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Lesson 53 — Characters 739–749: 換 抗 才 材 財 氏 接 蓄 貯 底 抵 Companion to Workbook. The workbook handles articles, vocabulary, study aids, and self-test. This file is the structural deep-dive — radicals, functional components (meaning/sound/form), stroke order, and shared-component patterns.

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Quick Reference

#	Kanji	Stroke Order	Strokes	Radical	On'yomi	Kun'yomi	Links
739	換		12	⼿ (hand)	カン	か.える, -か.える, か.わる	Jisho · AnimCJK
740	抗		7	⼿ (hand)	コウ	あらが.う	Jisho · AnimCJK
741	才		3	⼿ (hand)	サイ	(なし)	Jisho · AnimCJK
742	材		7	⽊ (tree)	ザイ	(なし)	Jisho · AnimCJK
743	財		10	⾙ (shell)	ザイ, サイ, ゾク	たから	Jisho · AnimCJK
744	氏		4	⽒ (family)	シ	うじ, -うじ	Jisho · AnimCJK
745	接		11	⼿ (hand)	セツ, ショウ	つ.ぐ	Jisho · AnimCJK
746	蓄		13	⾋ (grass)	チク	たくわ.える	Jisho · AnimCJK
747	貯		12	⾙ (shell)	チョ	た.める, たくわ.える	Jisho · AnimCJK
748	底		8	⼴ (slanting roof)	テイ	そこ	Jisho · AnimCJK
749	抵		8	⼿ (hand)	テイ	(なし)	Jisho · AnimCJK

PNGs are generated from KanjiVG using kanjivg-to-png, so each image shows the character being built stroke by stroke in panels. AnimCJK links open animated versions in a browser.

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Per-Kanji Entries

739 — 換 (interchange, period, change) — 12 strokes

Radical: ⼿ (てへん — "hand") · へん · 12 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 (phonosemantic) (奐's own origin debated)

• 左 扌 (semantic: hand — passing something from one hand to another)
• 右 奐 (phonetic カン; 9 strokes). Its own etymology is unsettled — treat it as a sound-carrier. It reappears in 喚 (カン, shout/summon).
• "By hand + カン" → swap, exchange; extended to 換気 (air exchange) and 換算 (currency conversion).

Stroke order

• Structure: left 扌 (3 strokes) → right 奐 (9 strokes: a slanted top with a flag, a frame with inner marks, then a 大-like base)
• Watch: 扌's last stroke is a rising flick, not a dot — and the frame inside 奐 must stay closed before the base is written
• Common error: squeezing 奐 until the frame and base merge into one blob

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740 — 抗 (confront, resist, defy) — 7 strokes

Radical: ⼿ (てへん — "hand") · へん · 7 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 (phonosemantic)

• 左 扌 (semantic: hand — pushing back)
• 右 亢 (phonetic コウ; 亠 over 几). 亢 originally pictured a raised neck → "hold up against". The same sound component appears in 航 (voyage) and 坑 (mine shaft).
• "Hand + コウ (raise up against)" → resist, confront; 抵抗 / 抗議 / 反抗 all keep the sense of pushing back.

Stroke order

• Structure: left 扌 (3 strokes) → 亠 (2 strokes) → 几 (2 strokes)
• Watch: 几's second stroke ends with a hook — don't finish it as a plain vertical
• Common error: writing 元 (二 over 儿) in place of 亢 — the top is 亠, not 二

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741 — 才 (genius, years old, cubic shaku) — 3 strokes

Radical: ⼿ (てへん — "hand") · へん · 3 strokes total

Components & function — 象形 (pictograph) (structure debated)

• Commonly explained as a sprout pushing up through the ground — potential about to grow — which stretches to "talent".
• Dictionaries file 才 under the 手 radical (⼿) purely by shape; it is not a hand kanji (radical ≠ semantic component).
• Its real job in this lesson is as a sound component: 才 → 材, 財 (all ザイ). Outside: 在 (ザイ).

Stroke order

• Structure: horizontal → vertical with hook → left-falling stroke (3 strokes)
• Watch: the third stroke is a falling ノ that crosses the vertical; the same shape as the left-hand radical 扌 rises instead
• Common error: adding a dot (→ 寸) or writing a rising third stroke, which makes the radical 扌 instead of the standalone kanji

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742 — 材 (lumber, log, timber) — 7 strokes

Radical: ⽊ (きへん — "tree, wood") · へん · 7 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 (phonosemantic)

• 左 木 (semantic: tree/wood)
• 右 才 (phonetic サイ → voiced ザイ in compounds; the "raw potential" sense of 才 also fits timber).
• "Wood + ザイ" → lumber, then any raw material: 材料, 教材, 取材 (collecting source material).

Stroke order

• Structure: left 木 (4 strokes) → right 才 (3 strokes)
• Watch: as a left component, 木's final stroke shortens into a dot-like press so 才 has room
• Common error: writing 寸 (with the dot) on the right, which makes 村 (village)

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743 — 財 (property, money, wealth) — 10 strokes

Radical: ⾙ (かいへん — "shell, property, wealth") · へん · 10 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 (phonosemantic)

• 左 貝 (semantic: shell — ancient money, hence wealth)
• 右 才 (phonetic ザイ).
• "Wealth + ザイ" → property, assets: 財産, 財政, 財界. Irregular: 財布 reads さいふ (サイ, not ザイ).

Stroke order

• Structure: left 貝 (7 strokes) → right 才 (3 strokes)
• Watch: as a left component, 貝's last two strokes shorten and lift slightly
• Common error: cramping 貝 so wide that 才 collides with it

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744 — 氏 (family name, surname, clan) — 4 strokes

Radical: ⽒ (うじ — "family, clan") · 4 strokes total

Components & function — 象形 (pictograph) (structure debated)

• Origin is disputed (a spoon/ladle, a root or a tool shape have all been proposed). Not reliably decomposable — memorize as a unit.
• It is not the sound component in 底 or 抵 — that is 氐 (氏 with an extra stroke underneath).
• Used for clan names and as an honorific: 氏名, 山本氏, 氏神 (the clan's guardian god).

Stroke order

• Structure: left-falling stroke → vertical with hook → horizontal → long sweeping stroke (4 strokes)
• Watch: the final long stroke cuts through the horizontal and ends in a small hook at the bottom right
• Common error: adding a stroke underneath (氐) or confusing it with 民

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745 — 接 (touch, contact, adjoin) — 11 strokes

Radical: ⼿ (てへん — "hand") · へん · 11 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 (phonosemantic)

• 左 扌 (semantic: hand — touching, joining)
• 右 妾 (立 over 女; 8 strokes). Its own meaning (a woman in service) is irrelevant; it is borrowed for sound. 接's secondary on'yomi ショウ matches 妾's reading.
• "Hand + 妾" → touch, connect: 直接, 面接, 接近, 接続, 接待.

Stroke order

• Structure: left 扌 (3 strokes) → 立 (5 strokes) → 女 (3 strokes)
• Watch: the two small ticks at the top of 立 are separate strokes; 女's last stroke runs wide underneath
• Common error: dropping one of 立's ticks, or omitting the base of 女

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746 — 蓄 (amass, raise, hoard) — 13 strokes

Radical: ⾋ (くさ — "grass, plant") · 13 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 / 会意 (畜 gives both sound and sense) (role of the grass radical debated)

• 下 畜 (チク; 玄 over 田) — "livestock", and the sense "stock up / keep" is already in 畜 itself.
• 上 艹 (grass) — dictionaries use it as the radical, and it is often explained as stored fodder or provisions, but it adds little you can rely on (radical ≠ semantic component).
• "Stock + grass" → accumulate, store up: 蓄える, 備蓄, 蓄積.

Stroke order

• Structure: top 艹 (3 strokes) → 玄-like block (亠, then two turning strokes) → 田 (5 strokes)
• Watch: 艹 is written as three strokes (two verticals and one long horizontal); finish the whole top before the lower body
• Common error: leaving off 艹 — that is 畜 (livestock), a different word

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747 — 貯 (savings, store, lay in) — 12 strokes

Radical: ⾙ (かいへん — "shell, property, wealth") · へん · 12 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 (phonosemantic)

• 左 貝 (semantic: shell — wealth, valuables)
• 右 宁 (宀 over 丁; phonetic チョ and also "store"). A rare component with no common siblings.
• "Wealth + store" → savings, store: 貯金, 貯蓄, 貯蔵, 貯水池.

Stroke order

• Structure: left 貝 (7 strokes) → right 宁 (5 strokes)
• Watch: 宁's last stroke is a vertical with a small hook; keep it centered under the roof
• Common error: swapping 宁 for 守 or 宇, which have 寸 / 于 beneath the roof

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748 — 底 (bottom, sole, depth) — 8 strokes

Radical: ⼴ (まだれ — "slanting roof") · たれ · 8 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 (phonosemantic)

• 上左 广 (a roof/building: the floor or ground of a house)
• 右 氐 (phonetic テイ; 氏 plus a stroke underneath). 氐 itself means "base", so it carries both sound and sense.
• "House + base" → bottom, floor, sole; reading テイ in 海底, 根底; そこ alone (底, 底値).

Stroke order

• Structure: 广 (3 strokes) → 氐 (5 strokes: the four strokes of 氏, then the bar underneath)
• Watch: the extra bar under 氏 is what makes it 氐 — and 底 vs 低 differs only by the left radical
• Common error: writing plain 氏 on the right (no bar), or using 亻 (→ 低)

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749 — 抵 (resist, reach, touch) — 8 strokes

Radical: ⼿ (てへん — "hand") · へん · 8 strokes total

Components & function — 形声 (phonosemantic)

• 左 扌 (semantic: hand — pressing against)
• 右 氐 (phonetic テイ; "base")
• "Hand against a base" → push against, resist, bump into: 抵抗, 抵触 (conflict with a law), 抵当 (mortgage, something pressed against as security), 大抵 ("for the most part").

Stroke order

• Structure: left 扌 (3 strokes) → 氐 (5 strokes)
• Watch: as with 底, finish 氏's four strokes before adding the underneath bar
• Common error: omitting the bar, or mistaking 抵 for 低 (see Similar-Looking Kanji)

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Stroke & Component Patterns in This Lesson

The 扌 (hand) cluster — 換, 抗, 接, 抵 (and the impostor 才)

Four kanji carry 扌 on the left, and unusually the radical is a genuine clue: each describes a hand acting on something — swapping (換), pushing back (抗), touching (接), pressing against (抵). The sound always comes from the right-hand component (奐, 亢, 妾, 氐), never from 扌.

Kanji	Right component	Role of 扌
換	奐 (phonetic カン)	passing from hand to hand
抗	亢 (phonetic コウ)	pushing back
接	妾 (phonetic)	touching, joining
抵	氐 (phonetic テイ)	pressing against a base

Watch the impostor: 才 is filed under 手 by dictionaries, and as a left-hand component 扌 has the same shape — but 才 itself is a sprout pictograph, and it is the sound in 材 and 財.

The 才 family — 才, 材, 財

One sound component, three kanji: 才 (サイ), 材 (木+才, ザイ), 財 (貝+才, ザイ). Learn the left-hand radical for meaning (wood / wealth) and let 才 predict the reading. Outside this lesson: 在 (ザイ).

The 氐 pair and the 氏 trap — 底, 抵 (+ 氏)

底 (广+氐) and 抵 (扌+氐) both read テイ because of 氐 — not because of 氏 (シ). 氐 is 氏 with one extra stroke under it, so the two look nearly identical; the lesson deliberately sits 氏 next to them. Outside: 低 (テイ, low), 邸 (テイ, mansion).

The money chain — 財, 貯, 蓄

財 and 貯 both use 貝 (shell → wealth); 蓄 stores it up with 畜 under a grass top. Together they cover the whole vocabulary of saving: 財産 → 貯金 → 貯蓄 → 備蓄 → 蓄積.

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Similar-Looking Kanji (Outside This Lesson)

These aren't this lesson's kanji, but they're easy to confuse with one when reading — different meaning, different (or coincidentally similar) reading, similar shape.

This lesson's kanji	Looks like	Key difference	Why it matters
底 (テイ, bottom)	低 (テイ, low)	Left: 广 (roof) vs 亻 (person)	Same reading, same 氐 on the right — only the radical differs. 底 is the bottom of something (海底), 低 is low in level (低い); the radical is your only cue.
材 (ザイ, timber)	村 (ソン, village)	Right: 才 vs 寸 (extra dot)	Both are 木 + a three-stroke right side. One dot separates a material (材料) from a village (村).
蓄 (チク, store up)	畜 (チク, livestock)	艹 on top of 蓄	Same reading and shared lower body — 蓄積 (accumulation) vs 畜産 (livestock farming).
氏 (シ, clan)	民 (ミン, people)	民 has 5 strokes with an extra box-like top-left	Both are common in names and politics (氏 vs 国民); easy to swap when handwriting fast.

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Phonetic Series Summary (also in the workbook, repeated here for reference)

Phonetic Series Summary

Sound Component	Reading	Kanji in this lesson	Notes
才 (talent; sprout)	サイ / ザイ	才, 材, 財	才 is both a kanji and the sound inside 材 (木+才) and 財 (貝+才); the voiced ザイ appears when 才 is a component. Outside: 在 (ザイ, exist).
氐 (base, bottom)	テイ	底, 抵	The sound is 氐 — not 氏 (this lesson's own シ kanji). 氐 is 氏 with an extra stroke underneath. Outside: 低 (テイ, low), 邸 (テイ, mansion).
亢	コウ	抗	Singleton here; real series outside: 航 (コウ, voyage), 坑 (コウ, mine shaft).
奐	カン	換	Singleton here; outside: 喚 (カン, shout, summon).
畜 (livestock; accumulate)	チク	蓄	蓄 = 艹 + 畜; 畜 supplies both the sound and the "accumulate" sense. Look-alike warning: 畜産 vs 蓄積.
妾	ショウ → セツ	接	接's secondary on'yomi ショウ matches 妾's reading; the everyday セツ is the drifted form. Not a productive series for prediction.
宁 (store)	チョ	貯	Rare component with no common siblings — treat 貯's reading as memorized.

💡 Lesson highlight: Two sound components do the heavy lifting: 才 → 材, 財 (all ザイ) and 氐 → 底, 抵 (all テイ) — and the trap is that 氏 is not 氐. The lesson also packs a 扌 (hand) cluster — 換, 抗, 接, 抵 — where the radical genuinely carries a coherent "act on something by hand" sense (exchange, resist, touch, push against). But 才 is filed under the same 手 radical by dictionaries purely by shape: it is a sprout/talent pictograph, not a hand kanji (radical ≠ semantic component). 財 and 貯 round out the money vocabulary through 貝 (shell = wealth), and 蓄 stores it up.

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Sources

• KanjiVG — github.com/KanjiVG/kanjivg | License: CC-BY-SA 3.0
• kanjivg-to-png — github.com/nicdgonzalez/kanjivg-to-png
• AnimCJK — github.com/parsimonhi/animCJK | License: Arphic Public License
• Jisho.org — jisho.org | Uses KanjiVG data for stroke order diagrams.
• Outlier Linguistics — outlier-linguistics.com | The Outlier Kanji Dictionary is the gold standard for rigorous functional component analysis.