Importance of simple words - Helping words (じょし，助詞)

The important words in any languages are simple as these words are frequently used. The shorter the more economical. Native Japanese is not a exception. Because Helping Words (じょし, jyoshi，助詞) are so frequently or repeatedly used they have become very short. And the length of the word is contra-proportional to importance. The shorter the more important. Native Japanese Helping Words (じょし，助詞) are very simple and almost all of them are one syllable words like は(wa), が(ga), を(o), に(ni), へ(e), で(de), に (ni), から(kara). と(to). But these are very very important, especially Case Helping Words (かくじょし, kaku-joshi, 格助詞) since these show grammatical "cases". There are some other Helping Words than Case ones but Case Helping Words are vitally important in terms of Japanese grammar.


1) Nominative - To show a subject

は (pronounced as "wa" not "ha")
が (ga)

Please note that even the following case  は (wa) or が (ga) is required.

わたしは(wa)へやにいます。　I am in the room ---> I (わたし<watashi>) am (います<imasu> = exist) in (に <ni>) the room (へや<heya>).

Without  は (wa), that is わたし(は)へやにいます is possible and even without subject わたし<watashi>,  hat is (わたしは)へやにいます is possible when the person who listens to knows who speaks.

わたしが(ga)へやにいます。This can be said as an answer when some one asks you "who is in the room?' and わたしが(ga) must be stressed.

Instead when some one asks you "where are you?" You would say わたしは(wa)へやにいます and へや<heya> (the room) will be stressed.

 The functional differences between  は (wa) and が (ga) are very difficult to explain and very subtle in some cases. This is a another big topic.


2) Accusative - To show a direct object

を (pronounced as "o" not "wo")

あなたをみた(anata o mita) 。 あなた(anata = you) を(o)  みた(mita) 　= (I) saw you.
"I" is usually omitted as the person you talk to knows who is talking - I. But を(o) is necessary. Without を(o) the meaning changes to "you saw " because of the word order (without any Helping Word)


3) Dative - To show an indirect object

に (ni)
へ ((pronounced as "e" not "he")

いえにかえる　（ie ni kaeru) - いえ (ie, house) に (ni, to) かえる (karu, go back or return) - go back home

As "home" in this English sentence is not a noun but an adverb so it is not necessary to put a preposition to show the direction before "home". But if you use "house" you must put a preposition "to" - I go back to my house. The Japanese いえ (ie) is a noun. And it is required to put a Helping Word に (ni) to show the direction. Otherwise the sentence いえ(に)かえる means  - the house goes back due to the word order. かえる (kaeru) does not change whatever the subject is, say I, you, he, she, they, Taro (man's name), Hanako (woman's name), my dog, and even a house, or what ever. And いえかえる (the house goes back) does not make sense.

When I started learning Chinese (not Mandarin but Cantonese) I faced a problem to get to used to their usage. They do not put a preposition in front of the place you go to so they say.

I go school (我返学）(mandarin 我去上学）
I go house (我返屋企) (mandarin 我回家）

I was not able to accept psychologically these expressions. These sounded like <I eat a house>.  The second one can be said and usually said "I go home" so 我回家 (I - return - home) is almost the same as English word usage. But 屋企, 家 (home or house) are nouns, not adverbs, in Chinese.

To pretend to be a Chinese (not a native Japanese) you omit Helping Words and say

わたし（watashi)　いえ (ie)　かえる (kaeru)  instead of  わたしはいえにかえる

わたし（watashi)　いえ (ie)　かえる (kaeru)  means 我 家 回 which is made by changing the word order.


4) Locative - To show the place where an action is performed or an event happens or a thing exists

で (de)  - at, in on
に (ni)  - at, in on


5) Possessive, Genitive - To show possession, measurement, or source

の (no)  - 's, or "of" but in the op0osit word order

a cat of Hanako - はなこの(no)ねこ (neko, cat)


6) Ablative - To show separation or the place where an action or an event starts, or the means by which an action is performed.

から (kara) - from
で (de)  - by (by means of), with
と (to) - with (together with)


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Plural forms of Native Japanese

We once discussed "no equivalent Japanese word for the definite article <the>" before. There is another difficulty you will face when you translate English plural forms to Japanese or vice versa. Precisely speaking there is no equivalent Japanese words for English noun plural forms and adjective plural forms which are found in some other languages.

There is no difference in the forms of a noun between one peach and two or more peaches in Japanese.

one peach -  もも（momo)
two or more peaches  -  もも（momo)

There is a peach (on the table)  -  ももがある（momo ga aru)
 There are some peaches (on the table).  -   ももがある（momo ga aru)

Only when you are interested in a number of peaches in the second sentence you can say  ももが＜いくつか＞ある（momo ga ＜ikutsuka＞aru).

Some people may say we can show plural by using Japanese noun +  Japanese plural form or ending word or suffix like たち(tachi), ども(domo), ら(la or ra). But these are not equivalent plural forms to English plural forms which are made - generally by adding <-s> or <-es> after a noun. The Japanese たち(tachi), ども(domo), ら(la or ra) do not show purely or simply more than two but show a group or the group members of the noun and usually humans and some animals only not for non-living things.

So if we say  ももたちがある（momo tachi ga aru), ももどもがある（momo domo ga aru), ももらある（momo la (or ra) ga aru) these are very strange Japanese.

The above explains why the following are almost the same - no difference, single or plural.

とも (tomo)  -  ともだち (tomo dachi) = both mean either a friend or friends
こ (ko)  -  こども (ko domo)  = both mean either a child or children.

Mystery of Native Japanese 1, 2, 3 .....

Native Japanese numbers are mysterious. Where did they come from? Although we have the China origin numbers which are more commonly used than the native counterparts, still the Native Japanese numbers are used in everyday life especially 1 to 10. Let's look at them.

1.  ひとつ　 hi-to-tsu
2.  ふたつ　hu-ta-tsu 
3.  みっつ    mit-tsu  
4.  よっつ　 yot-tsu 
5.  いつつ　 i-tsu-tsu
6.  むっつ　 mut-tsu 
7.  ななつ　 nana-tsu
8.  やっつ　 yat-tsu
9.  ここのつ　kokono-tsu
10. とお　　tō

In case we count one to ten continually and fast in Native Japanese, they become

1.  ひ　 hi
2.  ふ　hu
3.  み    mi
4.  よ　 yo
5.  いつ　 i-tsu
6.  む　 mu
7.  なな　 nana
8.  や(あ)  ya (a) -  relatively long <ya>
9.  ここの　kokono
10. とお　　tō

These sound more native Japanese but seldom used in this was except 10.　とお (tō). So these are not independent except again 10. とお (tō).

How many pieces you have?   - as an answer only 10. とお (tō) is OK. The others are not used as an an aswer as they are. The answer should be 1.  ひとつ (hi-to-ts),  2.  ふたつ (hu-ta-tsu). etc.


Days of a month - 1 to 10. Some modification made in pronunciation but generally the number + ka.

1st day -  tsuitachi - exception 
2nd day - hu-tsu-ka
3rd day - mi-kka
4th day - yo-kka
5th day - itsu-ka
6th day - mui-ka
7th day - nano-ka
8th day - yō-ka
9th day - kokono-ka
10th day - tō-ka

Please note that these are not the ordinal numbers and only show the days of a month.

Origin of the Native Japanese numbers

1.  ひとつ　 hi-to-tsu    <---- hi-to    <---- hit
2.  ふたつ　hu-ta-tsu   <---- hu-ta   <---- hut
3.  みっつ    mit-tsu     <---- mit
4.  よっつ　 yot-tsu     <----  yot
5.  いつつ　 i-tsu-tsu    <---- yit  +  tsu + tsu (doubled) (*)
6.  むっつ　 mut-tsu     <---- mut
7.  ななつ　 nana-tsu   <---- nana
8.  やっつ　 yat-tsu      <---- yat
9.  ここのつ　kokono-tsu   <---- kokono
10. とお　　tō

Comparing with the number of the other languages, the Native Japanese numbers seem very systematic in pronunciation as  1 - 9 have the same ending <-tsu>.  This <-tsu> is probably added to the original-original word to show the number and likely its origin was <-t>. This <-t> seems foreign as almost all Native Japanese words end with a vowel. We did not notice as we learned at very early age but these number words are a bit difficult to pronounce due to <-tsu>. 10 (tō) shall be treated as an exception.

＜age＞

age 20 - hata-chi
age 30 - mi-so-ji
age 40 - yo-so-ji
age 50 - i-so-ji (not i-tsu-so-ji)
age 60 - mu-so-ji
age 70 - nana-so-ji
age 80 - ya-so-ji
age 90 - kokono-so-ji

Some people say "ji" and "chi" of "hatachi" are the same origin so "ji" is Japanese origin although it sounds like Chinese origin.



I made a wild guess of the origin of these numbers and the conclusion is as below. Please see the above Origin of the Native Japanese numbers as well.

1.   hit  (phonetically used to be <phit>)
2.   hut (phonetically used to be <phut>)
3.   mit
4.   yot
5    yit
6.   mut
7.   nana
8.   yat
9.   kokono

Quite systematic or simple in terms of the ending, isn't it? Except  7 (nana) and 9 (kokono), which sound more like Native Japanese.

Reference (to show almost no connection with other languages)

          Korean                         Mongolian                        Turkish          
1     하나      hana               нэг          Neg                   bir  (BEER)

2     둘          dul                  хоёр        Khoior               iki  (ee-KEE)

3     셋          set                   гурав      Gurav                 üç   (EWCH)

4     넷          net                  дөрөв     Döröv                 dört  (DURRT)

5     다섯      daseot             тав          Tav                     beş  (BEHSH)
       
6     여섯      yeoseot            зургаа     Zurgaa                altı  (ahl-TUH)

7     일곱      ilgop               долоо     Doloo                  yedi  (yeh-DEE)

8     여덟      yeodeol            найм      Naym                  sekiz  (seh-KEEZ)

9     아홉      ahop               ес           Es                         dokuz  (doh-KOOZ)

10     열        yeol          арав.арван   Arav Arvan            on      (OHN)


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Direcions in Native Japanese

We talked about the poor vocabulary of geometry in Native Japanese before. How about the directions. We have enough.

East  -  ひがし (hi-ga-shi; 東)
West -  にし (ni-shi; 西)
South -  みなみ (mi-na-mi; 南)
North -  きた (ki-ta; 北)
Right -  みぎ (mi-ghi; 右)
Left -  ひだり (hi-da-ri; 左)
Up -  うえ (u-e; 上)
Down -  した (shi-ta; 下)

We have but they are not so systematic in pronunciation. Only  ひがし (hi-ga-shi) and にし (ni-shi) have -shi at the end in common. These direction words are supposed to be used commonly but three of them ( ひがし (hi-ga-shi), みなみ (mi-na-mi) and ひだり (hi-da-ri)) are three letter words which are not easy to pronounce as two letter words (two letter words are very common in Native Japanese).


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Another two things - もの (mo-no, 物) and もの (mo-no, 者)

English word "thing" should not be a divine "human being". Native Japanese もの (mo-no) means "a thing" as well as "a person".

The pronunciations are the same and Native Japanese letters are the same too. These two are differentiated only in Chinese characters.

もの (mo-no) - thing　- 物　in Chinese character
もの (mo-no) - person  - 者  in Chinese character

The Chinese character 物 (pronounced as (mo-no) for "thing" is not always used in writing and quite often the Japanese letters もの (mo-no) is used while Chinese character 者 (pronounced as (mo-no)) for "person" is almost always used in writing. These two もの (mo-no)'s differ in meanings and in Chinese characters but the the origin was highly likely, or I would say "definitely", the same. The origin was もの (mo-no) for "thing".

We have a general  Native Japanese word for "person" - ひと (hi-to；人). We differentiate these two words for "person" in the following ways:

1) ひと (hi-to；人) is a general word and can be used independently while  もの (mo-no; 者) is almost always used with "specifier" or "qualifier" word or words. So, you can say ＜ひと (hi-to)は ...... ＞ but you cannot say ＜もの (mo-no; 者) は ...... ＞

2) ひと (hi-to；人) is a general word and can be used with almost any "specifier" or "qualifier" while もの (mo-no; 者) is used with limited "specifier" or "qualifier" word(s), and quite often "bad","unwelcome" one(s).

Examples

おたずねもの(者)（o-ta-zu-ne-mo-no)　- a "wanted" person
おろかもの(者)（na-ma-ke-mo-no)   -  a stupid person
きらわれもの(者)（ki-ra-wa-re-mo-no) 　-  a hated person
くせもの(者)（ku-se-mo-no)   -   an invader into a house, a untrusted or dubious person
すきもの(者)（su-ki-mo-no)   -   a playboy
たわけもの(者)（ta-wa-ke-mo-no)  　-   a stupid person
なまけもの(者)（na-ma-ke-mo-no)   -   a lazy person
ならずもの(者)（na-ra-zu-mo-no)   -   an outlaw
のけもの(者)（no-ke-mo-no)  -   an avoided or neglected person
ばかもの(者)（ba-ka-mo-no)  -   a stupid person
おおばかもの(者)（o-o-ba-ka-mo-no)  -   a "big" stupid person
ひねくれもの(者)（hi-ne-ke-re-mo-no)  - a  "twisted" person
よそもの(者)（yo-so-mo-no)   -   an outsider, a foreigner
わるもの(者)（wa-ru-mo-no)  -   a bad person

Currently neutal but undesirable before 
ひとりもの(者)（hi-to-ri-mo-no)  - an unmarried person

The followings can be regarded as either " a person" or " a thing".
おおもの(者、物)（o-o-mo-no)  -   a big (influential)  person or thing
じゃまもの(者、物)（jya-ma-mo-no)  -   a troublesome and  unwelcome person or a obstacle object
わらいもの(者、物)（wa-ra-i-mo-no)  - an object or arson being laughed at

The last thee examples indicate that the origin of the two もの (mo-no)'s are the same - もの (mo-no) for "thing".

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Two big things - もの (mo-no) and こと (ko-to)

The English word "thing" has two things when translated to Native Japanese. One is a material "thing" もの (mo-no) and the other is abstract "thing"　こと (ko-to) . We have the word ものごと (mo-no-go-to), which is もの (mo-no) + こと (ko-to) and means very roughly "everything".

"Thing" is a very general word and has many different meanings. The most similar word would be "object". "Object" is more specific than "thing".  Again "thing" is a very general word as it has at least two general meanings in  Native Japanese - もの (mo-no) and こと (ko-to). The problem is that もの (mo-no) and こと (ko-to) are very commonly and frequently used in every day life (which means that there are countless examples to check) and the Japanese people differentiate these two words unconsciously, which means that it is very difficult to analyze the unconscious uses of the words, although worth challenging.

1) Visible もの (mo-no) and Invisible こと (ko-to)

もの (mo-no) is a thing which generally can be seen and こと (ko-to) is a thing which  generally cannot be seen. Let's look at some examples.

You should keep an important thing in a safe. (Note 1)
This thing can be seen then in Native Japanese  もの (mo-no) is used
たいせつなものは金庫にしまっておくべきだ。 ...... (ta-i-se-tsu-na-mo-no-wa .......)

The important thing is ......
This thing cannot be seen then in Native Japanese こと (ko-to) is used
たいせつなことは ...... (ta-i-se-tsu-na-ko-to-wa .......)

As said above "things in Native Japanese" are not so simple.

2)  もの (mo-no) as a material object and こと (ko-to) as an event


We can say ＜ものをたべる (mo-no-o-ta-be-ru)＞ or ＜to eat  もの (mo-no)＞  but cannot say ＜ことをたべる (ko-to-o-ta-be-ru)＞ or ＜to eat  こと (ko-to)＞.

We can say ＜ことがおきる (ko-to-ga-o-ki-ru）＞ or ＜こと (ko-to) happens＞ but cannot say ＜ものがおきる(mo-no-ga-o-ki-ru）＞or ＜もの (mo-no) happens＞.

3) Indefinite  もの (mo-no) and Definite こと (ko-to)  

As shown in the above examples, もの (mo-no) is used as an indefinite object (any) while こと (ko-to) usually implies a definite object (the xxxx, xxxx which). The following words support that もの (mo-no) is used as an indefinite object (any).

ものうり (mo-no-u-ri; 物売り)  -  a vender (a person selling things)
ものおき (mo-no-o-ki: 物置)  -  a store room (a place for storing things)
ものおぼえ(mo-no-o-bo-e; 物覚え)  -  an ability of remembering  things
ものおもい(mo-no--o-mo-i; 物思い)  -  pondering things
ものかき(mo-no-ka-ki; もの書き)  -  a person writing things
ものがたり(mo-no-ga-ta-ri; 物語り)   -   telling things
ものしり(mo-no-shi-ri; 物知り)  -  a person knowing things
ものとり(mo-no-to-ri; 物取り) -  a person stealing things
ものもち(mo-no-mo-chi; 物持ち)-  a person having things

All these mo-no's are very general and cannot be replaced with こと (ko-to). On the other hand こと (ko-to) is usually used when indicating (not showing as こと (ko-to) is usually not seen) something which is already specified either explicitly or implicitly.

もの (mo-no) + adjective

ものうい (mo-no-o-u-i)  
ものおそろしい (mo-no-o-so-ro-shi-i)  -  (not sure about what but) horrible, frightening
ものがなしい (mo-no-o-ga-na-shi-i) -  (not sure about what and why but) sad
ものさびしい (mo-no-o-sa-bi-shi-i)  -  (not sure why but) lonly
ものしずか (mo-no-o-sh-zu-ka)   -  (somehow) silent
ものたりない (mo-no-o-ta-ri-na-i)  -  (not sure of what but) insufficient

もの (mo-no) adds "not sure" feeling (indefinite) to the original adjective.

もの (mo-no) has also has generalization function of a thing, either a material object or non-material object.

くるま (ku-ru-ma; 車) というものは (to-i-u-mo-no-wa) ......
 Things about cars are .......
 いのち (i-no-chi: 命) というものは (to-i-u-mo-no-wa) ......
Things about life are .......

On the other hand,  こと (ko-to) has 'objectization’ function of a verb or action. This is similar to the English infinitive.

みるということは (mi-ru-to-i-u-ko-to-wa; 見る) -  To see is .....
きくということは (ki-ku-to-i-u-ko-to-wa; 聞く) -  To hear is .....
たべるということは (ta-be-ru-to-i-u-ko-to-wa; 食べる) -  To eat is .....
おもうということは (o-mo-u-to-i-u-ko-to-wa; 思う) - To think is ......
するということは (su-ru-to-i-u-ko-to-wa)  - To do is .....

The last するということは (su-ru-to-i-u-ko-to-wa) differs from することは (su-ru-ko-to-wa), which means "the thing to do is .......".

Although もの (mo-no) is used as an indefinite object (any) while こと (ko-to) usually implies a definite object there are many exceptions.

ものがものだけに（なので）...... (mo-no-ga-mo-no-da-ke-ni (na-no-de)......)
Literally - As the thing is the thing ......
ことがことだけに（なので）...... (ko-to-ga-ko-to-da-ke-ni (na-no-de)......)
Literally - As the thing is the thing ......

You may be confused. This is analogous (in terms of sentence structure, not the meaning) to "This is it." Although が(ga) is used もの (mo-no) and こと (ko-to) are the definite things in these uses. Still, ものがものだけに shows some ambiguity while ことがことだけに shows some definiteness.


(Note 1)
Is is important to know that there is no Native Japanese adjective for "important". I tried to find but found one but not one word - こころすべき (ko-ko-ro-se-be-ki) which means literally "should do heart" or something like "should pay attention" .
たいせつ (ta-i-se-tsu) seems Native Japanese but it is not.  たいせつ (ta-i-se-tsu) is 大切 in Chinese characters and pronounced 'da-qie'. たい (ta-i) is similar to 大(da). But せつ (se-tsu) is quite different from 切 (qie) and and 大切 cannot be found in Chinese. And even せつ (se-tsu) is independently used such as せつに (se-tsu-ni; 切に)  or "sincerely". So it seems たい (ta-i) is Chinese origin and せつ (se-tsu) is Native Japanese - this combination is common in Japanese. However せつ (se-tsu) is highly likely Chinese origin and deeply set into Japanese. See below.

季節 （きせつ）　(ki-se-tsu)  -  季节 (ji-jie)
接続（せつぞく）(se-tsu-zo-ku) - 连接 (lian-jie)

だいじな (daiji-na, 大事な) is another Chinese origin word for "important". The original Chinese meaning of  だいじ (daiji, 大事) was and is "a big thing" literally and more often "a big incident". And it is a noun not an adjective. To change it to an adjective in Japanese you must add the adjective suffix な (na) to the noun. The original Japanese meaning may have been "of a big incident". This has been changed to the meaning of importance (noun). Or as Native Japanese of "a big thing" or "a big incident" is おおごと (o-o-goto) already existed so だいじ (daiji, 大事) was used differently form おおごと (o-o-goto). おおごと can be written by using Chinese Characters as 大事 (pronounced as "o-o-goto"). So in Japanese 大事 has two different meanings and pronunciations.

Native Japanese: 大事 (pronounced as "o-o-goto")  - a big thing,  a big incident

 Chinese origin: だいじ (daiji, 大事)- importance (noun),  だいじな (daiji-na, 大事な) - important (adj)

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Geometry in Native Japanese - 5 - Solid

 As the last section of Geometry in Native Japanese  we will review "solid".

3) 3D - solid or volume     Chinese　　体（立体）　　Native Japanese　かたまり（ka-ta-ma-ri; 塊 or lump）

The Native Japanese for "solid" is  かたまり（ka-ta-ma-ri). Like "solid" かたまり（ka-ta-ma-ri) comes from an adjective  かたい（ka-ta-i) or "hard".  かたまる（ka-ta-ma-ru) means " to become solidified" and かためる（ka-ta-me-ru) means " to solidify". かたまり（ka-ta-ma-ri) can be regarded as a noun form of  the verb  かたまる（ka-ta-ma-ru).

Native Japanese is very poor for "solid" like おもて（o-mo-te) and we usually use the Chinese origin sound たい (ta-i; 体, Chinese: ti). The exact word from Chinese origin for 3D is りったい（ri-ttai; 立体）. "Solid' is not an exact word for 3D, either. "Solid' is  こたい (ko-ta-i; 固体) in Japanese and 固体(gu-ti) in Chinese.

Line, surface have shapes but "shape" is usually refers to a solid.

Shape related Native Japanese

shape -  かたち （ka-ta-chi)  - which may have come from かた (ka-ta).

form -   かたち （ka-ta-chi) , かた (ka-ta)

figure -  すがた (su-ga-ta)

body  -  からだ (ka-ra-da) - usually a human body

These words are used very commonly and have figurative uses while かたまり（ka-ta-ma-ri). is not so often used and almost no figurative use.


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Geometry in Native Japanese - 4 - Surface

Now look at "surface" or "face" in Japanese.

2) 2D - surface or area      Chinese　　面　　　　　　Native Japanese　おもて（o-mo-te; 面 or face）

The common Japanese word for "surface" is  かお (ka-o；顔). Another word for "face" is an old or 'classic' word - おも（o-mo; 面) or おもて（o-mo-te; 面). て（te) of  おもて（o-mo-te; 面). is s suffix, probably derived from 手（te). which is originally for 'hand", showing a direction. A direction is often indicated by a hand.

おもて（o-mo-te; 面手、表)  -  front side
うらて（u-ra-te; 裏手) -  back side
かみて（ka-mi-te; 上手) -  up side, upper side
しもて（shi-mo-te; 下手) -  down side.  bottom side
やまのて(ya-ma-no-te; 山の手) -  mountain (hill)  side

おもて（o-mo-te; 面手、表) usually refer to " front side surface" not ' surface'. A Native Japanese word for "surface" does not seem to have been developed. We usually use the Chinese origin sound めん(me-n; 面, Chinese: mian). ひょうめん（hyou-men; 表面) is more like " front side surface".

Anyway Native Japanese is very poor for "surface".



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Geometry in Native Japanese - 3 - Line

1) 1D - line                       Chinese　　線　　　　　　Native Japanese　すじ（su-ji; 筋 or stripes in muscles, veins）

The native Japanese for "line" is a strange word すじ(su-ji; 筋). すじ(su-ji) is one or more stripes seen  in muscles or veins in a body or veins seen a leaf. Although somewhat strange I cannot find any other more appropriate word for "line" than すじ(su-ji). Like め(me; 目) すじ(su-ji)  is a part of a human body so it may have been natural to use this word for describing  すじ(su-ji) like or "line" like objects.

The English word "line" has not so versatile meanings as"point" and すじ(su-ji) is not so versatile as め(me; 目) either.

The English word "line" has several different meanings such as:

a) a long mark
b) a border which divides one are into two areas
c) an outline, contour. Outline is also referred to abstract of a long story
d) a series of somethings
e) a route

すじ(su-ji) refers to one line as well as a bundle of several lines like stripes and veins. Is is also used as a counting word, counting how many lines but not up to a large number, say roughly max ten lines.

Example
ひとすじのいと　－　ひと (hi-to, one) すじ(su-ji) の (no, of) いと (ito; 糸, thread)

すじ(su-ji) as a border
The Chinese word 線 (sen) is used for a boarder together with other Chinese word(s) but すじ(su-ji) is not.
As we already seen in め(me), め(me) is used - さかいめ (sa-ka-i-me) .

すじ(su-ji) as an outline
 あらすじ (a-ra-su-ji)  -  Rough Outline of a story
すじがき(su-ji-ga-ki)  - Outline of a story
すじみち(su-ji-mi-chi; 筋道)  -  Not an outline but a line of reasoning. みち(mi-chi) is a road.

すじ(su-ji) as a series of somethings
ちすじ (chi-su-ji; 血筋)  - A blood line, family line

すじ(su-ji) as a route
みちすじ(mi-chi-su-ji; 道筋)  -  A route how to go. The reversed word order of  すじみち(su-ji-mi-chi; 筋道).

In the above you can see several thing in common in both "line" and  すじ(su-ji).

Figuratively すじ(su-ji) has good connotation and must be straight or go straight through. ＜すじ(su-ji) をまげる（wo ma-ge-ru) ＞or "to bend a line" and ＜すじ(su-ji) がとおらない（ga to-o-ra-na-i)＞do not have a good meaning.

すじ(su-ji) をまげる（wo ma-ge-ru)  -  Not to take a righteous way. To become inconsistent.
すじ(su-ji) がとおらない（ga to-o-ra-na-i) - Not reasonable. Not to follow a line of reasoning or a righteous way.

すじがね(su-ji-ga-ne; すじ金 )　－　がね（ga-ne; 金 ) or かね (ka-ne; 金) is metal. So, すじがね(su-ji-ga-ne) is a very strongすじ(su-ji) made by medal. Usually referring to being spiritually or mentally very strong. Not easy to bend.

Other すじ(su-ji) related words and expressions

うれすじ　(ure-su-ji; 売れ筋） -  a line of products which are selling well
すじがいい　(su-ji-ga-ii-i: 筋がいい） -  having a good sense of doing or mastering something

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Let's look at the English and Native Japanese words for "line" like objects.

thread -  いと　(i-to；糸)
string -   ひも　 (hi-mo)
rope -    なわ　(na-wa), つな　(tsu-na)
wire -    なわ　(na-wa), つな　(tsu-na)
cord - 　つる　（tsu-ru)

いと(i-to；糸) and  ひも(hi-mo) seem to be purely nouns. But the others seem to be derived from the verbs.

なわ　(na-wa)  -   なう　(na-u)  - to twist
つな　(tsu-na)  -   つなぐ　(tua-na-gu)  -  to link, to connect
つる　（tsu-ru)  -  　つる　(tsu-ru), つるす(tsu-ru-su)  - to hang  (つる(tsu-ru) also means "to fish" by using a fishing thread).


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Geometry in Native Japanese - 2 - Point

As a series of Geometry in Native Japanese we start with "point" followed by "line", "surface" and "solid".


0) 0D - point                     Chinese    点　　　　　　 Native Japanese　め（me; 目 or eye）

The English word "point" has many meanings almost as many as the Japanese word  め (me).

a) a dot
b) a sharpened tip
c) a target
d) a score or measurement
e) an important thing
f) a place where some change is noticed
may have some more

め （me) originally meant a human eye. But it has almost the same meaning as the above English meanings. That is why I selected め（me) or eye as an equivalent to "point'. The Japanese use め（me) for one eye and also two or more eyes. め（me) become to have more meanings than eye.

A. Eye like shape (object) and usually small in size
a) a small hole place (almost point like small) like a needle - はりのめ（ha-ri-no-me) or はりのめど（ha-ri-no-medo) or more generally (and recently) はりのあな（ha-ri-no-an).
It is interesting to compare the English and Japanese of the names of the parts of a needle. A sewing needle has a point at one end and a hole at the other end. The Japanese call the one end as さき (先, saki) and the other め (me). So in this case め (me) is not the point (of a needle) but the hole.



b)  a small space closed lines - like   in a mesh, net and sieve　－あみのめ（a-mi-no-me) or eyes of a mesh (net).
c)  a knot - むすびめ (mu-su-bi-me) or eye of a knot. When a wire (or thread or rope) is or two wires (or threads or ropes) are knotted the knotted part becomes like a small eye or lump.

Even when め (me) is elongated horizontally by pressing both from the top and bottom , which is more like a line (not a pint)  it is still called め (me).

さけめ (sa-ke-me)
われめ (wa-re-me)



This concept (like a line) is further extended to to a line in terms of a border.

さかいめ (sa-ka-i-me)    -    border (line) - not distinctive and long "line"

Meanwhile it may be related with the concept of border (where two different things meet)

め (me) has a similar meaning of the point used as <a turning point>.

かわりめ (ka-wa-ri-me)            - a turning point 
ふしめ (hu-shi-me)            - a turning point

ふしめ (hu-shi-me)  is not exactly the same as かわりめ (ka-wa-ri-me) , which is more like a point where something (diection, quntity, quality, etc) chages while ふしめ (hu-shi-me)  is literally 'an eye of wood knot" or "a nodal of bamboo" where you can also see change in shape, color, tissue, material, etc.

わかれめ (wa-ka-re-me)          - a parting point


め (me) as a target
The native Japanese for "target" is まと（ma-to, 的）. めど(me-do) is also used but the meaning differs. This めど(me-do) has already been seen in the above - はりのめど（ha-ri-no-me-do) - a hole of a needle.
まと（ma-to, 的） and めど(me-do) are brothers (or sisters or a bother and sister). The pronunciations are are close - or they seem to have the same origin. まと（ma-to, 的） has a similar meaning to "target" while めど(me-do) is more like

めじるし（(me-ji-ru-shi, 目印 ) literally means "eye-mark". めじるし（(me-ji-ru-shi) is not a target but a mark for eyes. A mark is usually detected by eye so めじるし（(me-ji-ru-shi) or "eye-mark" is a kind of exaggeration of mark.

Again meanwhile  まど(ma-do、窓) means "window". The similarity in pronunciation is coincident or may have some relation. まど(ma-do) is explained as originally 間戸(ma-do), literally "space (ma) -door (do <-- to)".


め (me) as a score or measurement
めかた (me-ka-ta, 目方) means "weight".  かた (ka-ta, 方) originally means "direction".
めもり (me-mo-ri, 目盛り) means "marks of measurement" usually small lines, which you see on a ruler or tape measure.


め (me) as an important thing
かなめ (ka-na-me, 金目(or 要) or  metal eye ) is originally a metal eye like part (rivet) of a folding fan. All the folding parts get together at this point.



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As even one topic of "point" or  め (me; 目) has become long, the next topic "line" or すじ(su-ji; 筋) will be explained in the next post.


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