Question

末 すえ 末(すえ): (1) tip; top (2) end; close (e.g. close of the month) (3) youngest child (4) descendants; offspring; posterity (5) future (6) finally (7) trivialities末期(まっき): (1) closing years (period, days); last stage; end stage; end-of-life (care, decision making, etc.) (2) terminal (e.g. cancer, disease, etc.); final月末(げつまつ): end of the month始末(しまつ): (1) management; dealing; settlement (2) cleaning up; getting rid of (3) end result (usu. bad)粉末(ふんまつ): fine powder粗末(そまつ): crude; rough; plain; humble期末(きまつ): end of term末っ子(すえっこ): youngest child末(うら): top end; tip末(まつ): (1) the end of (2) powder 4 木: tree; wood 木 4 (none) extremity There are no great stories for this one yet, and I always forget it.. So, let´s try something ridiculous: The man lived by himself in the wilderness, with no females within miles. So, his only way of relief was to stick his extremity into a small hole in a tree.. The poor guy. Which horizontal stroke is the extremity? The longer one or the shorter one? That, my friends, is up to your own imaginations. I´d prefer not to dwell on that point, myself. ;).

Accepted Answer

マツ、バツ not yet, end, close, tip, powder, posterity 3 456 5 75 き・きへん 指事 Ideographic The tree has reached the extremity of its growth and no longer produces small, new branches at the top. Instead the existing top branch just grows longer and longer. 230

Kanji	末
Onyomi	マツ、バツ
Kunyomi	すえ
English	not yet, end, close, tip, powder, posterity
Examples	末(すえ): (1) tip; top (2) end; close (e.g. close of the month) (3) youngest child (4) descendants; offspring; posterity (5) future (6) finally (7) trivialities 末期(まっき): (1) closing years (period, days); last stage; end stage; end-of-life (care, decision making, etc.) (2) terminal (e.g. cancer, disease, etc.); final 月末(げつまつ): end of the month 始末(しまつ): (1) management; dealing; settlement (2) cleaning up; getting rid of (3) end result (usu. bad) 粉末(ふんまつ): fine powder 粗末(そまつ): crude; rough; plain; humble 期末(きまつ): end of term 末っ子(すえっこ): youngest child 末(うら): top end; tip 末(まつ): (1) the end of (2) powder
JLPT Level	3
Jouyou Grade	4
Frequency	456
Components	木: tree; wood
Number of Strokes	5
Kanji Radical	木
Radical Number	75
Radical Strokes	4
Radical Reading	き・きへん
Traditional Form	(none)
Classification	指事 Ideographic
Keyword	extremity
Koohii Story 1	The tree has reached the extremity of its growth and no longer produces small, new branches at the top. Instead the existing top branch just grows longer and longer.
Koohii Story 2	There are no great stories for this one yet, and I always forget it.. So, let´s try something ridiculous: The man lived by himself in the wilderness, with no females within miles. So, his only way of relief was to stick his extremity into a small hole in a tree.. The poor guy. Which horizontal stroke is the extremity? The longer one or the shorter one? That, my friends, is up to your own imaginations. I´d prefer not to dwell on that point, myself. ;).
RTK Index (new)	230

End Top Extremity Longer Posterity Close E.G Youngest