Meaning & readings
grow late, night watch, sit up late, of course, renew, renovate, again, more and more, further
Origin
The character 更 appears to combine the idea of time passing with change or renewal. The component 日 represents the sun or a day, while the other elements together suggest the progression through night or the turning of time. When night "grows late" and time moves forward, things naturally become different or renewed—a new day arrives, bringing transformation. This connection between the passage of time, particularly through the night watch hours, and the sense of renewal or renovation is how the character came to carry both meanings related to late hours and meanings related to change or renovation.
AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).
Common words
- 更に さらに furthermore; again
- 更改 こうかい renewal; extension
- 更新 こうしん renewal; update
- 更正 こうせい correction; revision
- 更生 こうせい rehabilitation; remaking one's life
- 更迭 こうてつ change (of personnel); reshuffle (e.g. of a cabinet)
- 今更 いまさら now (when it is already much too late); at this stage
- 尚更 なおさら still more; even more
Reference
- Strokes
- 7
- Kangxi radical
- 73
- Grade
- Jōyō (secondary school)
- Frequency rank
- #861 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+066F4