Tree, hand, want and understand and their closest equivalents in Japanese

Tree, wood and ki

Tree refers only to the structure of the living tree and is not applicable once the tree is cut or dead, when the word wood is used. Tree suggests growth, roots, branches, support, origin, nature and outdoors. It is connected to leaves, shade, water, air, fertility, health, environment, a positive physical space, open space. Wood on the other hand is not alive, it is a resource or a material. It is used for building and burning and is also turned into other materials such as paper. It has some connection with wealth, as expensive woods have been valued from the distant past, and also with simplicity, genuineness and quality. On the other hand using the word ki for both the living and dead tree suggest continuity of the essence of the living tree even once it is dead. This was probably important in the past as trees had spiritual significance. However another effect, probably more pronounced in recent years, is that it also associates the living tree closely with a resource and makes it less of a romantic idea than I think tree is in English.

Hand and te

Hand refers to the physical body part, to utility, to practicality and agency of the self. Te seems to emphasise the ability of the hand to take in other things within it, for example the idea of holding hands te wo tsunagu seems to include the concept of being strongly connected with others, being one with them, far more so than in English. The idea of holding hands seems to be more in the physical sensation of the joined hands and in the two separate people that are brought together by this small and deliberate link.

Want and hoshi

Hoshi is translated as want in English and is used in similar situations. However I feel that with the emotion it expresses it would be better expressed as desire. Want is a very primitive idea in that it seems to be grounded in a reflex that exists possibly partly instinctively. It is very easy to imagine feeling "want" even without being able to feel strong emotions. The feeling seems to be grounded in the arms and arouse an uneasy, figety feeling of desire for action. Hoshi is the word that is used all the time in Japanese where want is used, for example, in asking someone what they want for their birthday. However it is a very similar feeling to the word desire in English, it suggests a deeper emotion, more permanently present but more easily repressed or put aside. It seems to require at least a small amount of activity by the brain as well as certainly feeling.

Understand and wakaru

Understand in English is a deeper and more complicated process than wakaru in Japanese. Wakaru is actually somewhere in between the scale of "know" and "understand", although there is a separate word in Japanese for "know". It means the ability to divide something up, to process it in the mind. There is no need to use much else than the brain to do this, while understand requires some individual emotional effort be put in.