1244/2000JLPT: N1School Grade: Junior high schoolThis character was formerly written 緣, a combi

1244/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character was formerly written 緣, a combination of 糸 thread and 彖 a Chinese-only character meaning “pig/hedgehog.” Here 彖 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while also lending a meaning of “dangling edge” (from the image of a pig with a rounded, hanging stomach). Together with 糸 this gives “threads used for edging/hemming” or “threads used for decorating/embroidering the edges of clothes/cloth.” Over time 縁 came to mean “edge” in general. The meanings of “relations” and “ties” are thought by some scholars to be the result of borrowings.