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When looking up the definition of 音物 (a present or a bribe), I thought it was
very odd that it contained the kanji 音. I can't think of what 音 (sound) could
have to do with presents or bribes.

Is there some significance that is being lost in translation or am I just
overthinking this?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-30T22:52:46.120
5696
2012-05-30T23:12:11.793
575
question
words kanji
Why does 音物【いんもつ】 contain 音?
(Aside: I did not know the word 音物.)

One of the meanings of the kanji
[音](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E9%9F%B3&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=1&pagenum=1&index=20832000)
is “message,” that is, a piece of information sent from one person to another.
音信 (as in 音信不通) and 福音 seem to be the most common examples of 音 with this
meaning. The reason 音物 (present; often refers to bribe) contains kanji 音
because a present is something which is sent from one person to another.

It is the best to look up a 漢和辞典 (a dictionary which explains kanji letters in
Japanese) for questions like this, but the Daijisen dictionary, which is
available online (linked above), contains entries for common kanji letters and
comes in handy here.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-30T23:12:11.793
5697
2012-05-30T23:12:11.793
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5696
answer