pipes and tubes. The lower part 官 gives the sound kan. Sound hook: a kan is a can, a short metal tube.
管 — bamboo radical 竹 + official 官 (phonetic)
Originally a pictograph of a bamboo tube or pipe, written with the bamboo radical 竹 on top. The lower component 官 supplies the sound. From 'bamboo pipe' it extended to 'tube,' then to 'manage' or 'control' — since pipes channel and regulate flow, the meaning shifted toward administration.