Meaning & readings
isolate, alternate, distance, separate, gulf
Origin
The left side (⻖) is a classifier that signals this character relates to dividing or blocking — it's the "mound" or "earthen wall" radical. The right side (鬲) serves as a sound hint, suggesting the character's pronunciation without adding to the meaning. Together, they create a character meaning to separate or isolate: just as an earthen wall or barrier divides space, this kanji expresses the idea of distance and separation between things.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).
Components
- ⻖
- 鬲
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 13
- Kangxi radical
- 170
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- #1382 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 1
- Unicode
- U+09694