Recently while watching a Japanese drama I came across the word 合鍵 (あいかぎ). Given the context in which it was used, I was quite surprised to find out later that my mental image of the Kanji had been quite different to the reality.
The word as follows:
合鍵
あいかぎ
Spare Key
Equally, a ‘copy of a key’ would be an accurate translation. Basically, a key given to another person so they can let themselves in and out freely. The two Kanji are 合 (ごう) – to ‘come together’ and 鍵 (かぎ) – ‘key’. Try to think of the word 話し合う (はなしあう) to grasp the nuance. 話す on its own simply means ‘to speak’, but 話し合う means ‘to speak with someone’, implying the mutual act of speaking and listening to one-another. The act of joining and acting together with someone is what is implied in the 合う part of 合鍵.
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