I sometimes used a very fussy old man, perhaps an aging clockmaker, who always insisted that everything be done "just so", "just right". For example, for topic 題, he's checking your page of text with his magnifying glass, making sure that everything is perfectly on topic and every sentence is "juuuust so" as it should be.

Last edited by Ramchip (2008 June 10, 7:40 am)

Thanks, that's exactly the kind of image I was looking for.

Danieru wrote:

Hey guys,
I'm not sure this will exactly help with your visualization, but it's a little extra information about this kanji anyways:

It is the kanji used in Chinese to mean 'am/be' (basically the equivalent of 'です').  Extremely high frequency in the Chinese language; and since I was familiar with it in that context, I never had any problem with using it as 'just so', as in expressing a state of "being".

Again, I know that it's not a visual image, but it's an interesting kanji, and can actually be used in several ways in Chinese, even to mean 'yes.'  Incidentally, its pronunciation is 'shi' with a falling tone.  It is just one of the many characters that I used often in Chinese, and upon beginning to study Japanese, I was surprised to find that it doesn't figure very prominently.

Yeah, the meaning and usage is really different in Japanese.

Anyway, when in doubt, look up the kanji, and see the meaning and some words that use it. I admit I don't understand the concept behind looking up the English keyword's definition like I think some people do.