Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Kanji 酔 drunk, feel sick, poisoned 興 entertain, revive, retrieve Related words 気き まぐれ 気まぐれ is a more common word for whim or caprice, often implying moodiness or fickleness. 酔狂 carries a stronger nuance of eccentricity or playful spontaneity, sometimes with a literary or old-fashioned feel.
物もの 好ず き 物好き refers to a person who does things out of curiosity or for the love of it, often implying oddness. 酔狂 is more about the act or idea itself being whimsical or eccentric.
Written forms 酔すい 狂きょう Usage 87%
Standard kanji form. Literally 'drunken madness', but used idiomatically.
粋すい 狂きょう Usage 7%
Alternate kanji form using 粋 (stylish/refined) instead of 酔 (drunk).
酔すい 興きょう Usage 7%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form (source rarely used kanji form).
Etymology Compound of 酔 (drunkenness) and 狂 (madness), literally 'drunken madness'. The idiomatic meaning of 'whim' or 'eccentricity' likely developed from the idea of acting as if intoxicated, without rational restraint. The alternate form 粋狂 replaces 酔 with 粋 (stylish), suggesting a refined eccentricity.
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