Emaki · all 1,500 words

素敵

すてき

lovely, superb

Mnemonic

The two characters were borrowed for their sound and do not add up to the meaning at all. What they say about that shirt is that it is lovely, like a steak すてき: すてき.

Worth knowing

The characters are ateji, picked for sound rather than sense, so there is nothing to read out of them.

Built from

plain, element
糸 thread at the bottom, undyed. The material before anything has been done to it.
enemy
攵 the strike radical stood on the right. The one you are up against.

Words sharing these kanji

honest, straightforward splendid, excellent enemy

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Emaki is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Kaishi 1.5k or its authors. The word, reading and meaning come from the Kaishi 1.5k deck, used with their permission. The mnemonic, the note and the kanji breakdown are original work, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.