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不羈 (ふき) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

不ふ羈き

ふ

き

Meanings

1

noun

freedom; liberty; independence

Literary and somewhat old-fashioned term for being free from restraint or convention. Often used in set phrases like 不羈奔放 or 不羈独立.

彼かれの生いき方かたはまさに不ふ羈き奔ほん放ぽうそのものだ。
His way of life is truly free and unrestrained.
不ふ羈き独どく立りつの精せい神しんを大たい切せつにする。
I value the spirit of independence and freedom.

Written forms

不ふ羈きUsage100%
Literary kanji form; the character 羈 is not in the Jōyō kanji list. The variant 不羇 is also attested.
不ふ羇き
Variant spelling using 羇 instead of 羈. Both are rare and literary.

Kanji

不negative, non-, bad
羈reins, connection

reins

Similar words

自じ由ゆう
The common, everyday word for freedom. 不羈 is a literary, elevated synonym often used in formal or classical contexts.
奔ほん放ぽう
Means 'wild' or 'uninhibited'. Often paired with 不羈 in the compound 不羈奔放.

Etymology

From Chinese 不羈 (bùjī), meaning 'unrestrained' or 'unbridled'. The Japanese reading ふき is the on'yomi. The exact historical path into Japanese is uncertain, but it is used in literary and formal writing.