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Kotomora

凶

villain, evil, bad luck, disaster

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes4

Readings

On'yomi

  • キョウ

Kun'yomi

—

Meaning

凶 centers on harmful, negative forces: a villain or evil person, bad luck, and disaster. The meanings all point to something that brings misfortune or harm.

Most common words using 凶

20 of 53
  • 凶悪きょうあく

    atrocious; heinous; fiendish; brutal; vicious

  • 凶きょう

    bad luck; ill fortune; misfortune

  • 凶暴きょうぼう

    ferocious; brutal; atrocious; savage; barbarous

  • 凶器きょうき

    dangerous weapon; lethal weapon; deadly weapon; murder weapon

  • 元凶げんきょう

    ringleader; main culprit

  • 凶行きょうこう

    (act of) violence; vicious crime; murder

  • 凶作きょうさく
    N1

    bad harvest; poor crop

  • 大凶だいきょう

    terrible luck (esp. on an omikuji slip); very bad luck

  • 吉凶きっきょう

    good or bad luck; fortune

  • 凶弾きょうだん

    assassin's bullet

  • その男、凶暴につきそのおとこ、きょうぼうにつき

    Violent Cop (1989 film by Takeshi Kitano)

  • 凶事きょうじ

    calamity; misfortune

  • 凶事の兆しきょうじのきざし

    omen of disaster

  • 凶人きょうじん

    scoundrel; ruffian; villain

  • 凶兆きょうちょう

    evil omen

  • 凶党きょうとう

    gang; gangsters

  • 凶具きょうぐ

    dangerous weapon

  • 凶刃きょうじん

    assassin's dagger

  • 凶器準備集合罪きょうきじゅんびしゅうごうざい

    (crime of) assembling with dangerous weapons

  • 凶報きょうほう

    bad news

Explore all words using 凶 →

Study

Etymology

凶 is a pictograph of a pit or trap, representing danger and misfortune. The modern form retains the container shape 凵 with a mark inside.

Meaning mnemonic

Picture an open pit 凵 with a cross mark 㐅 inside, like a warning sign. Falling into a pit brings bad luck and disaster, and a villain might set such a trap.

Reading mnemonic

For キョウ, imagine a villain shouting 'KYOU!' (like 'kyo') when his evil plan fails and disaster strikes back at him.