Onyomi: シン · Kunyomi: -づら.い, かのと, から.い, つら.い · Meanings: acrid, bitter, hot, spicy
Kanji for acrid, bitter, hot, spicy
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辛 is formed as a single structure. It originally represents something sharp or piercing, like a cutting tool. This sharp, piercing idea came to represent strong stimulation or hardship. From this structure, 辛 came to mean spicy, bitter, painful, or hard.
辛 represents something sharp or piercing, meaning spicy or painful.
Think of a sharp sensation that hits you suddenly. That strong, piercing feeling — like spicy heat or hardship — is 辛.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 辛 | かのと | 8th in rank, eighth sign of the Chinese calendar | Noun |
| 辛 | から | counter for spiciness of food (e.g. curry) | Counter |
| 辛うじて | かろうじて | barely, narrowly, only just, with difficulty | common JLPT-N1 Adverb (fukushi) |
| 辛抱 | しんぼう | patience, endurance, perseverance | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb, Intransitive verb |
| 辛い | からい | spicy, hot | common JLPT-N5 I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 辛口 | からくち | dry taste (e.g. sake, wine) | common Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 辛子 | からし | mustard | common Noun |
| 辛い | つらい | painful, bitter, heart-breaking, difficult (emotionally) | common JLPT-N3 I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 辛抱強い | しんぼうづよい | patient, persevering | I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 辛辣 | しんらつ | bitter (e.g. criticism), sharp, biting, severe, scathing, harsh | Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun |