欝
gloom, depression, melancholy
Readings
On'yomi
- ウツ
- ウン
Kun'yomi
- うっ.する
- ふさ.ぐ
- しげ.る
Meaning
欝 centers on a heavy, inward-turning emotional state: gloom, depression, or melancholy. It describes a dense, stifled feeling rather than a passing sadness.
Study
Etymology
欝 is a variant form of 鬱, which originally depicted a dense thicket or overgrown forest, conveying a sense of being closed in and stifled. The modern form retains a complex, layered structure that visually suggests heaviness and enclosure.
Meaning mnemonic
The tangled, layered components of 欝 look like a dense, overgrown thicket pressing in from all sides. Imagine being trapped in that thicket, unable to see a way out—that heavy, closed-in feeling is gloom and melancholy.
Reading mnemonic
For ウツ, picture the gloom lifting when you shout 'Oots!' in surprise at a sudden ray of light: Oots -> ウツ, and the heavy thicket briefly clears.