幽
seclude, confine to a room, deep, profound, secluded, faint, dark, tranquil, calm
Readings
On'yomi
- ユウ
Kun'yomi
- ふか.い
- かす.か
- くら.い
- しろ.い
Meaning
幽 centers on a state of being set apart from the ordinary: physically secluded, emotionally calm and profound, or perceptually faint and dark. The meanings all flow from the idea of something withdrawn from the bright, busy surface of things.
Most common words using 幽
20 of 69- 幽霊ゆうれいN1
ghost; specter; spectre; apparition; phantom
- 幽閉ゆうへい
confinement; imprisonment; incarceration
- 幽すゆうす
to confine to a room
- 幽玄ゆうげん
mysterious profundity; quiet beauty; the subtle and profound; yūgen
- 幽鬼ゆうき
ghost; revenant; spirit (of the dead); departed soul
- 幽界ゆうかい
hades; realm of the dead
- 幽谷ゆうこく
deep ravine; glen
- 幽香ゆうこう
fragrance
- 北幽霊水母きたゆうれいくらげ
lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata)
- 帰幽きゆう
death
- 幽々ゆうゆう
deep; dark
- 幽きかそけき
faint; fleeting
- 幽しかそけし
faint; fleeting
- 幽体ゆうたい
ethereal body
- 幽体離脱ゆうたいりだつ
out-of-body experience
- 幽冥ゆうめい
semidarkness; deep and strange; hades; the present and the other world; dark and light
- 幽冥界ゆうめいかい
hades; realm of the dead
- 幽勝ゆうしょう
beautiful and quiet scene
- 幽囚ゆうしゅう
imprisonment
- 幽回忌ゆうかいき
memorial ceremony held on the 100th day of a person's death
Study
Etymology
幽 is thought to combine 山 (mountain) with two 幺 (tiny, dark) elements, suggesting a deep, dark mountain recess. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the component arrangement consistently points to seclusion and obscurity.
Meaning mnemonic
Inside 幽, two tiny dark threads (幺) are tucked away within a mountain (山). Picture a hidden mountain valley where light barely reaches: it is secluded, deep, and profoundly calm.
Reading mnemonic
For ユウ, imagine a secluded mountain hut where you (ユウ) go to find profound quiet. The English word 'you' sounds like ユウ and ties the reading to the kanji's core idea of withdrawal.