Onyomi: ウ, ユウ · Kunyomi: すぐ.れる, まさ.る, やさ.しい · Meanings: actor, excel, gentleness, superiority, surpass, tenderness
Kanji for actor, excel, gentleness, superiority, surpass
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優 is made from 亻, meaning “person,” and 憂, meaning “worry” or “deep feeling.” It shows a person who understands worry and feels deeply for others. From this idea of emotional understanding and care, 優 came to mean kind, gentle, or excellent.
A person who understands others’ feelings is kind. That gentleness is 優.
Think of a person who feels deeply and treats others softly. That kindness and excellence is 優.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 優 | ゆう | Excellent (grade), A | Noun |
| 優 | やさ | gentle, affectionate | JLPT-N1 Prefix |
| 優勝 | ゆうしょう | overall victory, championship, winning the title | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 優しい | やさしい | tender, kind, gentle, graceful, affectionate, amiable | common JLPT-N4 I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 有利 | ゆうり | advantageous, favourable, better, stronger | common JLPT-N3 Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun |
| 優秀 | ゆうしゅう | superior, excellent, brilliant, outstanding | common JLPT-N3 Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun |
| 優れる | すぐれる | to be better (than), to be superior, to surpass, to excel, to be excellent | common JLPT-N3 Ichidan verb, Intransitive verb |
| 勝る | まさる | to excel, to surpass, to exceed, to have an edge, to be superior, to outrival | common JLPT-N1 Godan verb with 'ru' ending, Intransitive verb |
| 優先 | ゆうせん | preference, priority, precedence, right of way | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb, Intransitive verb, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 優勢 | ゆうせい | superiority, superior power, predominance, preponderance | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Na-adjective (keiyodoshi) |