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Kotomora

危

dangerous, fear, uneasy

JLPTN3StatusJōyō · grade 6FrequencyTop 1,000Strokes6

Readings

On'yomi

  • キ

Kun'yomi

  • あぶ.ない
  • あや.うい
  • あや.ぶむ

Meaning

危 centers on a state of instability that threatens harm: something dangerous, causing fear, or making one feel uneasy.

Most common words using 危

20 of 127
  • 危険きけん
    N4

    danger; peril; hazard

  • 危機きき
    N2

    crisis; critical situation; emergency; pinch

  • 危ないあぶない
    N5

    dangerous; risky; hazardous; perilous; precarious

  • 危ういあやうい
    N2

    dangerous; in danger; facing imminent danger

  • 危惧きぐ
    N1

    apprehension; misgivings; uneasiness; fear; anxiety

  • 危害きがい
    N2

    injury; harm; danger

  • 危き

    danger

  • 危機一髪ききいっぱつ

    by a hair's breadth; in the nick of time; touch and go; close call; critical moment

  • 危篤きとく
    N1

    critical condition; being on the verge of death

  • 危ぶむあやぶむ
    N1

    to fear; to doubt; to have misgivings about; to worry about; to be anxious about; to be apprehensive about

  • 危なっかしいあぶなっかしい

    dangerous; critical; grave; uncertain; unreliable; dodgy; limping; narrow; close

  • 危急ききゅう

    emergency; crisis; imminent danger

  • 危うくあやうく
    N1

    barely; narrowly

  • 危険性きけんせい
    N2

    (degree of) risk; riskiness; danger

  • 危なげないあぶなげない

    safe; certain

  • 危機感ききかん
    N2

    sense of impending crisis; sense of danger

  • 経済危機けいざいきき
    N2

    economic crisis

  • 金融危機きんゆうきき
    N2

    financial crisis

  • エネルギー危機エネルギーきき

    energy crisis; energy crunch

  • キューバ危機キューバきき

    Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Explore all words using 危 →

Study

Etymology

危 is thought to depict a person on a cliff or high place, conveying precariousness and danger. The modern form retains the sense of instability.

Meaning mnemonic

The top 厃 looks like a person on a cliff edge, and the bottom 㔾 suggests a kneeling or unstable figure. Together they show a dangerous, uneasy situation.

Reading mnemonic

For キ, imagine a key teetering on the edge of a cliff: key -> キ, and the key is in a dangerous, precarious spot.