Mnemonic
A mouth leans close to a tortoise's ear and whispers: "There's fresh lettuce just across the highway." That's how you tempt a slow, innocent creature into danger. The mouth keeps cooing sweet promises, and the tortoise, unable to resist, begins its doomed march forward.
Additional thoughts
Visualize a disembodied, cartoon-like mouth hovering beside a tortoise, whispering seductively. The mouth is the instrument of temptation; the tortoise is the gullible victim lured into peril. The whisper-and-waddle image locks the two radicals together.Quick recall
A mouth whispers to a tortoise to tempt it across the highway with promises of lettuce.Details
The keyword for 唆 is tempt. This kanji refers to the act of inciting, instigating, or luring someone into doing something, often with negative connotations. It suggests whispering persuasive words to entice another person toward a particular action, much like a tempter who subtly manipulates someone's decisions. The character is most commonly encountered in the compound 唆す (そそのかす), meaning to instigate or egg someone on.
- On'yomi
- さ
- Kun'yomi
- そそ.る、そそのか.す