Here’s a Seinfeldian type of question: Have you ever wondered why we call odd numbers odd? After all, every other number is odd. What’s so strange about that? They’re hardly scarce. (By contrast, much scarcer numbers are called prime, as if they’re of great value, like prime rib or prime real estate.)

I’d never considered the matter of numerical oddness until I came upon this compound:

奇数 (kisū: odd number)     odd number + number

In 奇数, says Halpern, 奇 means “odd number.” But the original and most common meaning of 奇 (KI, ku(shiki)) is “unusual, strange, odd,” and the meaning “odd number” clearly spun off from that. In both English and Japanese, then, uneven numbers have a whiff of strangeness about them.

Another Oddity …

It seems that the English etymology of “odd number” has to do with the “odd man out,” the “third wheel,” and that kind of thing.

As for the etymology of 奇, some scholars interpret this character as “standing on one leg.” According to one dictionary, “odd number” may be an extended meaning of that “one leg.” Standing on one leg has associations with being strange (flamingos excepted). To borrow from Orwell, then, “Two legs good, one leg bad.”

A Visual Clue to Oddness …

Pluses and Minuses

If “odd” has a negative connotation, does that mean that odd numbers are negative numbers?!

Here are a few more instances in which 奇 gives off a negative vibe:

奇妙 (kimyō: strange, queer, odd)     odd + of marvelous beauty

I guess the positive sense of 妙 disappears inside this compound.

珍奇 (chinki: novel, curious, rare, strange)     rare + strange

You may know 珍 by its kun-yomi, mezura(shii).

奇人 (kijin: eccentric person)     odd + person

Ah, this yomi enables us to make a taunting kind of rhyme:

美人は奇人だ.
Bijin wa kijin da.
Beautiful people are strange people.

美人 (bijin: beautiful person)
     beautiful + person

That’s probably true, at least after beautiful people (e.g., models and actors) start getting too much attention! Just think of Tom Cruise!

Odd One Out …

Strange Body Parts …

It’s not all bad news when it comes to 奇. After all, it’s the first kanji in kirei—or it can be.

奇麗 (kirei: beautiful, clean)     beautiful + of graceful beauty

In this case, 奇 means “beautiful, gorgeous, elegant,” which marks a big change from what we’ve seen so far. One can also write this compound as 綺麗. The kanji 綺 means “beautiful,” so this way of writing kirei certainly makes more sense. And several native speakers insist that 綺麗 is more common than 奇麗. But for some reason, my dictionaries seem to prefer 奇麗.

Ingenious Curiosity

Just as 奇麗 seems like a strange habitat for 奇, so does this compound:

好奇心 (kōkishin: curiosity)     to be fond of + curious + spirit

This word happens to be my “gravatar” (a word my husband teases me for using, as it proves to him that I’ve slipped over into the realm of geekdom!). Leave me a comment, and when I respond, you’ll see 好奇心 (somewhat blurrily) in my gravatar.

The question I’m puzzling over is, what does 奇 mean in 好奇心? I ask because I’ve found something very … curious! My dictionaries skim over or outright ignore the fact that 奇 can mean “curious,” despite the existence of these words:

奇貨 (kika: a curiosity, an opportunity)     strange + goods

This kind of “curiosity” isn’t inquisitiveness but rather a rare, precious item that one would find in Dickens’s old curiosity shop.

奇勝 (kishō: surprise victory; place of scenic beauty)
     curious + to win

The second meaning of 奇勝 is unexpected, huh?!

奇遇 (kigū: chance meeting)     curious + fate

Collectively, all these words give the sense that 奇 means “unexpectedly pleasant surprise or shock”—namely, the sort of situation that makes some English speakers say, “Well, that’s curious, isn’t it?” As in English, the Japanese version of “curious” (奇) can mean either “odd, mysterious” or “inquisitive.” (How is it possible that both languages evolved that way?!?!)

And then none of my dictionaries mention that 奇 can mean “genius,” but if you look at the following words, how can you deny that it does? I’m going to be bold and brash and will define 奇 as “genius” in this list, even though I have nothing to back me up on this!

奇才 (kisai: genius, wizard, prodigy)     genius + genius
奇知 (kichi: genius)     genius + to know
奇計 (kikei: ingenious plan)     genius + plan

I also note that 奇 pops up in several words having to do with original, terrific ideas—and as that’s the case, I’m defining it as “idea,” again with no resource to substantiate this!

新奇 (shinki: novel, original)     new + idea
奇想 (kisō: original idea, fantastic idea)     idea + idea
奇警 (kikei: original, witty)     idea + to warn

Strange breakdown! The second kanji (which is so busy that it’s nearly impossible to see unless I magnify it enormously) also appears in words concerning the police, including 警官 (keikan: police officer, to guard against + government official) and 警察 (keisatsu: police (force), to guard against + to investigate).

I suppose geniuses live in a strange, mysterious realm of their own, driven by curiosity to produce original ideas, so it makes sense to me that these ideas overlap. But the hole in my dictionaries—the place these definitions should be—seems like the biggest mystery of all.

Time for your Verbal Logic Quiz!

Verbal Logic Quiz …