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危篤 (きとく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

危き篤とく

き

と

く

Common word›JLPTN1›Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

critical condition; on the verge of death

Used in serious medical contexts when a person's life is in immediate danger. Often appears in news reports or formal announcements.

祖そ父ふが危き篤とく状じょう態たいだと病びょう院いんから

連れん

絡らく

が

あっ

た

。

The hospital contacted us to say that my grandfather is in critical condition.

危き篤とくの知しらせを受うけて、急いそいで実じっ家かに帰かえった。

I rushed back to my family home after receiving news that a relative was on the verge of death.

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉が危き篤とくになるfor someone to fall into critical condition
祖そ父ふが危き篤とくになったと聞きいて、すぐに病びょう院いんへ向むかった。
When I heard that my grandfather had gone into critical condition, I rushed to the hospital.
危き篤とくの知しらせが届とどくfor news of someone's critical condition to arrive
未み明めいに危き篤とくの知しらせが届とどき、家か族ぞく全ぜん員いんが病びょう院いんに駆かけつけた。
In the middle of the night, news came that he was in critical condition, and the whole family rushed to the hospital.
危き篤とくから回かい復ふくするto recover from a critical condition
医い師しの懸けん命めいな治ち療りょうのおかげで、彼かれは危き篤とくから回かい復ふくした。
Thanks to the doctors' desperate efforts, he recovered from his critical condition.

Kanji

危dangerous, fear, uneasy
篤fervent, kind, cordial

Related words

重じゅう体たいN2
危篤 signals that death is imminent, while 重体 describes a severe but not necessarily fatal condition.
危き殆たい
危殆 is an old-fashioned, literary word for a critical or perilous state, while 危篤 is the standard modern term used in medical reports and news.
瀕ひん死し
危篤 is a formal medical term for a patient in critical condition, while 瀕死 is broader and can describe people, animals, or even figurative situations near collapse.

Don't confuse with

重じゅう篤とく
重篤 describes a serious or severe symptom or illness (common in clinical/medical documents), whereas 危篤 specifically means the person's life is in immediate danger of ending.
危き険けんN4
危険 means 'dangerous' in a general sense, while 危篤 refers specifically to a person being near death from illness or injury.

Word family

危き篤とく状じょう態たい
critical condition; dying state

Written forms

危き篤とくUsage98%
Standard kanji spelling; the word is almost always written in kanji.
キトクUsage2%

Etymology

Compound of 危 (danger) and 篤 (serious, grave). The kanji 篤 originally means 'thick' or 'sincere,' but here it conveys the sense of a condition that has become deeply serious.