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I found in the Chinese dictionary that 呉 is the name of a kingdom. But in
japanese it means "to give". How did it happen ? Thanks a lot
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2018-05-27T03:23:42.317
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2018-05-27T11:46:20.913
2018-05-27T11:46:20.913
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meaning etymology
呉 is an ancient kingdom in china, how did it become "to give" in japanese?
The use of「呉」in「[呉]{く}れる」is an [Ateji](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ateji)
(kanji that are used phonetically, disregarding its meaning).「呉」was used
because「[呉]{くれ}」was a way to say "China", derived from a Japanese word for
sunset (「[暮]{く}れる」; China being west of Japan).

Note,「呉れる」is not a common spelling anymore.
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2018-05-27T03:35:32.293
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2018-05-27T03:35:32.293
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answer