瀬戸際
せとぎわ brink; verge
Why it means this
瀬戸 (a strait) + 際 (the edge) — the edge of a narrow strait; the critical brink where things could go either way (生死の瀬戸際).
Breakdown
- 瀬 せ rapids, current, torrent
- 戸 と door, counter for houses, door radical (no. 63)
- 際 きわ occasion, side, edge
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