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Kotomora

幻

phantasm, vision, dream, illusion, apparition

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes4

Readings

On'yomi

  • ゲン

Kun'yomi

  • まぼろし

Meaning

幻 centers on things that seem real but are not: illusions, visions, dreams, and apparitions. It captures the fleeting, unreal quality of phantasms.

Most common words using 幻

20 of 54
  • 幻想げんそう
    N1

    fantasy; illusion; vision; dream

  • 幻まぼろし
    N1

    phantom; vision; illusion; apparition

  • 幻覚げんかく
    N1

    hallucination; illusion

  • 幻影げんえい

    phantom; vision; illusion

  • 幻冬舎げんとうしゃ

    Gentosha Inc.

  • 夢幻むげん

    dreams; fantasy; visions

  • 幻滅げんめつ

    disillusionment; disillusion; disenchantment

  • 幻聴げんちょう

    auditory hallucination

  • 変幻へんげん

    transformation

  • 幻惑げんわく

    fascination; bewitchment; entrancement; dazzlement

  • 幻視げんし

    visual hallucination; vision

  • 幻術げんじゅつ

    magic; sorcery; wizardry; witchcraft

  • 幻想曲げんそうきょく

    fantasy; fantasia

  • 幻灯げんとう

    slide (used for projection)

  • 入眠時幻覚にゅうみんじげんかく

    hypnagogic hallucination

  • 変幻出没へんげんしゅつぼつ

    being protean and elusive; appear and disappear like a phantom

  • 変幻自在へんげんじざい

    phantasmagoric; protean; shape-shifting; kaleidoscopic; capable of ever-changing appearance

  • 夢幻泡影むげんほうよう

    a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow (metaphor for the transience of life)

  • 夢幻泡沫むげんほうまつ

    transient; ephemeral; fleeting; evanescent

  • 夢幻的むげんてき

    dreamlike; dreamy; phantasmagorical

Explore all words using 幻 →

Study

Etymology

幻 is thought to derive from a pictograph of a thread or fine line, suggesting something thin, elusive, and unreal. The exact historical development is uncertain.

Meaning mnemonic

The left side 幺 looks like a twisted thread, and the right side curves away like a wisp of smoke. Together they form something insubstantial and dreamlike: an illusion.

Reading mnemonic

For ゲン, imagine a genie emerging from the twisted thread of 幺, creating a vivid illusion: genie -> ゲン.