Sadness or Pity

by Nao

kana-shii, awa-re, ai

The feeling kana-shisa is sadness. When you feel sad, you can say kana-shii. When you feel pity for someone, you can say awa-re. If something is miserable, you can describe it as awa-re.

When you use the word awa-re in poems, it has a deeper meaning. If you feel awa-re about autumn twilight, you might be feeling heartily regret for the departing autumn and its beauty.

One of the words which include this character is aitō no i. It is used when you express your sorrow at a funeral. The ai is this character meaning sadness. The no is joshi (a particle). The tō is grief.

The order of drawing strokes is from the top to the bottom.

1. Draw the dot at the top as if you start drawing a vertical line.
2. Draw the horizontal line touching the dot.
3. Start drawing the rectangle (a mouth). Draw the vertical stroke on the left.
4. Draw the right-angled hook.
5. Draw the horizontal stroke.
6. Draw the sweeping stroke touching the mouth. Go to the lower left.
7. Draw the hook touching the previous stroke. If it is difficult to handle the brush, you can separate this stroke at the bottom.
8. Draw the dot below the lower-right corner of the mouth.
9. Draw the sweeping stroke. Spread the brush gradually toward the end.