Meaning & readings
name, noted, distinguished, reputation
On’yomi メイ、ミョウ
Kun’yomi な、-な
Nanori と
Origin
This character combines two parts to represent the idea of a name. The top component shows the evening or dusk, while the bottom is a mouth or opening. The character works on the principle that a name distinguishes one person from others, just as the setting sun makes different things visible and recognizable in its light. Over time, the visual image of these two parts came to stand for the abstract concept of a name, reputation, or being distinguished from others.
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 6
- Kangxi radical
- 30
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 1 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #177 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 4
- Unicode
- U+0540D