奄
cover, suffocate, obstruct
Readings
On'yomi
- エン
Kun'yomi
- おお.う
- たちまち
Nanori
- あま
Meaning
奄 centers on the idea of covering or overwhelming something so completely that it is smothered or blocked: covering, suffocating, or obstructing.
Most common words using 奄
- 奄々えんえん
gasping
- 奄美の黒兎あまみのくろうさぎ
Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi); Ryukyu rabbit
- 奄美星空河豚あまみほしぞらふぐ
white-spotted pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus)
- 奄美棘鼠あまみとげねずみ
Ryukyu spiny rat (Tokudaia osimensis)
- 奄美雀鯛あまみすずめだい
stout chromis (Chromis chrysura)
- 奄美鼻先蛙あまみはなさきがえる
Amami tip-nosed frog (Odorrana amamiensis)
- 気息奄々きそくえんえん
gasping for breath; at one's last gasp; breathing feebly; on the brink of death; more dead than alive
Study
Etymology
奄 is thought to combine 大 (big) with 电 (a form related to covering or spreading), suggesting something large that covers or overwhelms. The exact historical development is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The top 大 (big) spreads over the lower 电 like a heavy lid, covering and suffocating whatever is underneath.
Reading mnemonic
For エン, imagine a huge lid covering everything and creating an enclosed, airless space: the word 'end' (エン) fits because the air is ended.