粗筋
あらすじ · arasuji · JLPT N2 · noun
outline
📜 粗筋 = rough + sinew/thread: the rough plot line, i.e. a synopsis
粗 (ara) means rough or coarse, as in 粗い. 筋 (suji) means sinew, a line, or a story's thread, as in 筋書き (a script or plot). Put together, the story's rough threads give you the outline.
粗 — rice 米 + crude/rough 且
A semantic-phonetic compound. The left 米 (rice) hints at the meaning, since unhulled or coarsely milled rice is rough and grainy. The right 且 supplies the sound. From 'coarse rice' the meaning extended to 'thick, rough, crude' in general.
筋 — bamboo 竹 + flesh 月(肉) + strength 力
A semantic compound: 月 (flesh) shows it relates to the body, 力 (strength) hints at muscular force, and 竹 (bamboo) suggests fibers like bamboo strands. Together they depict the sinews or tendons that give the body its strength.