When “忙” fills a head
Why it is in the set
Because it is the state people most often claim to be in, and a set of 36 that left it out would be conspicuous. What makes it work as a joke is that 忙 rarely comes out alone — it comes out with 眠 or 休 or 暇 behind it, and the contradiction is the line.
What a head full of it looks like
Answering one message while writing another. A calendar with no gaps and no memory of agreeing to any of it. The particular tiredness that is not physical. A head led by 忙 is full but not necessarily productive.
Words that use it
忙しい (isogashii, busy), 多忙 (tabou, having a great deal on), 忙殺 (bousatsu, run off one's feet), 忙しない (sewashinai, restless), 繁忙期 (hanbouki, the busy season).
Kanji it turns up with
休 or 眠 behind 忙 is the most common shape in the whole set and the quips have the most material there.
Where “忙” comes from
The heart radical 忄 on the left, and 亡 on the right. 亡 means to lose or to perish, and it also gives the sound BOU.
Read literally, the character is a heart that has gone missing. Whether the old scribes intended that or simply needed the sound, it is a good description and Japanese learners remember it.
忙殺 (bousatsu) means overwhelmed with work. The second character means “kill”.
A line you might get for “忙”
“The list has a list. The second list is longer.”
Count the “忙” in your own headOthers in “Everyday”
“忙” is filed under “Everyday”. These are the rest of that group.
The 36 kanji
This is entirely a joke and has nothing to do with any real person.