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死灰 (しかい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

死し灰かい

し

か

い

Meanings

1

noun

as lifeless as cold ashes

Literary expression describing a state of complete lifelessness or emotional deadness, often used in fixed phrases like 死灰のよう or 死灰のごとく.

彼かれの目めは死し灰かいのように生せい気きがなかった。
His eyes were as lifeless as cold ashes.

Kanji

死death, die
灰ashes, puckery juice, cremate

Etymology

Compound of 死 (death) and 灰 (ashes), literally 'dead ashes'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the expression is used figuratively in classical and literary Japanese.