藐
make light of, far away, beautiful
Readings
On'yomi
- ビョウ
- バク
Kun'yomi
- かろ.んじる
- とお.い
Meaning
藐 centers on treating something as small or distant: making light of it, considering it far away, or viewing it as insignificant. The 'beautiful' sense is a rare, possibly archaic application that may stem from a separate nuance of refined distance.
Most common words using 藐
- 阿耨多羅三藐三菩提あのくたらさんみゃくさんぼだい
anuttara samyak sambodhi (supreme perfect enlightenment)
Study
Etymology
藐 combines 艹 (grass) with 貌 (appearance, form). The exact historical development is uncertain, but it likely originally expressed something seen through or over grass, suggesting distance or a dismissive glance.
Meaning mnemonic
Grass 艹 growing over a face-like form 貌 makes it hard to see clearly, so you squint and dismiss it as far away or unimportant.
Reading mnemonic
For ビョウ, imagine a distant, blurry figure in the grass that you dismiss with a 'byou' sound—like saying 'bye' but with a dismissive 'oh' at the end: byou -> ビョウ.