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Bundle 30: Limbs and Joints

Characters for body parts often feature 月 radicals. That's true here, but these four kanji have much more in common. First, limbs and joints are prone to soreness, injury, and disability, requiring various healing modalities. Second, the shoulders, elbows, and knees can show how we're relating to other people; the Japanese associate these body parts with lending support, sitting close for an intimate talk, and reining in someone's behavior. Those body parts also play roles in martial arts and sumo. Finally, one's stance can express seriousness, tension, pride, shame, discouragement, respect, remorse, or a lack of reservedness.
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肩
shoulder
JOK: 1212
Your head rests on two good shoulders. The roads you travel on may have shoulders. Metaphorically, your shoulders help you carry the weight of burdens. Clearly, you need to know how to discuss shoulders. This essay will teach you key vocabulary and expressions related to this topic. You'll find out, for instance, what a tap on the shoulder means in Japan. Furthermore, you'll learn what the slope of shoulders indicates about someone's state of mind.
肢
limb
JOK: 1317
Find out about a kanji in which, etymologically, human limbs are likened to tree branches. Learn to refer to physical disabilities in general, to people who have them, to phantom pain, and to types of paralysis. See how the Japanese compare a sexy woman to a certain lithe animal that pops up three times in this essay. And discover how 肢 ended up in a word for “choices.”
膝
knee
JOK: 2100
See what a Buddhist priest and a mollusk have to do with kneecaps. Also learn what role the knee plays with regard to intimacy, romance, negotiations, protection, influence, respect, and sudden emotion or comprehension. Find out why the Japanese would go down on one or both knees, even sliding forward on the knees instead of walking, and why rakugo performers hide their knees.
肘
elbow
JOK: 2101
Learn how the Japanese talk about leaning on elbows, standing with arms akimbo, hitting the funny bone, and elbowing someone in the ribs. Find out about massaging the elbows versus massaging with the elbows. See what an "elbow gun" might be and what it means to pull someone's elbow figuratively. Also learn words for the elbows on dogs, clothes, and even buildings!
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