Meaning & readings
distribute, spouse, exile, rationing
On’yomi ハイ
Kun’yomi くば.る
Origin
This character combines two elements to suggest distribution or arrangement. The left side, 酉, originally represented a wine vessel or fermentation process—something requiring careful measurement and apportionment. The right side, 己, represents oneself or a single entity. Together, the character suggests dividing or allocating something (like wine, rations, or roles) among people or to oneself, which is why it came to mean distribute, ration, or assign a spouse to someone. The sense of "exile" likely grew from the idea of assigning someone elsewhere.
Components
- 酉
- 己
Common words
Reference
- Strokes
- 10
- Kangxi radical
- 164
- Formation type
- Compound ideographic (combined meanings)
- Grade
- Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #359 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 2
- Unicode
- U+0914D