邪
wicked, injustice, wrong
Readings
On'yomi
- ジャ
Kun'yomi
- よこし.ま
Meaning
邪 centers on moral crookedness: something wicked, unjust, or fundamentally wrong. The meanings all point to a departure from what is right or fair.
Most common words using 邪
20 of 81- 邪魔じゃまN4
hindrance; obstacle; nuisance; disturbance; interruption; interference
- 風邪かぜN5
(common) cold; influenza; flu; ague; inflammatory respiratory system illness (in general)
- 邪悪じゃあく
wicked; evil
- 邪よこしま
wicked; evil; wrong; bad
- 無邪気むじゃきN2
innocent; simple-minded
- 邪神じゃしん
evil god
- 邪道じゃどう
improper way (of doing); wrong way; unorthodox method
- お邪魔おじゃま
hindrance; intrusion
- 邪気じゃき
malice; ill will
- 邪険じゃけん
cruel; hard-hearted; harsh; unkind
- 天邪鬼あまのじゃく
perversity; perverse person; contrary person; contrarian
- 邪馬台国やまたいこく
Yamataikoku; historical Japanese state thought to have existed during the late Yayoi period
- 邪教じゃきょう
heretical religion; damaging religion; heresy
- 邪推じゃすい
distrust; unjust suspicion
- 邪念じゃねん
wicked thought; wicked mind
- 邪心じゃしん
wicked heart; evil design
- 風邪ひきかぜひき
catching a cold; person with a cold
- 正邪せいじゃ
right and wrong; right or wrong
- 邪淫じゃいん
lewdness
- 破邪はじゃ
crushing evil; destroying heresy
Study
Etymology
邪 combines 牙 (fang, tusk) with ⻏ (a variant of 邑, meaning settlement or place). The exact historical development is uncertain, but the combination likely expressed a sense of something twisted or morally crooked, possibly through the image of a fang-like deviation from the norm.
Meaning mnemonic
Picture a fang (牙) growing crookedly out of a village (⻏) — a twisted, wicked thing that corrupts the straight order of the settlement.
Reading mnemonic
For ジャ, imagine a wicked judge (ジャッジ, jajji) in the village, handing down unjust rulings: judge -> ジャ, and the crooked fang represents the injustice.