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Kotomora

辷

glide, skate, slip, fail in exams, (kokuji)

Strokes5

Readings

On'yomi

—

Kun'yomi

  • すべ.る
  • すべ.らす

Meaning

辷 centers on smooth, uncontrolled motion across a surface: gliding, skating, or slipping. The exam-failure sense extends this as a metaphorical slip or stumble.

Study

Etymology

辷 is a Japanese kokuji (国字) created by combining the movement radical 辶 with the single stroke 一, likely to represent smooth, linear motion such as gliding or slipping.

Meaning mnemonic

The movement radical 辶 wraps around a single flat line 一, like a path that is perfectly smooth. Picture a skate gliding effortlessly along that line.

Reading mnemonic

For すべ, imagine a smooth slide where everything slips: 'smoothly slide' -> すべ. The scene of gliding on ice ties the sound to the kanji's meaning.