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Welcome to summer! With the longest days upon us, it seems fitting to take a look at the character for "long":
長 (CHŌ, naga(i): long)
This kanji can also mean "chief, head, leader," but today, for the most part, I'm only interested in its length. I love how 長 elongates the following things in the most charming of ways:
| 穴 (ana: hole) |  | 長穴 (naga-ana: slot) |
| 円 (en or maru: circle) | | 長円 (chōen: ellipse, oval) |
| 靴 (kutsu: shoes) | | 長靴 (nagagutsu: boots) |
| 椅子 (isu: chair) | | 長椅子 (nagaisu: couch) |
The compound 椅子 (isu: chair) breaks down as chair + noun suffix relating to objects such as furniture. Wow, that breakdown was long even without 長 there to elongate it!
Here's my favorite 長 transformation:
| 芋 (imo: potato) | | 長芋 (nagaimo: yam) |
Yes, that's true! A yam is longer than a potato! I'd never thought about it before.
(more̷ 
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