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Kotomora

拙

bungling, clumsy, unskillful

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • セツ

Kun'yomi

  • つたな.い

Meaning

拙 centers on a lack of skill or grace: being clumsy, bungling, or unskillful in action or expression.

Most common words using 拙

20 of 31
  • 拙いつたない

    poor-quality; shoddy; crude

  • 拙者せっしゃ

    I; me

  • 稚拙ちせつ

    unskillful; childish; immature; naive; artless; clumsy; crude

  • 拙速せっそく

    rough-and-ready; knocked-up; hasty; slipshod; slapdash

  • 拙著せっちょ

    my book; my (humble) work; a little thing of mine

  • 拙劣せつれつ

    clumsy; unskillful

  • 拙作せっさく

    poor work; humble reference to one's own work

  • 巧拙こうせつ

    skill; workmanship; dexterity; quality

  • 拙守せっしゅ

    poor defense; poor defence

  • 古拙こせつ

    artless but attractive in a quaint sense

  • 巧と拙こうとせつ

    skillfulness and clumsiness

  • 巧詐は拙誠に如かずこうさはせっせいにしかず

    better shoddy and sincere than clever and deceptive

  • 巧遅は拙速に如かずこうちはせっそくにしかず

    it's better to be rough and ready than slow and elaborate

  • 巧遅拙速こうちせっそく

    better being rough and ready than slow and elaborate; better being brisk and sharp than slow and prudent

  • 拙せつ

    poor; unskillful; clumsy

  • 拙僧せっそう

    I, as a mere priest; this humble servant of Buddha

  • 拙句せっく

    unskilled haiku poem; clumsy haiku

  • 拙宅せったく

    one's home; one's humble abode

  • 拙悪せつあく

    poor (tasting); low quality; bad situation

  • 拙意せつい

    my thoughts; my opinions; my feelings

Explore all words using 拙 →

Study

Etymology

拙 combines 扌 (hand) with 出 (exit, come out), suggesting a hand that comes out awkwardly or produces clumsy work. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the component combination is a plausible phono-semantic structure.

Meaning mnemonic

A hand 扌 trying to push something out 出 but fumbling: the result is clumsy and unskillful.

Reading mnemonic

For セツ, imagine a clumsy person trying to set a table but knocking everything over: set -> セツ, and the hand 扌 makes a mess.