ε
Noon
JLPT N5
Interesting Fact
Kanji ε originally referred to the Horse zodiac sign. In the traditional East Asian zodiac system, every two-hour period of the day was assigned an animal. The period from roughly 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. belonged to the Horse, which is why noon is still written using this kanji today.
Memory Trick
The shape looks like a bell mounted on a pole. When it rings, everyone knows it's noon and time for lunch. That's ε.
Readings
Onyomi: γ΄ (go)
Kunyomi:
Example Words
εε
γγγ (gozen)
AM, before noon
εεΎ
γγ (gogo)
PM, afternoon
ζ£ε
γγγγ (shougo)
Noon
εη‘
γγγ (gosui)
Nap
Example Sentence
δΌθ°γ―εεΎδΈζγ§γγ
γγγ γ― γγ γγ‘γ γ§γγ
kaigi wa gogo ichiji desu
The meeting is at 1 PM.