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Kotomora

瘦

thin, emaciated, lean, meager

StatusJinmeiyō (variant)Strokes15

Readings

On'yomi

  • ソウ
  • チュウ
  • シュウ
  • チュ

Kun'yomi

  • やせ.る

Meaning

瘦 centers on a lack of flesh or substance: being thin, emaciated, or lean, and by extension meager or scanty.

Study

Etymology

瘦 combines 疒 (sickness) with 叟, which likely contributes the sound and suggests a withered or aged appearance, fitting the idea of thinness from illness.

Meaning mnemonic

The sickness enclosure 疒 wraps around 叟, an old man. Picture an old man wasting away from illness, becoming thin and emaciated.

Reading mnemonic

For ソウ, imagine a thin soul barely visible inside the sick body: soul -> ソウ, and the meager figure looks like a ghost.