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貪欲 (どんよく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

貪どん欲よく

ど

ん

よ

く

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

na-adjective, noun

greedy; avaricious; covetous

Describes an intense, often excessive desire for money, possessions, power, or food. Can be used as a noun or na-adjective.

彼かれは貪どん欲よくに金かねをため込こんだ。
He greedily amassed money.
その政せい治じ家かは権けん力りょく

に

貪どん

欲よく

だ

。

That politician is greedy for power.

Written forms

貪欲Usage97%
- どんよく
  Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
- たんよく
  out-dated reading
- とんよく
  out-dated reading
貪慾Usage3%
rarely-used kanji form
- どんよく
  Rarely used kanji form; 慾 is an older variant of 欲.
- たんよく
  out-dated reading
たんよく
out-dated reading
とんよく
out-dated reading

Kanji

貪covet, indulge in
欲longing, covetousness, greed
慾covetousness, greed, passion

Similar words

欲よく張ばり
欲張り is a more colloquial noun/adjective for a greedy person or act, often implying selfish grabbing. 貪欲 is more formal and describes an intense, deep-seated avarice.
強ごう欲よく
強欲 is a near-synonym also meaning greed, but often carries a stronger nuance of ruthless or predatory greed, while 貪欲 can be used in slightly broader contexts including intellectual or ambitious desire.

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 貪欲 (MC thom yowk, “greedy desire”). The kanji 貪 means 'covet' and 欲 means 'desire'. The reading どんよく is the standard Sino-Japanese on'yomi; とんよく and たんよく are obsolete variant readings.

とんよく

out-dated reading