瘰
swollen neck glands
Strokes16
Readings
On'yomi
- ルイ
- ラ
- ライ
Kun'yomi
—
Meaning
瘰 centers on a specific medical condition: swollen neck glands, often associated with scrofula or tuberculous lymphadenitis. The meaning is narrow and clinical.
Most common words using 瘰
- 瘰癧るいれき
scrofula
Study
Etymology
瘰 combines the sickness radical 疒 with the phonetic component 累 (ルイ), which likely contributes the sound and may hint at accumulation or clustering, fitting the swollen gland meaning.
Meaning mnemonic
The sickness enclosure 疒 wraps around 累, which suggests something piled up or accumulated. Picture swollen glands as a cluster of lumps accumulating under the skin.
Reading mnemonic
For ルイ, imagine a swollen gland that looks like a lumpy ruin: ruin -> ルイ, and the sickness makes the neck look ruined.