麦
Wheat
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| None | むぎ | 生 + 夂 |
Meaning: Wheat
The life radical is without the slide (as it sometimes is), but when you combine that with the winter you have life during winter. What gives you life during the winter? It’s the wheat you store away.
Imagine you’re starving. It’s cold and you’ve run out of food. You don’t know what you’re going to do. If you don’t find something, you’ll lose your life. Then, you break open a barrel, and wheat pours out. It’s beautiful. You just found some life in the middle of winter.
Reading: むぎ
You found your wheat. Thank God. You’ll survive. You have to take the wheat back to your house, though. On your way, you get mugged (むぎ).
Imagine the disappointment. You go from finding life to losing it all… now you have no hope for the winter :( Also, keep in mind that むぎ and mug aren’t super-alike, so you’ll have to use it to get close enough to remember the actual reading, むぎ.
Vocabulary
If you’re a tea drinker, maybe you’ve heard of むぎちゃ? Delicious.
a 麦（むぎ）＝ Oats
a 小麦（こむぎ）＝ Wheat
- 小 (small) + 麦 (oats)
When you know the meaning, the kun’yomi, and the meaning of the vocab words, it’s time to move on.