称する

しょうする · shousuru · JLPT N1 · verb-suru

to call oneself

🏷️ 称 = name/title (as in 名称 meishou); 称する = to call oneself by a title

する means 'to do', so 称する is roughly 'do a name': to give yourself a title. It appears in 自称 (jishou), 'self-proclaimed', literally 'self-call'.

称 — grain 禾 + 尔 (phonetic)
称 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the grain radical 禾 on the left points to weighing grain on a balance, while 尔 hints at the sound. It originally meant 'to weigh' on a steelyard, then extended to 'to state the weight of,' and finally to general senses like 'to call,' 'to name,' or 'title.'

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