1. 一会
I thought this could mean “one meeting.” But as it turns out, 一会 means “religious congregation.”
2. 二天
Rather than meaning “two skies,” as it did in my imagination, 二天 has two definitions:
1. Two of four well-known kings or saints
2. The posthumous name of Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵), a famous swordsman
3. 三州 (three states) or 三実 (three facts)
Instead of “three states,” 三州 means “the present Aichi prefecture.” My second concoction, 三実, does not appear to be legitimate.
4. 兀四 (the dangerous four or the bald four)
There’s no evidence that this one exists!
5. 五語 (five words)
This is indeed used as “five words.”
6 . 六校 (six schools)
And this does indeed mean “six schools.”
7. 七切 (seven cuts)
A Japanese native speaker tells me that this could be used as I’ve imagined, though he’s never seen or heard it as such.
8. 八穴 (eight holes)
Same comment as for #7.
9. 九丸 (nine circles or Ship #9)
The latter guess (第九丸 for “Ship #9) is more of a possibility than “nine circles,” I’m told.
10. 十卒 (ten graduates)
This is the least likely compound in the list!
For other words that don’t exist (but that would enhance the world if they did), click here, which will take you to my website and part of my second Kanji Curiosity blog. (I hadn’t yet had the foresight to provide a “Back to the Blog” link; I figured readers would use the Back button. So if you want to reach the main part of that blog, click here.)
