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Kotomora

殱

massacre

Strokes19

Readings

On'yomi

  • セン

Kun'yomi

  • つく.す
  • ほろぼ.す

Meaning

殱 centers on large-scale, violent destruction: a massacre that wipes out many lives at once.

Study

Etymology

殱 is the modern Japanese simplified form of 殲. The older form combines 歹 (death) with 韯, which likely contributed the sound and the idea of complete destruction. The modern form retains the same components but with a slightly simplified right side.

Meaning mnemonic

The left side 歹 means death, and the right side 韯 looks like a complex weapon or a pile of bodies. Picture a scene of total destruction where death is everywhere.

Reading mnemonic

For セン, imagine a thousand (千, せん) people being massacred: 千 -> セン, and the death radical 歹 marks the tragedy.