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Kotomora

欺

deceit, cheat, delude

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes12

Readings

On'yomi

  • ギ

Kun'yomi

  • あざむ.く

Meaning

欺 centers on intentional deception: tricking someone through deceit, cheating, or deluding them into believing something false.

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Etymology

欺 combines 其 (a winnowing basket, here likely used phonetically for 'gi') with 欠 (open mouth, suggesting breath or speech), together conveying the idea of speaking falsely or deceiving.

Meaning mnemonic

The left side 其 looks like a basket, and the right side 欠 is a person with an open mouth. Imagine someone hiding behind a basket, speaking lies to cheat you.

Reading mnemonic

For ギ, picture a deceitful person giving you a fake key: key -> ギ, but the key opens nothing because it's a trick.