Halpern says that 呂 supplies the RO sound to words in an ateji-like way. In fact, just as English kids learn their ABCs, Japanese kids learn iroha, usually written as いろは but also rendered as 伊呂波. (The first kanji means “that one,” and the last means “wave,” but ignore those meanings here.) The word 伊呂波 refers to the traditional ordering of the Japanese syllabary. And just as English speakers refer to the ABCs of a topic (which is to say the basic knowledge required), Japanese speakers use 伊呂波 to mean “the fundamentals.” Here’s an example:
彼は商売の伊呂波も知らない。
Kare wa shōbai no iroha mo shiranai.
He doesn’t even know the basics of business.彼 (kare: he)
商売 (shōbai: business, commerce) trade + to sell
知 (shi(ru): to know)
Providing the sound RO and no meaning, 呂 appears in many words concerning baths. The word for “bath” is 風呂 (furo). (In this word, 風 also contributes sound, not meaning.)
Ah, that’s certainly familiar—風呂 is two-thirds of 風呂敷. So is there a connection between bathing and cloth wrappers? Was the first 風呂敷 a towel? Indeed, as one theory has it, people have used 風呂敷 to cover their private parts while approaching public baths.
Spahn and Breen say that 呂 also has two meanings.
1. 呂 can mean “tone.”
As such, it shows up in words such as the following:
語呂 (goro: euphony) to speak + tone
Halpern offers many possible meanings for 語. None fits neatly here, but in one other compound concerning tone of voice, 語 means “to speak.”
Add one kanji, and the meaning changes considerably:
語呂合わせ (goroawase: pun, play on words)
euphony (1st 2 chars.) + to matchWhen euphonic words match each other, you get a pun! I’m not sure that’s exactly how one creates puns, but never mind. Look how many mouths (口) there are in 語呂合! One mouth after another across the bottom, plus another up top. Lots of mouths to feed.
呂律 (roretsu: pronunciation, articulation)
tone + rhythmFlip this word, and you get 律呂 (ritsuryo: rhythm and pitch). Once that happens, the on-yomi of 呂 changes from RO to RYO. The yomi of 律 also switches from RETSU, which is an atypical yomi for for this kanji, to RITSU, which is one of its two on-yomi, as in 法律 (hōritsu: law, law + law).
2. 呂 can mean “spine” or “backbone.”
Aha, now we’re getting somewhere! Isn’t 呂 the perfect picture of a backbone? This pictograph shows two vertebrae, along with a small bit of spine. “Backbone” is the original meaning of 呂.
Unfortunately, I can’t find a single compound in which 呂 means “backbone.” The word for “spine” or “backbone” is 背骨 (sebone: back + bone). And “vertebra” is 椎骨 (tsuikotsu: spine + bone). Too bad. I wanted to see that back (呂) in action!
If you want to see 呂 in anatomical words, you have to look to the uterus!!! As we’ve seen, 子宮 (shikyū) means “womb, uterus” and breaks down as child + palace!
So a backbone (or a tone) under a roof is a palace! Go figure!
