Expressions 埒らち があく reach a settlement; get resolved; come to a conclusion 埒らち もない incoherent; nonsensical; foolish 埒らち があかない making no progress; getting nowhere; remaining unsettled Kanji 埒 picket, limits, be settled 埓 pale, picket fence, limits Related words 限界 is the general word for a physical or abstract limit, while 埒 survives mainly in the fixed phrase 埒が明かない describing a stalled situation.
柵 is the everyday word for a fence or paling, while 埒 in this old sense referred specifically to the fence around a horse-riding ground and is now rarely used.
決着 means a definite conclusion or settlement of a matter, whereas 埒 is used almost only in 埒が明かない to say that no such settlement has been reached.
Word family outrageous; lawless; unpardonable
out of bounds; beyond the pale
within bounds; within the pale
Written forms 埒 Usage 51% i Usage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
らち Usage 30%
Kana spelling is common in modern usage, especially in the phrase らちが明かない .
ラチ Usage 16%
埓 Usage 4% i Usage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
らっち
out-dated reading
Obsolete kana usage; not used in modern Japanese.
Etymology Originally referred to a fence or railing, especially around a horse-riding ground. The modern sense of 'bounds' or 'limits' developed from the idea of being fenced in, but the word is now almost exclusively used in the negative phrase 埒が明かない .
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