荒
laid waste, rough, rude, wild
Readings
On'yomi
- コウ
Kun'yomi
- あ.らす
- あ.れる
- あら.い
- すさ.ぶ
- すさ.む
- あ.らし
Nanori
- ら
Meaning
荒 centers on a state of neglect or lack of control: land left wild and unmanaged, surfaces that are rough and untended, or behavior that is rude and unrestrained.
Most common words using 荒
20 of 141- 荒れあれ
stormy weather; tempest; chaps (of skin)
- 荒いあらいN2
rough; wild; violent; rude; coarse; harsh; fierce; heavy (e.g. breathing)
- 荒らすあらすN1
to lay waste; to devastate; to damage
- 荒らしあらし
(Internet) troll; disturber
- 荒野こうや
wasteland; wilderness; deserted land; prairie; vast plain; wilds; desert; wild land
- 荒木あらき
logs in bark; rough wood; unseasoned timber; new lumber
- 荒廃こうはいN1
ruin; destruction; devastation; waste; decay
- 肌荒れはだあれ
bad skin; rough skin; unhealthy skin; skin irritation; skin breakouts
- 荒れるあれるN2
to become stormy; to become rough (of the sea)
- 荒々しいあらあらしいN1
rough; wild; rude; harsh; gruff; violent
- 荒ぶすさぶ
to grow wild; to run to waste; to become degenerate
- 荒波あらなみ
raging waves; stormy seas
- 荒っぽいあらっぽいN2
wild; violent; rough-mannered; rude
- 破天荒はてんこう
unheard-of; unprecedented
- 荒むすさむ
to grow wild; to run to waste; to become degenerate
- 荒地あれち
wasteland; wilderness; abandoned land; devastated land
- 荒地あれち
Arechi
- 荒唐無稽こうとうむけい
absurd; nonsensical; preposterous
- 荒天こうてん
stormy weather
- 荒稼ぎあらかせぎ
making a killing; making easy money
Study
Etymology
荒 combines 艹 (grass) with 巟, a component associated with emptiness or wasteland. Together they suggest land overgrown with grass and left uncultivated.
Meaning mnemonic
Grass 艹 covers a wasteland 巟, making the ground rough and wild. When people act like an untended field, they become rude and uncontrolled.
Reading mnemonic
For コウ, imagine a wild field so rough that even a cow won't enter: cow -> コウ, and the cow avoids the rough, wasted land.