取
Mnemonic
A warrior grabs his enemy by the ear and yanks it clean off. "Once more!" he growls, reaching for the second ear. To take both ears as trophies is the only way to prove his victory — he stuffs them into a pouch and marches back to camp.
Additional thoughts
The kanji literally originated from taking ears in battle. Visualize a fierce warrior collecting ear trophies, demanding 'once more' to grab the second one. The act of taking is brutal and visceral — let that rawness cement the image.Quick recall
A warrior rips off an ear, demands once more, and takes both as war trophies.Details
The keyword for 取 is take. This kanji conveys the fundamental action of grasping, seizing, or picking something up with one's hand. It originates from the ancient practice of taking an enemy's ear as proof of victory in battle, combining the ideas of ear and hand. In modern usage, it broadly refers to obtaining, acquiring, or removing something, and appears in countless compound words related to handling, receiving, and capturing.
- On'yomi
- しゅ
- Kun'yomi
- と.る、と.り、と.り-、とり、-ど.り