KANJI: ROKU RIKU mu (six)

ASCII Art Representation:

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Character Etymology:

One popular theory as to how the this character came to look this way is that an early form of the character looked like two hands of which the thumbs and index fingers are joined in a circle and the remaining three fingers are pointed downwards: yielding six free fingers with a circle in the middle.

However, earlier evidence suggests that this character was once written as a roof, which was itself a phoenetic substitute for a complex character meaning clenched fist, which was an old way of showing six.

A Listing of All On-Yomi and Kun-Yomi Readings:

on-yomi: ROKU RIKU
kun-yomi: mu mu(tsu) mu(tsu) mui

Nanori Readings:

Nanori: ku mutsu roっ rotsu

English Definitions:

1. RIKU, ROKU, mu(tsu), mu(ttsu), mu: six.
2. mu(zukashii): hard, difficult; delicate; troublesome; doubtful; hopeless; stern; sullen; serious; technical.

Character Index Numbers:

New Nelson: 371
Henshall: 76

Unicode Encoded Version:

六

Unicode Encoded Compound Examples:

六月 (rokugatsu): June.
六日 (muika): The sixth day (of the month).
六角形 (rokkakukei): hexagon.
六分儀 (rokubungi): a sextant.

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