彷
stray, wander, loiter
Readings
On'yomi
- ホウ
Kun'yomi
- さまよ.う
Meaning
彷 centers on aimless movement without a fixed destination: straying, wandering, or loitering.
Most common words using 彷
- 彷彿ほうふつ
(bearing a) close resemblance; vivid reminder (e.g. of the past)
- 彷徨ほうこう
wandering; rambling; roaming
- 彷徨うさまようN1
to loiter; to putter; to prowl; to wander about; to roam about; to knock around
- 彷徨えるさまよえる
roaming; loitering; wandering; far astray
- 彷徊ほうかい
walking around aimlessly
- 彷徨変異ほうこうへんい
fluctuation; environmental variation
- 水天彷彿すいてんほうふつ
the sky and water merging into one; seamless merging of the sea and the sky
Study
Etymology
彷 combines 彳 (going, movement) with 方, which likely contributes the sound ホウ and may suggest a directionless or sideways motion, fitting the idea of wandering.
Meaning mnemonic
The going-person radical 彳 suggests movement, and 方 can be seen as a person looking around in all directions. Together, they paint a picture of someone walking without a clear path, straying and loitering.
Reading mnemonic
For ホウ, imagine a wanderer who finally finds a home (ホウ) after straying for days: home -> ホウ, and the wanderer stops loitering.