leah1 Posted July 9, 2007 at 09:50 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 09:50 AM Hi, I have a symbol on a plate and I don't have a clue what it means. Could someone please tell me if: 1- It is Chinese? If not any ideas 2- Does it mean anything? Thank you very much for your help. "][/url]? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChineseSpeaker Posted July 9, 2007 at 10:43 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 10:43 AM I am a native Chinese, but I can not recognise it. I think it is a Chinese character, but since Chinese language has an history of serveral thousands years, many character shape is radically different from its origin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 9, 2007 at 10:45 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 10:45 AM Looks like a poor attempt to copy or invent a Chinese character rather than anything I know. Perhaps it's meant to be 丙? But I can't see why you'd have that on the bottom of a plate, and it doesn't even look that much like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmySeal Posted July 9, 2007 at 11:16 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 11:16 AM Looks like 取 to me. Dunno if it's a bad copy or an actual historical form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted July 9, 2007 at 11:28 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 11:28 AM But I can't see why you'd have that on the bottom of a plateAlthough I can't tell whether it's on the bottom of the plate but I can tell from the strokes of the character that the character is an imitation by someone who is not very good at writing characters (and who may not even know characters). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmySeal Posted July 9, 2007 at 11:30 AM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 11:30 AM It appears to be the middle of the upper side of the plate, which some could call the bottom, not to be confused with the underside. I didn't do an apprenticeship in pottery for nothin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommi Posted July 9, 2007 at 01:07 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 01:07 PM Perhaps it coukld be this: 朿 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leah1 Posted July 9, 2007 at 02:30 PM Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 02:30 PM Hello, Thanks you for your quick replies. The plate was made in England and painted in England and it is very likely that the person who decorated it didn't know a word of Chinese or whatever language it may be (very much like myself!!). The symbol is on the front of the plate so is obviously meant to be seen and I guess mean something. Would somebody just invent a random symbol?? Any more ideas and translations in English, even a guess, greatly apreciated. Thanks Leah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted July 9, 2007 at 02:59 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 02:59 PM I see 取. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 9, 2007 at 03:26 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 03:26 PM It's like a Rorschach test . . . what does everyone else see in the random cluster of strokes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmySeal Posted July 9, 2007 at 03:42 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 03:42 PM l think it's pretty unmistakably 取. It means “take.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted July 9, 2007 at 05:35 PM Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 at 05:35 PM Those who are familiar with Japan know that Japanese often have (usually meaningless/ irrelevant) English phrases printed on things simply for aesthetic values. I think this example here is a Western equivalent. I therefore don't try to guess what character the drawing could possibly originates from, but the direction the topmost stroke runs precludes it being 取. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leah1 Posted July 10, 2007 at 07:07 AM Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 at 07:07 AM Thank you very much for all your answers. It's very kind. Leah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quest Posted July 10, 2007 at 11:33 AM Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 at 11:33 AM It's a badly written 取. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 10, 2007 at 11:37 AM Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 at 11:37 AM Maybe it's just because it's the first one I got into my head, but I don't see why it can't be a badly written 丙。 Looks as close to that as to 取 to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leah1 Posted July 10, 2007 at 04:36 PM Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 at 04:36 PM Hi Roddy, What does the symbol that you think it may be mean in English? Is it a more apropriate work than "take"? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted July 10, 2007 at 04:56 PM Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 at 04:56 PM not really, see here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianlondon Posted July 10, 2007 at 09:42 PM Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 at 09:42 PM It could be someone writing "E T R" and trying to make it look Chinese-y. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted July 11, 2007 at 03:30 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 at 03:30 AM I really don't see 取 at all, are the people that see 取 basing that on what it looks like in seal-script or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmySeal Posted July 11, 2007 at 04:05 AM Report Share Posted July 11, 2007 at 04:05 AM Nothing to do with seal script. The first thing I noticed was the 又 on the right, though the first stroke has a blip at the beginning and ends too soon. And for the 耳 part, the second stroke starts way too far down and the other strokes are messy, but it's recognizable. Here's the plate again, and I've overlaid it in MS paint to show how it looks like 取: A Japanese person in my office also immediately identified it as 取 right now. It couldn't be 丙 because the 冂 would be split in half and bent on one side, there's an extra stroke on the left side, and a vertical line down the middle. Then again it could just be someone trying to make ETR look like 取, which reminds me of this: eekanji Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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