Why was the kanji 安 chosen for "cheap"?


I have studied Chinese for over 20 years and am now learning Japanese.

When learning Chinese characters at the start there are a number of kind of
funny examples that are usually shown to give an idea of how Chinese
characters are put together.

One of these is 安 which means "peace" in Chinese. The character shows a woman
under a roof. The explanation humorously given is that a woman with a
house/home is a happy woman, or something along those lines.

I was surprised to discover recently that 安 is "cheap/やすい" in Japanese.

Why was this character chosen as the kanji for "cheap" ?




When you look at the dictionary meaning of 安 in Japanese, you can see that
while it does mean cheap (安い/やすい) it can also mean peaceful. I'd also like to
note that many Japanese words have two readings, a _kun-yomi_ reading and an
_on-yomi_ reading. _Kun_ readings are generally used in Japanese words for
their reading alone, while _on_ readings are used for borrowed Chinese
meanings or words. 安 has a _kun_ reading of やす and an _on_ reading of あん. You
can see in some words that it retains its original meaning and reading: 安心
(あんしん) can mean relief, or peace of mind. 安定 (あんてい) can mean stability, and
composure. However, _it seems that some Japanese words relating to
peacefulness were read as "やす,"_ in particular 安らか (peaceful) and 休まる (feel at
ease). Here, 安 was chosen for its meaning, but its reading was ignored to
accommodate the original Japanese reading

**Judging from this** , it is likely that since 安 was used in words where it
was read as やす, it became generally associated with that reading. Therefore,
when people sought to write "cheap," which was already read as "やすい," with
kanji, they chose 安 based on its _kun_ reading with little regard to the _on_
reading or original meaning.




When you look at the dictionary meaning of 安 in Japanese, you can see that
while it does mean cheap (安い/やすい) it can also mean peaceful. I'd also like to
note that many Japanese words have two readings, a _kun-yomi_ reading and an
_on-yomi_ reading. _Kun_ readings are generally used in Japanese words for
their reading alone, while _on_ readings are used for borrowed Chinese
meanings or words. 安 has a _kun_ reading of やす and an _on_ reading of あん. You
can see in some words that it retains its original meaning and reading: 安心
(あんしん) can mean relief, or peace of mind. 安定 (あんてい) can mean stability, and
composure. However, _it seems that some Japanese words relating to
peacefulness were read as "やす,"_ in particular 安らか (peaceful) and 休まる (feel at
ease). Here, 安 was chosen for its meaning, but its reading was ignored to
accommodate the original Japanese reading

**Judging from this** , it is likely that since 安 was used in words where it
was read as やす, it became generally associated with that reading. Therefore,
when people sought to write "cheap," which was already read as "やすい," with
kanji, they chose 安 based on its _kun_ reading with little regard to the _on_
reading or original meaning.

