violent, intense, fierce
On'yomi (音読み)
- レツ
- リツ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- はげ.しい
- あら.い
About this kanji
The kanji 烈, pronounced as "retsu" or "ritsu" in on'yomi and "hage-shii" or "ara-i" in kun'yomi, primarily means violent, intense, or fierce. It is often used as a noun but also forms the basis for many adjectives. A well-known compound is 烈火 (rekka), which means "raging fire" and describes something very fiery or intense. Another example is 激烈 (gekiretsu), meaning "fierce," often used to refer to intense competition or emotions. Lastly, 烈性 (retsusei) refers to something with a strong alcoholic content. Note that while 烈 can convey strength and intensity, it’s often paired with other words to give specific contexts.
Built from
Example sentences
烈しい風が吹いている。
A fierce wind is blowing.
Meanings across languages
- English
- violent, intense, fierce
- Tiếng Việt
- dữ dội, mãnh liệt, khắc nghiệt
- 日本語
- 激しい, 酸っぱい, 猛烈
- 한국어
- 욱독한
- 中文
- 激烈
- id
- kekerasan
- th
- รุนแรง
- es
- feroz
- fr
- violent
- de
- heftig
- pt
- violento
Common compounds
- 烈火れっかraging fire
- 激烈げきれつfierce, intense
- 烈性れつせいstrong (alcohol)
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