pungent, spicy, harsh, cruel

About this kanji

The kanji 藤 (ratsu) primarily means ‘pungent’ or ‘spicy,’ often evoking a sense of harshness or severity. It is commonly used in nouns rather than verbs. You might encounter it in compounds like 悪辣 (akuratsu), which means 'crafty' or 'sly,' and 辛辣 (shinratsu), which describes 'bitter' criticism. Another interesting compound is 辣韮 (rakkyo), referring to a type of Chinese onion often used in cooking. A note to remember is that while ‘pungent’ can describe food flavors, it can also refer to strong emotional or verbal expressions, reflecting a range of intensity.

Example sentences

• 彼の言葉は非常に辣だ。

  His words are very sharp.

Meanings across languages

English

pungent, spicy, harsh, cruel, severe

Tiếng Việt

cay

日本語

辣

한국어

맵다

中文

辣

id

pedas

th

เผ็ด

es

picante

fr

piquant

de

scharf

pt

apimentado

Common compounds

• 悪辣あくらつcrafty, vicious, unscrupulous
• 辛辣しんらつbitter (e.g. criticism), sharp, biting
• 辣腕らつわんshrewdness, sharpness, astuteness
• 辣韮らっきょうChinese onion (Allium chinense), Chinese scallion, Kiangsi scallion
• 麻辣マーラーmala (spicy and numbing seasoning)
• 山辣韮やまらっきょうJapanese onion (Allium thunbergii)
• 辣白菜ラーパーツァイhot-and-sour cabbage
• 酸辣湯サンラータンhot and sour soup