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Kotomora

亡

deceased, the late, dying, perish

JLPTN3StatusJōyō · grade 6FrequencyTop 1,000Strokes3

Readings

On'yomi

  • ボウ
  • モウ

Kun'yomi

  • な.い
  • な.き-
  • ほろ.びる
  • ほろ.ぶ
  • ほろ.ぼす

Meaning

亡 centers on the state of being gone or ceasing to exist: deceased, perished, or lost. It applies to people who have passed away and to things that have been destroyed.

Most common words using 亡

20 of 118
  • 死亡しぼう
    N3

    death; dying; mortality

  • 亡くなるなくなる
    N4

    to die; to pass away

  • 逃亡とうぼう
    N1

    escape; flight; running away; elopement; fleeing

  • 滅亡めつぼう
    N1

    downfall; ruin; collapse; destruction

  • 亡くすなくす
    N2

    to lose (through death; e.g. a wife, child)

  • 亡命ぼうめい
    N1

    fleeing from one's country; seeking asylum; defection; emigration (for political reasons); (going into) exile; becoming a (political) refugee

  • 未亡人みぼうじん

    widow

  • 亡霊ぼうれい

    departed spirit; soul of the dead

  • 亡者もうじゃ

    the dead; ghost

  • 亡国ぼうこく

    ruining a country

  • 存亡そんぼう

    life or death; existence; destiny

  • 亡骸なきがら
    N1

    remains; corpse; (dead) body

  • 亡ぼう

    death

  • 興亡こうぼう

    rise and fall; ups and downs

  • 衰亡すいぼう

    decline and fall; ruin; downfall; collapse

  • 亡父ぼうふ

    deceased father; late father

  • 死亡率しぼうりつ

    death rate; mortality rate

  • 死亡者しぼうしゃ

    the deceased; deaths; persons killed

  • 亡夫ぼうふ

    deceased husband; late husband

  • 亡き後なきあと

    after one's death

Explore all words using 亡 →

Study

Etymology

亡 is thought to derive from a pictograph of a person hiding or disappearing, later extended to mean death or loss. The exact ancient form is uncertain, but the modern shape is simple and abstract.

Meaning mnemonic

The shape 亡 looks like a person with a covered head, as if hidden or vanished. Picture someone disappearing from sight, representing death or perishing.

Reading mnemonic

For ボウ, imagine a bow (as in bow and arrow) left behind by a deceased warrior: bow -> ボウ, and the bow remains after the warrior has perished.