taru-adjective, adverb taking the 'to' particle
Obsolete literary word describing a wide, open expanse. Used in classical Japanese with たる or と, e.g. 茫たる or 茫として.
What did the ancients think as they faced the vast, boundless ocean?
taru-adjective, adverb taking the 'to' particle
Obsolete literary word for something unclear or blurred, often of atmosphere, memory, or distant views. Also used in classical constructions like 茫として.
The distant mountains looked hazy and indistinct.
dazed; bewildered; blankly
vast; boundless; endless
endless river; boundless water
vast; boundless; extensive · vague; hazy; fuzzy · overgrown; rampant; running wild · unkempt; shaggy; scraggly
in a daze; absent-mindedly; vacantly · dimly; hazily; faintly
The kanji 茫 is a phono-semantic compound with 艸 (grass) and 亡 (lost, disappear), originally suggesting an overgrown, boundless expanse. The reading ぼう is the on'yomi. The word is now obsolete outside of classical or highly literary contexts.