Meaning & readings

dark, not clear

On’yomi アイ
Kun’yomi くら.い

Origin

This character combines "sun" or "day" on the left with "love" on the right. When the bright sun of clarity is obscured or mixed with something as soft and gentle as love—or perhaps clouded by affection—the result is something unclear or dim. The character thus pictures a situation where light and perception become murky rather than sharp, capturing the idea of darkness or murkiness through this pairing of opposed qualities.

曖 17 strokes

Components

  • 日 radical left
  • 愛 meaning part right

Common words

  • 曖昧 あいまい vague; ambiguous

Reference

Strokes
17
Kangxi radical
72
Formation type
Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
—
Former JLPT
—
Unicode
U+066D6