Emaki · all 1,500 words

携帯

けいたい

cell phone

Mnemonic

Carried and worn about you, which is what the word literally says and why it ended up meaning the phone. Kay けい and her tie たい, both into the bag every morning: けいたい.

Worth knowing

Short for 携帯電話. スマホ is what most people actually say now.

Built from

carry, portable
扌 a hand on the left with the thing held in it rather than left behind at home.
belt, carry with you
A sash with things hanging off it, drawn tied round the middle. Worn, and therefore carried about.

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Emaki is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Kaishi 1.5k or its authors. The word, reading and meaning come from the Kaishi 1.5k deck, used with their permission. The mnemonic, the note and the kanji breakdown are original work, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.