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Kotomora

局

bureau, board, office, affair, conclusion, court lady, lady-in-waiting, her apartment

JLPTN3StatusJōyō · grade 3FrequencyTop 500Strokes7

Readings

On'yomi

  • キョク

Kun'yomi

  • つぼね

Meaning

局 centers on a bounded space or situation with a defined role: a bureau or office, a specific affair or matter, and by extension a court lady's apartment or her position. The idea of a conclusion fits as the closing of such a bounded matter.

Most common words using 局

24 of 312
  • 結局けっきょく
    N3

    after all; in the end; ultimately; eventually

  • 局きょく
    N2

    bureau; department

  • 当局とうきょく
    N1

    authorities; relevant authorities; authorities concerned

  • 局長きょくちょう

    bureau director; office chief

  • テレビ局テレビきょく
    N4

    television station

  • 薬局やっきょく
    N2

    pharmacy; drugstore; chemist's (shop)

  • 局面きょくめん

    position in a game; state of the game

  • 支局しきょく
    N1

    branch office

  • 対局たいきょく

    (playing a) game (of go, shogi, etc.)

  • 破局はきょく
    N1

    catastrophe; cataclysm

  • 局員きょくいん

    clerk; (bureau, post-office) staff

  • 部局ぶきょく

    department; bureau; section; part

  • 局地きょくち

    locality; local area; limited area

  • 政局せいきょく
    N1

    political situation

  • 国税局こくぜいきょく

    revenue office; taxation bureau

  • 開局かいきょく

    opening (of a broadcasting station, post office, bureau, etc.); establishment

  • 医局いきょく

    medical office (esp. in a hospital); doctor's office

  • 同局どうきょく

    the said bureau (office, department, broadcasting station, channel, etc.)

  • 局番きょくばん

    telephone exchange number

  • 終局しゅうきょく

    end; close; conclusion

  • 難局なんきょく

    difficult situation

  • 局留めきょくどめ

    general delivery; counter collection; poste restante

  • 時局じきょく

    situation; state of things; current affairs

  • 事務局じむきょく

    secretariat; executive office

Explore all words using 局 →

Study

Etymology

局 originally depicted a bent person (尸) over a mouth (口), possibly suggesting a confined space or a person speaking in a limited context. Over time it came to mean a bureau or office, a bounded affair, and related senses.

Meaning mnemonic

The outer 尸 looks like a flag or a bent person, and 口 is a mouth or opening. Imagine a flag marking a small office where someone speaks: that bounded space is a bureau or a court lady's apartment.

Reading mnemonic

For キョク, picture a bureau that handles all the 'kyoku' (曲, tunes) for a music office: kyoku -> キョク, and the bureau manages every musical affair.