彗
comet, broom
Readings
On'yomi
- スイ
- エ
- ケイ
- セイ
Kun'yomi
- ほうき
Nanori
- とし
Meaning
彗 centers on a comet, with its sweeping tail visually evoking a broom. The broom sense is a natural extension of that sweeping, celestial shape.
Most common words using 彗
- 彗星すいせい
comet
- ハレー彗星ハレーすいせい
Halley's comet
- ネオワイズ彗星ネオワイズすいせい
Comet NEOWISE
- ヘール・ボップ彗星ヘールボップすいせい
Comet Hale-Bopp
- 周期彗星しゅうきすいせい
periodic comet
- 大彗星だいすいせい
great comet
- 彗星のように現れるすいせいのようにあらわれる
to become famous overnight; to burst into fame
- 池谷・関彗星いけやせきすいせい
Comet Ikeya-Seki
- 百武彗星ひゃくたけすいせい
Comet Hyakutake
- 短周期彗星たんしゅうきすいせい
short-period comet; periodic comet
- 長周期彗星ちょうしゅうきすいせい
long-period comet
Study
Etymology
彗 is thought to combine 丰 (possibly representing a hand holding a broom) with 彐 (a hand), together suggesting sweeping. The comet meaning likely arose from the broom-like tail of a comet.
Meaning mnemonic
The two 丰 shapes look like bristles of a broom, and the bottom 彐 is like a hand holding it. Imagine sweeping the sky with a broom and leaving a comet's tail.
Reading mnemonic
For スイ, picture a comet sweeping across the sky, leaving a trail that looks like a long, thin 'sui' sound: sui -> スイ, like the whoosh of a broom.