塊

lump, mass, clod

Kanji 1065

If you’re a “lump” of something in Japanese, you have too much of one quality, as if you were actually made of that thing. When lobbing such criticism, people combine 塊 with abstract nouns. For instance, "利己心の塊 (りこしんのかたまり: lump of selfishness)" means that someone is the very incarnation of selfishness. Learn about lumps, from the literal to the metaphorical. Also find out how to talk about clusters in space and time.

Revision history:

Feb. 4, 2022: 

• p. 2, Etymology Box: Updated the Henshall etymology and the Sears link.
• p. 5: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Dec. 18, 2011: Originally published.