warding off evil; protection against misfortune
Refers to the act of averting bad luck or evil spirits, often through charms, rituals, or amulets. Commonly used in religious and superstitious contexts.
I carry an amulet for protection against evil.
Throwing beans on Setsubun has the meaning of warding off evil.
Standard kanji spelling.
Variant with the second character in kana; common in everyday writing.
Irregular okurigana usage; the final け is omitted. Rarely seen.
Compound of 厄 (yaku, 'misfortune, evil') and 除け (yoke, the nominalized stem of 除ける, 'to remove, exclude'). Literally 'removing misfortune'.