Meaning & readings
back, amidst, in, reverse, inside, palm, sole, rear, lining, wrong side
Origin
This character shows a piece of cloth or fabric with vertical lines representing the weave or layers. The picture captures the idea of the back side or inner surface of cloth—the side that faces inward when worn. Over time, this visual meaning expanded to represent anything "inside" or "reversed," whether it's the back of an object, the hidden side of a situation, or the palm of a hand turned inward. The strokes together create an image that evokes both the texture of woven material and the concept of what lies beneath or behind what we see on the surface.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.
Components
This character is treated as a single, undivided shape (裏).
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 13
- Kangxi radical
- 145
- Grade
- Grade 6 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #812 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+088CF