Kanji 凄: uncanny, weird, threatening, horrible

Key takeaways

Kanji 凄: uncanny, weird, threatening, horrible. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

凄

Meaning

uncannyweirdthreateninghorrible

On reading

せいさい

Kun reading

さむ.いすご.いすさ.まじい

Radical

冫

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 凄

uncanny, weird, threatening, horrible

Kanji structure breakdown

凄

Structure breakdown

冫 + 妻

Mnemonic story

This kanji combines 'ice' (冫) and 'wife' (妻). It originally described a chilling, cold atmosphere that makes one shiver, which evolved from meaning 'horrible' or 'eerie' into the modern sense of 'amazing' or 'extraordinary'.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

Kun reading

さむ.い

物凄いものすごい
amazing / overwhelming / very intense
凄いすごい
amazing / terrific / wonderful

Commonly used words

物凄い
ものすごい
amazing / overwhelming / very intense
凄い
すごい
amazing / terrific / wonderful

Example sentences

Example 1

あの映画は物凄い人気だ。

Translation

That movie is incredibly popular.

Example 2

物凄い音が聞こえた。

Translation

I heard a staggering noise.

Example 3

このケーキはすごいおいしい。

Translation

This cake is amazingly delicious.

Example 4

彼の日本語はすごい上手だ。

Translation

His Japanese is really good.

Kanji 凄: uncanny, weird, threatening, horrible

Kanji at a glance

Core meaning / core image

Kanji structure breakdown

Mnemonic story

On'yomi and kun'yomi

Kun reading

Commonly used words

Example sentences

物凄い (ものすごい): meaning and examples

凄い (すごい): meaning and examples