凌
endure, keep (rain)out, stave off, tide over, defy, slight, surpass
Readings
On'yomi
- リョウ
Kun'yomi
- しの.ぐ
Meaning
凌 centers on pushing through or rising above difficulty: enduring hardship, keeping something out, staving off a threat, or defying limits. The sense of surpassing or slighting extends naturally from overcoming what stands in the way.
Most common words using 凌
- 凌ぎしのぎ
(means of) enduring; tiding over; pulling through
- 凌駕りょうが
excelling; surpassing; outdoing
- 凌ぐしのぐN1
to endure; to keep out (e.g. rain); to stave off (e.g. starvation)
- 凌雲りょううん
skyscraping; very high; above the clouds; above this mortal world
- 凌ぎ場しのぎば
shelter
- 凌波性りょうはせい
seaworthiness
- 凌遅りょうち
lingchi; death by a thousand cuts; slow torture by slicing off parts of the body
- 凌遅刑りょうちけい
lingchi (form of torture and execution used in China); slow slicing; death by a thousand cuts
- 凌霄りょうしょう
Chinese trumpet creeper (Campsis grandiflora)
- 凌霄花のうぜんかずら
Chinese trumpet creeper (Campsis grandiflora)
- 凌霄葉蓮のうぜんはれん
nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
- 口凌ぎくちしのぎ
living from hand to mouth
- 壮者を凌ぐそうしゃをしのぐ
to put young men to shame
- 当座凌ぎとうざしのぎ
makeshift; for the time being
- 糊口を凌ぐここうをしのぐ
to eke out a living; to get a bare livelihood; to live from hand to mouth
Study
Etymology
凌 combines 冫 (ice) with 夌, which likely contributes the sound and suggests rising above or surpassing. The idea of enduring or defying may come from the image of ice forming over and overcoming obstacles.
Meaning mnemonic
The ice radical 冫 on the left and 夌 (which looks like a person striding over something) on the right suggest ice that rises above and covers everything. Picture a frozen landscape where ice endures and defies the warmth, keeping the cold in and staving off the thaw.
Reading mnemonic
For リョウ, imagine a lone warrior named Ryo enduring a harsh winter, defying the cold: Ryo -> リョウ, and his strength lets him surpass all challenges.