塊
Meanings
A solid, often irregularly shaped aggregate of matter; can refer to anything from a clod of earth to a cluster of cells.
I broke up the clods of earth and tilled the field.
The sugar had turned into a lump from the humidity.
A gathered mass of people or things, often implying a dense, somewhat disorderly grouping.
A crowd of people had formed in front of the station.
Abstract use: something that embodies a quality, feeling, or idea, as in 'a lump of desire' or 'the personification of evil'.
His words were the embodiment of anger.
That work is a mass of desire.
Usage patterns
- 〈物〉の塊a lump/mass of 〈物〉
I roasted a lump of meat in the oven.
- 〈人〉の塊a cluster/crowd of 〈人〉
The area in front of the station was jammed with a crowd of people.
- 〈事〉の塊an embodiment/personification of 〈事〉
He's a person who's a walking embodiment of confidence.
- 塊になるto form into a lump/clump
The snow packed together and became a clump.
Expressions
- 遠慮の塊the last piece left on a shared plate (out of politeness)