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Kanji Detail for 劣 - "inferior"

劣

  • Meaning

    劣 means "inferior." Also associated with low, barely.

    1. Inferior - Weak in strength; not measuring up.

    2. Low - Poor quality; base.

    3. Barely - Slightly; just barely.

  • Words using 劣

    • 劣勢 れっせい Listen inferiority (e.g. numerical); inferior position; disadvantage
    • 劣化 れっか Listen deterioration (in quality, performance, etc.); degradation; worsening
    • 劣悪 れつあく Listen poor (quality, conditions, etc.); bad; inferior
    • 劣る おとる Listen to be inferior to; to be less good at; to fall behind
    • 劣等感 れっとうかん Listen inferiority complex; sense of inferiority

  • Four-character idioms with 劣

    • 優勝劣敗 ゆうしょうれっぱい Listen survival of the fittest

  • Tattoo check: 劣

    • Verified meaning: inferior
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Also carries these associations: low, barely
    • Traditionally considered inauspicious in names — Japanese readers may find it an unlucky choice. Check the meanings above carefully before using it on skin.

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    inferiority; be inferior to; be worse

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    bad, inferior; slightly

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    inferior

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    low-quality, inferior, bad

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Weak. Opposite of 優 (superior). Like saying insufficient. | Base. Such as 庸劣 (mediocre), 卑劣 (despicable), all strongly deprecating terms.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    retsu(レツ) レツ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    oto.ru(おと-る) おと-る

  • Strokes

    tip

    6 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    力 (chikara)

  • Related Keywords

    inferior low barely humiliating insignificant weak worse deficient inadequate mediocre poor substandard

Sentences including 劣

  • He is as tall as any boy in his class.

  • It is mean of you to tell a lie about it.

  • She is no less beautiful than her mother.

  • She is not less beautiful than her sister.

  • He is as rich as any man in this town.

  • She is no less pretty than her sister.

  • He works as hard as any other student.

  • He is much inferior to me in english.

  • She is no less beautiful than her mother.

  • He ran as fast as any boy in the team.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 力 (chikara)

See all kanji with this radical →

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