辣
pungent, spicy, harsh, cruel, severe
Readings
On'yomi
- ラツ
Kun'yomi
- から.い
Meaning
辣 centers on a sharp, intense quality that can be physical (pungent, spicy) or figurative (harsh, cruel, severe). The idea is something that stings or bites, whether on the tongue or in behavior.
Most common words using 辣
- 辛辣しんらつ
bitter (e.g. criticism); sharp; biting; severe; scathing; harsh
- 麻辣マーラー
mala (spicy and numbing seasoning)
- 悪辣あくらつ
crafty; vicious; unscrupulous; sharp
- 辣韮らっきょう
Chinese onion (Allium chinense); Chinese scallion; Kiangsi scallion; rakkyo
- 辣腕らつわん
shrewdness; sharpness; astuteness; acumen; tact
- 山辣韮やまらっきょう
Japanese onion (Allium thunbergii)
- 辣子鶏ラーズージー
laziji; spicy Sichuan chicken dish
- 辣白菜ラーパーツァイ
hot-and-sour cabbage
- 酸辣湯サンラータン
hot and sour soup
- 酸辣粉サンラーフン
hot and sour noodles (Szechuan dish)
- 麻辣湯マーラータン
malatang (Sichuan-style spicy street food)
Study
Etymology
辣 combines 辛 (spicy, bitter) with 束, which likely contributes a phonetic element. The character expresses the idea of sharp, pungent taste or harshness.
Meaning mnemonic
On the left, 辛 (spicy, bitter) already suggests a sharp taste. On the right, 束 (bundle) looks like a tied bunch of hot peppers. Together, they make 辣: a bundle of spicy, pungent heat.
Reading mnemonic
For ラツ, imagine a rat (ラット) that ate something so spicy it starts running in circles: rat -> ラツ, and the spicy 辣 makes it go wild.