inferiority, be inferior to, be worse
On'yomi (音読み)
- レツ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- おと.る
About this kanji
The kanji 劣, pronounced as レツ in on'yomi and おと.る in kun'yomi, primarily conveys the idea of inferiority or being worse than something else. It is commonly found in verbs and adjectives, such as 劣る (おとる), meaning "to be inferior to" or "to fall short." You will also see it in compounds like 卑劣 (ひれつ), which means "mean" or "malicious," and 劣悪 (れつあく), referring to something of poor quality. A useful note is that 劣 can describe both conditions and emotions, often implying a comparison to something considered superior.
Example sentences
彼の能力は他の人より劣っている。
His ability is inferior to others.
Meanings across languages
- English
- inferiority, be inferior to, be worse
- Tiếng Việt
- kém
- 日本語
- 劣る
- 한국어
- 열등한
- 中文
- 劣
- id
- kekurangan, lebih buruk dari
- th
- ความด้อยกว่า, ด้อยกว่า
- es
- inferioridad, ser inferior a
- fr
- infériorité, être inférieur à
- de
- unterlegenheit, unterlegen sein
- pt
- inferioridade, ser inferior a
Common compounds
- 卑劣ひれつmean, contemptible, despicable
- 劣るおとるto be inferior to, to be less good at, to fall behind
- 劣悪れつあくpoor (quality, conditions, etc.), bad, inferior
- 劣化れっかdeterioration (in quality, performance, etc.), degradation, worsening
- 劣勢れっせいinferiority (e.g. numerical), inferior position, disadvantage
- 劣等感れっとうかんinferiority complex, sense of inferiority
- 優劣ゆうれつ(relative) merits, superiority or inferiority, quality
- 拙劣せつれつclumsy, unskillful
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